Replacing Scamp Decals

[emij]

Good Morning All! I haven't posted pictures of our new (to us) Scamp yet, because I'm spending every spare minute working on it, but I promise I will this weekend!

For now I have a question about removing and replacing the Scamp decals and stripe. I've ordered new from Scamp, as ours are a bit chewed up around the edges and it messes with my need for shiny, clean lines. Tomorrow we plan to take measurements of where the old ones are, so we can put the new ones precisely back. I've read that removal can be done using a low heat source (like a hairdryer) and plastic putty knife.

Questions: Is this a good way for removal? Then what is the order of these next steps- washing, waxing and then replace the new decals, or wash, replace decals, wax? Maybe it doesn't matter at all? Any good tips for when we are sticking the new decals on so they stick for life? THANK YOU!

[Jon in AZ]

You'll likely have no trouble placing the new decals. The original gel coat will still be shiny under the old and will stand out from the surrounding weathered fiberglass.



I think the order should be remove, clean thoroughly, new decals, then wax.



I'll be interested to learn any removal tricks, as I'd like to replace mine, too. I'm thinking of using the gold-colored "deluxe" decals to match our tow vehicle.

[sharon_b]

a warm sunny day will be your best helper, then goo-gone to remove the old adhesive. lots of patience if the decals are really old - you have to chisel every crumb off

[Jack L]

I used a heat gun when I did mine. A heat gun is a little hotter than a hair dryer but I had to be careful or I could possibly scorch the gel coat . To remove the glue residue I used a product I bought at a store that sells to auto body shops. It was called "adhesive clean up". It was a lot of work requiring patience and elbow grease. I didn't try the goo gone because I already had the other product. I purchased the adhesive clean up to remove stripes on a vehicle so I already had the product.

If you can lift a corner of the tape to get it started, then heat a larger area of tape you might find the entire stripe comes off faster and in larger pieces.

[art warner]

I have a new scamp and removed the scamp decals with a heat gun. Very easy on a new one. I had my sign co made a smaller scamp decal to match the color of my truck. Small is always good, that's why we bought the scamp.

[emij]

Thank you all so much for the information! Will be picking up some goo gone. I found they also make a decal remover kit, with a little plastic scraper and concentrated product, so I'm going to try that as well. Will report back on how well that works! Wish us luck!

[captsteve2002]

I have just replaced all the decals on the passenger side and front of my trailer. I used Goo-B-Gone and found it didn't do all that good of job. I switched to Acitone and found that it did got the glue off much easier. Since it also takes all the wax off you need to wax as soon as you reinstall the new decals. There are a few other tricks that I learned, if you private message me i will send you more information

[emij]

We started with the goo gone and a plastic scraper and it didn't work at all. Then we switched to the hair dryer, which worked ok, but the plastic scraper really didn't get under the decal very well. We ended up using a razor blade, which pretty much lifted the decal and the adhesive all in one long strip. When it was all off, we went back over it all with acetone, which definitely takes the finish off, along with any remaining adhesive. I'm okay with that because we are going to strip all of the wax off and buff, clean and rewax the entire thing. Surprisingly, the razor blade didn't scrape or damage that we could see. I think the key was using it a an angle and also laying it almost flat against the camper. That way it didn't dig in at all. It's a long and tedious process. For now it's done, and she's tucked in under cover until the new ones arrive.

[emij]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

You'll likely have no trouble placing the new decals. The original gel coat will still be shiny under the old and will stand out from the surrounding weathered fiberglass.

You were absolutely right! I'm excited to see that the exact outline is right there, just waiting for the new decals. Also, I talked to our neighbor who is a car guy, and he said when putting the new decals on, use a bucket of dawn dish soap and water. Soap up the location and then place the decal. While it is wet and soapy, you can move it all over to position it correctly. Then use an automotive decal squeegee to smooth it down. Once it dries, it's stuck. But as long as it is wet and soapy, you can re-position it indefinitely.

[RogerDat]

If taking the decals off starts to seem like an all day or all weekend job go to an automotive store and ask for one of these. 3M stripe off wheel. Goes in a drill and turns hours of work into a job measured in minutes.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Stripe-Whee.../dp/B000P16XJ6

Short video of it being used to remove stripes from side of truck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHKN5_UfDik

Just be sure the surface is clean first, thing is like a soft eraser but if there is dirt and grit on the surface it could scratch.

[UtahCamper]

My wife's hair dryer works great to remove the decals. Then wash and take your time with the new decals.

[captsteve2002]

The Scamp decals are very thin and with the little lines around the "S" found that it broke twice. Use care. I also found that lining up the decal so it was right over the old one was a bit tricky.

What I did was cut the decal right at the letter or strip. Then I put tape on the camper to line up the decal perfectly on both ends using tape to hold the decal with it's backing paper in place. Then I removed the backing paper on half of the decal and laid it back down. Then taping that half, I released the other half and pulled off the backing paper and laid that half down. I also made sure to make sure the decal was down tight before removing the top paper. Pull on that paper carefully and slowly as it might pick-up an edge of the decal. Good luck with the project

[emij]

I just spent the past two days buffing, replacing the decals, polishing and waxing the Scamp and thought I'd share the final outcome. I'm pretty happy with the way is turned out. I used the dawn dish soapy water, both on the camper and on the decal. I removed the backing paper, soaped the decal up as I went along, soaped up the camper and then lined up the decals to the old marks. Doing it this way, I was able to slide the decals around and line them up perfectly. Once they were in position, I took a bondo squeegee and smoothed them over, squishing out the soapy water and adhering them to the camper. Then I carefully peeled off the outside paper, using my squeegee to smooth the decals down as I went. Once the soapy water mixture dries, it is stuck fast. You can put more soapy water on and move them around forever, but once it dries, you are done

[emij]