Uhaul Sticker removal

[knighth001]

any suggestions on how to finish removing the Uhaul sticker that's still half there? not sure what you guys use on the fiberglass, I didn't want to be too abrasive. Mine is half there and none of the rest are left so I want to remove it to look a bit cleaner.

[Thomas G.]

All you need is a hair dryer and a light touch. After you carefully pull it off, use mineral spirits to clean the surface of residual adhesive.

[knighth001]

Thanks Tom, you are a wealth of information on here. I never would've thought to use a hairdryer.

[Kevin A]

If the hairdryer doesn't quite do it, you can move up to an electric heat gun used for stripping paint. I had to do that on my old decals because they had been painted and waxed over so many times. No matter the heat source, gently pull up a corner and continue pulling, slowly sliding the hairdryer ahead of where you are working. I used a plastic scraper to free the tough spots, too, when the decal became pliable. It's really fun to see how large a piece of decal you can remove without it tearing!

If you want a replacement decal to match the old one, you can order one from Pat (AKA Goosler). He does great work making the new decals and can do them as original or with your own color scheme.

[Donna D.]

Check out Jeff's suggestion on removing stripes and old decals: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...pes-48054.html

[mary and bob]

I have a spray can of decal remover made by Zep, but never have tried it. There's also an air tool that has a wheel like a rubber eraser for removing decals, but the hair dryer is probably the best bet. Bob

[KLAUS TIEKENHEINRICH]

i used a heatgun on the high setting,and a soft scraper to remove 30 year old decals.but when they are off there there is a image of the decal area and it exposes the original gel coat.

[Thee Jimbo]

Originally Posted by KLAUS TIEKENHEINRICH

i used a heatgun on the high setting,and a soft scraper to remove 30 year old decals.but when they are off there there is a image of the decal area and it exposes the original gel coat.

I have like a raised ghost image. I plan on putting on new stickers but I'm sure what I'm putting on is not identical to the original.

Can you see the "ghosting" on this image?



also I used a heat gun (actual heat gun ) and acetone and yellow scraper on this image below and still ended up with the same ghosting....







Who has solved this. Helllllllllpppppppp!

Thx

[Thee Jimbo]

Note that second image was "before"
The acetone and heat gun!!!

[mary and bob]

That "ghosting" thing is common when decals are removed, had it all the time at the truck leasing company I worked for when trucks were de-ID'd for sale. Even a repaint sometimes won't hide it. Try a wax with a cleaner in it maybe, I don't know what rubbing compound will do, maybe try that first in a unseen location like the roof?

[Buck944]

Hi, I have erease the old strip on my trillium by using that tool. It work very well, but you will still see the ghost.

3M-7498 STRIPE WHEEL W/ARBOR - Amazon.com

The ghost is coming from the fiber under the decal that was not exposed to the element and sun.

Believe me, in a couple of day, your will barely see it...

My Unbadged and unstripped Trillium 4500 or like on the big trailer

4500 by Trillium



Regards

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by Buck944

Hi, I have erease the old strip on my trillium by using that tool. It work very well, but you will still see the ghost.

3M-7498 STRIPE WHEEL W/ARBOR - Amazon.com

The ghost is coming from the fiber under the decal that was not exposed to the element and sun.

Believe me, in a couple of day, your will barely see it...

Regards

I used that same eraser wheel to remove all the stripes and stickers on my Scamp and it worked very well, and fast. Followed with some BarKeepers Friend to clean up.

Doubt you can totally remove the difference between the gel coat protected by decals for decades and the gel coat exposed to the sun for decades. But you can use Red Max #3 or Zep wet look to make the old gel coat shine so much that people don't "see" the difference. Maybe some really mild (fine) rubbing compound and water to blend the edges a bit first would also help.

I think someone with a UHaul has a print shop source that can provide new decals. Might be Kevin or he may know the source since his decals looked so good at the Algonac Glassic Egg Scramble rally.


Kevin 86 UHaul by roger-n-cheryl, on Flickr

[Thee Jimbo]

Thanks everyone. Think I'll be getting the "eraser". I understand there will be sine color difference which I'm not as worried about, it's mire the 3D raised areas that I'm concerned with.

Bought done new stickers from scamp. I'm sure they're not 100% the same but if I can get the area smooth hopes between the stickers and give red max it will blend pretty good

Fingers crossed

[Kevin A]

Pat did a wonderful job on our UHaul decals. If you would like his email contact information, send me a PM. I don't want to put out his email address for general use without his permission.