Removing TRD decals from sides of bed?

[colotaco]

Anybody out there have any tricks on cleanly removing the decals from the sides of your tacoma? The left one already came off but left a residue in the shape of the decal. I want to take the other side off and clean the areas and then hopefully find something to revive my red paint job. Oxidized mess.

Thanks as always.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I used a heat gun and some goo-off type stuff to get the factory decals off of my white Tacoma. Even after that and repeated buffing you could still see a faint discoloration in just the right light, barely noticible but there none the less. I would think the discoloration would be even more noticable on the red hunce why I've left mine as is

 

[mep1811]

removing decals

Yes a heat gun and either the goop or WD40 also works for removing the residue.

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Someone (3-M?) makes decal remover...spray on and peel off. A body shop should be able to tell you where to get it, since they use it a lot.

 

[VtFly]

Hair dryer, dental floss under the sticker, goo gone, 3m buffing compound, time for the sun to do its job.

 

[southpier]

ain't cheap, but it took the stripes off my '77 F-150


http://www.shop3m.com/62466749306.h...gle&cshift_ck=1685088463cs507828390&WT.srch=1

 

[soonenough]

I was just talking about this the other day with another guy from ExPo. He said he's used the 3M Pinstripe Eraser Wheel and it worked well. It's supposedly good for removing decals and the adhesive residue left after removing badges (as well as pinstripes I'm guessing).

 

[colotaco]

Thanks one and all. I'll try easiest solution first, it's nice to have a plan B and C also.

 

[CLynn85]

I've always found heat gun (or hair dryer) first, peel, then go back and lightly wipe with goof-off to remove excess adhesive. Make sure you wax when finished. I've used this process on dozens of cars to remove stripes, decals, emblems, moldings, etc.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Wish I had a picture of this but when they changed the logos on my company van the Guy used a BIG blow torch on a 20lb tank like this. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91037
:wings:

Came off clean.

With bumper stickers on the cars I have bought used the Best thing I found it is heat it with a heat gun to get it off and most of the goo will stay with the sticker unless it is really old. I used carb cleaner to get any remaining residue off painted metal. Be careful on plastics.

 

[corax]

Heat gun is definately your friend when it comes to old vinyl and getting it off in one piece. On my '88, when I removed the 18 year old vinyl I used oven cleaner to take the old adhesive off - didn't harm the paint one bit (an old trick from a body shop friend of mine)

 

[WhereTheHellIsJames?]

I used 3M products on my 4Runner, and they worked like magic.

See this post in the '87 4Runner thread in my sig.

If you can pull the decal off, and are just left with the adhesive, then just pick up the adhesive remover- it should be available at most auto parts stores. The woodgrain and pinstripe remover, along with a plastic scraper, works well for removing the decals. If you try using heat to remove the decals before using chemicals, I'd recommend using a hair dryer over a heat gun- it's easy to get things too hot with a heat gun and damage the paint. For the oxidized paint, get some 3M polish and an afternoon, then go over the truck with a good coat of wax... then go get a massage.

 

[WhereTheHellIsJames?]

Heat gun is definately your friend when it comes to old vinyl and getting it off in one piece. On my '88, when I removed the 18 year old vinyl I used oven cleaner to take the old adhesive off - didn't harm the paint one bit (an old trick from a body shop friend of mine)

Be careful using oven cleaner... we used to use that to strip the paint off of air-cooled VW engine tin- worked really well.

 

[Steel Walrus]

go to your local auto paint supply store and ask for an eraser wheel. they are exactly what they sound like it is a 4-5 inch round eraser looking thing that hooks to your drill. this is what bodyshops use to remove stickers and pinstripe. I owned my own bodyshop and this is what I used. most recently I used it to remove the 4X4 stickers off my F150. This is not expensive and is relatively easy to use, just dont hold it it one spot for too long.

 

[kjp1969]

Plus 2 or 3 on the eraser wheel- I just used one to de-stripe the bronco. Then I buffed using some compound and it looks really good.