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Removing Stickers & Vinyl From a Vehicles Paintwork

Removing stickers & vinyl from a vehicles paintwork can sometimes be difficult and if it is not undertaken correctly damage can easily be inflicted.

 

The key to removing stickers & vinyl safely and successfully is to first apply heat which softens the adhesive underneath and makes the vinyl itself softer and more malleable. A hair dryer should be used instead of a heat gun as a heat gun can get too hot which could result in the paint being lifted off from the surface along with the vinyl.

 

First the edges and corners of the vinyl or sticker should be heated up. Hold the hairdryer about two inches away from the surface and keep it moving instead of holding it in one spot. Once the edges and corners have been sufficiently heated up you should be able to pull them up nice and easily. You should use something that will not scratch or damage the paintwork in any way for this, a plastic ice scraper with some tape attached to protect the paint, or a blunt knife with a micro fibre towel wrapped around it would work well.

 

Once a corner or edge has has been pulled up you should carefully continue to pull away the sticker trying to follow the shape of it to prevent it from tearing and having to reheat and start again. Depending on the size of the vinyl you may not be able to remove it all at once. In this instance you should reapply heat to the next workable area and then continue to gently pull it up off the surface of the paintwork.

 

Depending on how long stickers & vinyls have been attached, once removed they may leave a sticky adhesive residue behind. This should be removed with a designated tar & adhesive remover. It should be applied directly onto the affected area, left to soak for a short while then removed with a micro fibre towel. You may need to be repeat this process a few times if the adhesive residue is stubborn.

 

After the vinyl or stickers & adhesive residue have been removed the area should be thoroughly washed and dried to remove any product residue.

 

Depending on the colour of the vehicle and how long the stickers & vinyls have been attached they may leave a shadow effect behind which is caused by the surrounding paintwork being affected by the sun whilst the paintwork that was under the vinyl remained protected and so may appear slightly darker. You should use a polish product containing diminishing abrasives to restore the faded surrounding paintwork until the the difference cannot be seen. A wax or sealant product should then finally be used to protect the paintwork that has been worked upon.

 

Visit Car Cleaning Today & Discover How To Clean Your Car To a Professional Standard Yourself.

 

 

About the Author

Car cleaning professional & enthusiast

Making stickers

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 8:52 pm and is filed under Stickers & Decals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.