I have a guy who bought a truck from his grandson that has American flag decals from the rear of the cab to the rear of the bed, the decals cover the entire bed with only 4 inches between stripes. He wants me to remove the decals and repair a place over one rear wheel arch. I think that there will be color difference where the decals are, can you guys give me some pointers on this? I don’t want to get into more than I can handle.
Body Decals removal
- Thread starter JC Daniel
- Start date
RenewAP
Promoted Users
If there is a color difference that won't be covered when painting the repair area, then you need to polish a section of it to see if that fixes it. If it doesn't, you will need to spray color on the whole panel. If it Does fix it, then the prep sanding for your clear should take care if it, just color blend the repair area then clear the whole panel.
It's a PITA, Period... Longer they have been on,the worse it is unless they were cheap to begin with and even those are time consuming. The adhesive is the 'problem. Trick is to use just enough heat for the whole decal to come off with the glue. Slow and steady....
Will be a difference even after a couple years.
Will be a difference even after a couple years.
metalman
Oldtimer
This is very true. One year old trucks, lettering removed, not so bad.
I have also found that if adhesive vinyl decals were applied to a truck that was 3-4 years old or longer, weathered, the adhesive gets into the pores of the oxidized paint surface, IE harder to remove. The erasers sometimes work well, caution there is if the decals were applied to a repainted (not factory) finish they could get into the repaint. Either way keep the eraser moving to avoid too much heat in any one spot.
If you go the warm and peel route and the adhesive stays behind, soaking with Naptha (or SPI 710) with soften the adhesive and it can be scaped with a plastic squeegee. As mentioned above when they are off there is usually a difference in the surfaces exposed to the weather and what was covered by the decal. If severe enough it could show through a repaint. Depends how perfect you want the results to be.
Jim C
Oldtimer
i first give the guy my hourly rate then tell him he will be paying that rate for me to peel off stickers and remove adhesive. i will never give a time estimate because it can go really easy or it could take forever. i tell them if i end up having 2 days in it then you'll be paying me a couple grand just to peel stickers. anyone i tell that to decides to peel and remove all the stickers/decals themselves then they bring me whatever it is all ready so i dont have to waste time doing nonsense.
AAE
Learner
Any phrase that has the word "just" I it, is a sign that the person doesn't understand what's involved in the job. Had one the other day that said " Just paint the door." It was a silver that ran the length of the door. I explained what was involved and they passed. Sometimes, educating them saves you a lot of trouble.