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decal removal

mikie2084

NAXJA Forum User
Location
virginia
I want to remove the front fender decals on my xj, but I know that It will be noticeable afterwards. The decals are kind of purple in color and say sport (You guys probably knew that). My xj is a black 98, if any of you guys have removed them can you post an after picture?
 
The best way is to use a heat gun on low, or even a hair dryer on high. Don't get too close to the paint, though.
When it's all gone, use "Goo Gone" to remove any traces of the sticker. (avail at your local Mall Wart)
After a few washes and waxes, I bet you'll never even see it was there.
Try it on one of those underhood stickers first, like the stupid "caution" stix, tellign you to stay away from the fan.
I removed an entire set of sun-baked, 20-year-old stix and stripes from my old camper using a heat gun. They can be dangerous, though. Very hot on the paint if not careful. Had a couple spots where it "buckled" the aluminum skin. Looked SOOO much better, though.
No pix, however.
Greg
 
I think i can apply this to my question. I have a 95 sport and it has that stupid Rubber molding/trim that runs along the lower part of the body. Its starting to come off in some sections and i am wondering what is the best way to "help" it? the part the confuses me is that it looks like it is attached to a sticker type material on the top part. I will take a pic and post to help if anyone is confused.:rolleyes: has anyone taken that off before? or should it stay?
 
The only molding like that I removed came off with granite assistance, but I know the gooey stuff you're talking about. At the time, someone mentioned a 3M Automobile adhesive (double-stick tape) but I didn't look into it too much.

When removing the stickers, park out in the sun all day as well to warm up the stickers nicely. You can also use some WD40 and a plastic scraper to get under a corner and peel them
 
I second the use of a heat gun. If you can, find one with different nozzle attachments, the small one works best. Stick with the low setting. I tried 3M adhesive and decal remover along with a product called Sticker Shock and they were not very effective IMO. My 94 had the side molding with the red stripe, it was also falling off so I just grabbed one end and pulled. They came off suprisingly easy. The black trim sticker underneath took about 45 min with the heat gun. Using a plastic scraper heat one end and gently lift it up. Don't leave the heat gun on the sticker too long, or it will just melt. I slowly passed the gun over the stripe and pulled as I went along. I got the whole stripe off 2 doors in one piece. If you get it just right it will even take most of the adhesive with it, but Goo Gone works great for the rest. It will probably take alot of shop towels but it will work. Also be careful when you get to the stripe on the rear quarter panel. You will have to trim out the area by the fender flare if you want it to match the black painted area on the lower doors. Or deal with the inch or so of your color paint down there. I had planned on replacing the side molding with that of a 96 or newer but I ended up liking the look the way it was. Although Chrysler's masking job between the red and black areas is a little sloppy. Here's a link to some photos(hopefully, never tried this before.)
http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=90597737
 
Hey, that works. I was worried about it too, but I think it turned out ok. Took the better part of a day though. I would have taken pics of the other side, but the paint line is misleading. I just had the rear door and front quarter repainted due to vandalism. It's a sharper line now, but you can feel it versus the factory line is smooth. Visually though you can't tell.
 
I used a heat gun and plastic scraper to take the pinstripe off my 96 recently. Then I used goo gone and a towel to get the rest of the adhesive off. You would never eve know it was there.
 
my 97 had sport stickers and a pinstripe on it, after being in the sun for a bit, they peeled off easily. they left some adhesive behind, but it wiped right off with the 3m adhesive remover and a rag. be careful when using this, just wipe, don't scrub. the only problem i had was with the larger areas under the sport sticker that left large patches of adhesive. i found that if i wiped it lightly with lots of adhesive remover, it would get rubbery enough to roll off the paint with my finger. after a wash/wax job, you'd never know they were there.
 
Let mine sit in the sun for a couple of hours. Used plastic scraper and the entire pin-stripe decal came right off. No probs.
 
Pressure Washer...believe it or not! Car in hot sun and got distracted by something on the street...looked over and half that decal was gone. I had been holding the nozzle in roughly the same spot for about a minute and there it was in tiny pieces flaking off...took about 2 more minutes to get the rest of it off.
 
I have had good results using ordinary rubbing alcohol like for your cut knuckles.... soak the adhesive with the alcohol on a cotton ball and rub right off.... works quick! no problems with the finish afterwards or much elbow grease either.
 
If you know someone who builds radio-controlled model airplanes, they probably have a heat gun for shrinking the covering. Those guns are just the right temperature for this kind of work. Also available at any hobby store for around $20.
 
I took my purple stickers off, they are just about the ugulist things in the world, i used a heat gun, don't get it too close for too long, and some high strength sticky remover stuff from my job as a detailer, and you can't even tell it was there.
 
The guy that did my paint job used some kind of buffing wheel that didn't scratch the paint, but cleanly removed the pinstripes and "Limited" stickers from mine. For the moldings you could do the same thing that the ricers do to shave the emblems. Heat it up and use fishing line to cut the adhesive on the back. My moldings mostly fell off on their own, so I wouldn't think it would take too much to get yours off.
 
That buffing wheel is called an "Eraser" made by 3m if you go to an auto body supply store they will have them. They work greatl
 
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