Removing old travel decals/stickers?

[nebraskama]

My casita was owned by Offutt AFB before it was purchased by the people we purchased it from. All along the back under the window are faded travel stickers and decals that look hideous.

Can someone tell me how to remove these without damaging my egg?

Thanks!

Mary

[2yax2go]

Goo-gone might work.

If Dawn dish liquid is not too strong for the gelcoat (and I don't know the answer to this) you can rub it straight on the decals and rub gently to remove.

Eraser Sponges are great, but again, I have no clue if they will dull the gel-coat causing you to have to reapply that, too.

Sometimes just warm soapy water will work.

I'm sure there will be other suggestions coming your way...this is a savvy group of folks. (I'm still a new-bee at this whole ownership thing.)

Josie

[Gina D.]

I work at a used RV dealer and do this almost daily.

Goof Off. Goo Gone will eat the gel coat.

Peel up a very small end of the decal and squeeze a drop or two of the Goof Off under were its peeled, soaking the underside of the decal there. Let it sit about 10 seconds and start to peel away. When you feel resistance, squirt more Goof Off at the sticking spot and continue as above.

Repeat as necessary.

Acetone on a rag in light amounts will clean the residual Goof Off away. Do not pour the acetone directly on the glass or the decal.. a giant mess will await you if you do.

[StephenNCSU]

Thanks for the advice, that's helpful!

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Gina D.

I work at a used RV dealer and do this almost daily.

Goof Off. Goo Gone will eat the gel coat.

Peel up a very small end of the decal and squeeze a drop or two of the Goof Off under were its peeled, soaking the underside of the decal there. Let it sit about 10 seconds and start to peel away. When you feel resistance, squirt more Goof Off at the sticking spot and continue as above.

Repeat as necessary.

Acetone on a rag in light amounts will clean the residual Goof Off away. Do not pour the acetone directly on the glass or the decal.. a giant mess will await you if you do.

Hi Gina. Goo gone eats gel coat? I would like to know more as I have used it several times and thought it was fine. Also, I have used both Goof Off and acetone and both have similar smells and that cooling evaporation feel. I was wondering if they weren't the same stuff. Better living through chemicals, eh! Thanks, Raz

[theresa p]

hey gina--thanks for the info! i will file that tidbit away for future reference.

[nebraskama]

Thanks! Found the stuff at Menards but of course, it's due to rain tomorrow so will have to wait to try it.

[Gina D.]

I use Acetone on gel coat all the time. The "mess" I refer to is when it mixes with the gluey goof off in large qtys. I have no idea what the chemical process is when using larger qtys.. I just know it does it!

Trial and error proved that wiping with a dampened rag works a zillion times better than saturating it.

I have seen gel coat get damaged by Goo Gone a few times. Thats why we stopped using it. Never had an issue with Goof Off.

As an FYI, I got all the built up roofing tar off the Leocraft roof with.. Coke. Plain old Classic Coke. Poured it directly on the globs the former owner laid on there and it turned into a sticky Jello like blob. Scooped most of its gooy mess with a putty knife, wiped the knife and started again. The coke mess was cleaned up with a giant industrial sized can of Goof Off.

[Deb & Chuck]

To remove decals try using Goof off decal remover or WD40 and a razor blade, carefully scrape away decal. Another way is to use a heat gun or hair dryer.
Good luck
Chuck

[Pam Garlow]

Originally Posted by Gina D.

.....As an FYI, I got all the built up roofing tar off the Leocraft roof with.. Coke. Plain old Classic Coke. Poured it directly on the globs the former owner laid on there and it turned into a sticky Jello like blob. Scooped most of its gooy mess with a putty knife, wiped the knife and started again. The coke mess was cleaned up with a giant industrial sized can of Goof Off.

Gina, I don't want to hijack this thread, but I would love to see some progress photos of your Leocraft.

[Gina D.]

There really is nothing to see still.. my main priority is to get the roof sealed. Its a slow process due to the sheer amount of work it needs and my available time to do it.

[Darrell O]

Originally Posted by Deb & Chuck

To remove decals try using Goof off decal remover or WD40 and a razor blade, carefully scrape away decal. Another way is to use a heat gun or hair dryer.
Good luck
Chuck

I have to emphasize using a hair dryer or heat gun (on low temp.) first. Then use WD or goo gone to clean up the glue residue after peeling off the sticker by hand.

This procedure works best for me, and it minimizes the chance of damaging the finish/substrate.

[Donna D.]

The only think I'd say is do NOT use a razor blade or putty knife... use a plastic non-serrated knife or ice scrapper. One sneeze with metal and you've scored the gel coat. Plastic doesn't do that, unless you gouge at it. Plastic really does work well.

[nebraskama]

Thanks everyone ... stickers are almost all gone (my hands got cold so quit for the day) ... I also believe that with a good washing and drying, my formerly dull Casita will shine up wonderfully!

[username]

Originally Posted by nebraskama

Thanks everyone ... stickers are almost all gone (my hands got cold so quit for the day) ... I also believe that with a good washing and drying, my formerly dull Casita will shine up wonderfully!

How did you end up doing it? We are going to be removing all the decals on our Bigfoot before we try Red Max.

[nebraskama]

Actually my husband *GASP* used a razor blade when I wasn't around and got rid of the stickers and then I used Goof-Off to get rid of the rest of the glue residue.

However, he has been told that on the last remaining stickers he will get a plastic scraper or face the wrath.

I found Goof-Off at Menards so it's pretty easy to find and I just put a little bit on a bar towel and rubbed.

[MikeN]

+1 on using a heat gun or hair dryer to heat up the adhesive layer. Then you should use a plastic razor blade or a lil-chizler. Clean up the rest with any of the recommendations above, goo-gone, denatured alcohol, acetone, etc.

I own a printing/graphics company (NovoWorks: Color Imaging. Home of NovoWraps * 972-384-0940)... so we do this all the time

[Gene Masse]

Nebraskama,
Nice to see another government surplus buyer. I got two Casitas and both of them came from a military base. Hope you got a good deal also. My first one was a 92' 13' that was "well used'. I did a lot of work on it. More to go but am going to sell it this spring. That's because I got a 98 16' Casita last December at a ND Air Base.
The military seems to like them for rentals in the recreation agency. Sometime they get turned in at the DRMO & if they make it to sale mode there is an on line auction at:
Government Surplus Auctions at Government Liquidation
I have seen a lot of other travel trailers there but no fiberglass ones for a while.

[RogerDat]

I removed all three ratty "three tree" decals from my scamp in less than ten minutes using a stripe off tool I picked up at my local auto paint and body supply store. Eraser like wheel that you use in a drill. Heard about it on this forum but it worked well enough I figure it's worth repeating.

Used a variable speed drill so I could keep the speed down, made sure the surface was well washed so there is no dirt to scratch the surface of my egg. It was fast, easy and neat. I should add that since I am replacing all the decals and stripes the cost ($25) was worth it to me for the time savings.

If you want to see a picture Amazon.com: 3M Stripe Off Wheel 07498, 4 in x 5/8 in, w/Hardware - 7498AM: Home Improvement

[morbank]

Anyone have suggestions for removing decals off of the plastic front/back windows??? Can you still use Goof Off or will it put a finish on the plastic?