PT3BOOMER

I have that tape stripe on the bottom of the car. I know I can sand it off on the doors and rear panels...but what about the front plastic clip? I'm guessing if I use sandpaper Id end up scratching the plastic. So what should I do?

LS7Roc

Use some thinner on a rag and rub it off.

PT3BOOMER

What?!? Thinner will take it off? Will it dissolve the tape? I think the tape is original because of the cracking and peeling...so would it still be ok to sand it off on the metal parts of the car?

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

use a razor blade and goof off for the adhesive just b carful, if you sand it you will rub the adhesive on the body... and on the plastic if you are good enough with the blade you can also use it there and goof off

i doubt thinner alone will work but it might if the vinyl its old enough.

Primetime91

iTrader: (15)

Use a heat gun to remove the vinyl stripe

jb3829

iTrader: (1)

I second the heat gun method......then maybe some acetone or something for residue

mister_hudson

iTrader: (3)

Agreed! Heat gun or a very good hair dryer - any remaining residue can be rubbed off with a damp cloth or goo gon then rinse...

PT3BOOMER

Heat gun didn't work. I can't get a steady strip. It keeps breaking in pieces so I'm using a razor blade....ugh! I don't have anything else to do for the next two days so I guess I'll work on it.

Primetime91

iTrader: (15)

I'd strongly urge you to try the heat gun again... It may take a while to get the strip going, but once you do you can take it off 3" at a time every few seconds.

What I did: heat the vinyl about an inch in front of the edge you are pulling up, after a few seconds the vinyl will start to "bubble" visibly. Remove the heat, and with a small thin blade screwdriver, carefully work up the back edge. (May have to do this several times to get the whole edge peeled back)

Once you have the whole edge peeled back far enough you can grab it with your finger, apply heat in the same way as above, 1" in front of where the vinyl is still attached, until it bubbles. Then you can pull it up about 3" without any effort, once it starts getting more difficult stop and apply heat again.

I'm not sure if it's breaking because it's not heated up enough, or heated up too much, or because you don't have enough of an edge pulled up before you really try to remove it... Once you get the feel for it, it's easy

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

heat gun will not work specially if your vinyl stripe its old or faded trust me u r better off with razor blade

(its braking because its old LOOK reeeeally close and you will see small cracks on the vinyl)

The_rabbit1

once I didn't have a heat gun.. so i used a propane tank, the little ones from walmart meant for plumbing, and a cheap plastic edge scraper. On a white montero truck with the big decals on both doors and quarters. paint was still white afterwards. but I am pretty good.. (don't try this unless your pretty sure of yourself)

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

I've been doing vinyl, wood & electrical signs for almost 15 years....

The eraser wheel is an absolute life saver, for not only vinyl but the adhesive residue left behind, after removing things like door body moldings, like on the C/K series trucks.

Pick one up at your local body shop supply place. This may even include Pep Boys, etc, but I've never seen one at a auto parts store, despite their body filler/pint section they do have.

PT3BOOMER

I did the bumper and passenger side....mainly with acetone and a razor scaper. I sanded through the residue i left behind after I scraped all I could off. I used 60 grit then 320 and finally 1000.....I was amazed at myself after I finished the bumper, I primed it and it looked like a new bumper. Now I have to get those rust holes in the bottom edge of the door then I can prime the rest of the car...yay!!!!