Fairing sticker removal

Hello everyone. Removing fairing stickers from my '98. But doing it differently. I will not be using wd-40 or goobegone. My bottle of goobgone says it can damage plastic and wd-40 I cleans my chains and I dont trust it on my beautiful red paint. I will be experimenting with different things, and I will post them as I go.

 

So four hours of soaking the sticker with a damp rag does nothing but give you a really clean sticker. Even tried rubbing some lighter fluid over the sticker to remove the surface or clearcoat and then soak. Did not work. On to the next idea.

 

goo be gone sucks big time. Never had it work. I always just peel away the first outer layer with finger nail or razor blade then get the glue off with alcohol seems to work for me. but let us know what you found to work best.

 

Maybe use a heat gun (carefully)?

 

Go to your local automotive paint supply, they have 3M Decal/sticker remover that doesn't hurt the paint.

 

If it were my bike I would leave it stock looking.


"Stock is king"

 

Hey Bud,

Just run it on up here to my garage. We can peel off the upper layer with my Makita belt sander using 30 grit. Then my Bosch random orbital palm sander going through 80-12-200 and finally 400 grit should take care of the rest.

But seriously though, I agree with Flynn. For a few bucks you can have the proper stuff. Failing that, I would use not necessarily a heat gun, but a good hair dryer to soften the glue then peel it off. Be careful picking at the edges as being red, the small nail scratches will really show up. Any glue residue left over would be best removed with WD40. I would certainly us that before I used any harsh solvents or lighter fluid on my paint. After all, WD40 is oil based and it really is a very good cleaner. I used it to remove baked on pin striping frpom my burgandy truck. WOrked good. It even made the truck go faster.

 

Make sure you're not trying to remove something that is under the clearcoat.. If you need to do that, the belt sander is a great tool and some 80 grit will work really great. Blasting with slag works too as does shot peening.

If your graphics are not under the clearcoat, waft a hairdryer on a low or medium setting over the graphic. How much will depend on if you are working on the bike in Frozenass, Minnysoda or just South of the Equator. Lift an edge with a fingernail or a non-metallic tool. A good one is an "orange stick".

Pull on the graphic slowly and evenly keeping the heated air from the hair dryer on the immediate area of release. Dude..don't even think about using a heat gun!

Auto type paints are remarkably strong and durable films. Any adhesive residue can be removed with paint thinner. Lighter fluid and Charcoal starte fluids are essentially Naptha. Very close to paint thinner. Naptha can be purchased at full line paint stores as VM&P Naptha.

Hopefully, your paint has not faded and will not show a contrast between the exposed and unexposed area. Honda red is the most likely culprit for fading. Red is a "fugitive" color.

Avoid the 'citrus" base removers. In stronger solutions they are used as paint stripper. The auto store stuff is fine too but overpriced and not at all that special. PrepSol is nearly the same thing.

Do not buy that milky/cloudy paint thinner in the plastic jugs that comes from WalMart the stuff is shit..

Another method is to peel back an edger and with a small natural bristle brush apply the thinner to the area or release to soften the adhesive type vinyl.

 

IMO you are re-inventing the prayer wheel.. Why not just put your "experiment" aside and just ask how something like that is best done before you screw up your bike and have to spend a grand or more for a new paint job?

So tell us. Are you related to Crusty or Go For a Ride? Both? Eeek!

 

As was mentioned before use a heat gun. Well actually it's better to use a hair dryer because it won't melt things like a heat gun will if not used right. The heat will loosen the glue and the sticker just peels of. Factory decals on cars are removed this way. Also kerosene works well for the sticky stuff after.

Just read Randy's response. What he said, yea.

 

The hair dryer method worked great to remove the crapload of stickers that the PO had put on my VF. Terrycloth works pretty good with the WD 40 on the leftover stickum.

 

Come on guys, I would never hurt that beautiful red paint. Everything I do will be done cautiously. And no the paint has not faded a bit so there should not be an outline left behind. I only applied the lighter fluid to the sticker to try to dissolve the outer layer, did not work. I had a master sargeant in the army that took off his stickers that way and turned out fine, just not for me, doesnt sound right. I could run it up to Randy's if the mountain passes are open, hehe.
I dont like the sticker, I think the bike will look better without it, all the rest will stay, I just picture it looking better and more sleek looking without it. I will look into what flynvfr said about the 3m stuff, but for a future project.
I picked up a heat gun tonight from a friend, it has a high and low setting. I will try the low setting and be extremely careful and post how it went with pics. I would try a hairdryer, but the woman is only here on weekends, (jealous)? Thank you all very much for the suggestions, I will have pics of a beautiful red fairing soon.

 

ps. I always try to make things my own in some little way to be different. And in an unrelated topic, when I changed my sparkplugs the other week, I was surprised to find a k&n filter. I run these in all my trucks, only because I can just clean them and oil them twice a year and save money. Are there any power advantages to them in the bike? I am sure this topic has come up before, so I would rather do it this way than start a new thread. Thanks again.

 

I'd like to see a red 98 that the paint hasnt faded.....LOL

 

You will soon my friend.

 

With the heat gun...I would suggest that if you cannot put your bare hand between the heat source and the decal, then you have it too close. Back the gun away and take it slow. It is only time you are using up.

 

Having a pushpin ready for deflating bubbles helps too. Another way to know if the heat from the heat gun is too much is a test using several kernels of popcorn. (I like Orville Redenbacher's m'self or some of that mushroom popcorn that can be ordered)

 

And don't forget a sauce pan to melt the butter and a cooler for the beer. I am beginning to like the sounds of this project. Who's bringing the flix?

 

Not a clue but if you bring some water I know a dude that can change it into MD-2020 and will throw in some loaves and fishes for those who don't like popcorn in thier teeth.

Film at 11:00

 

A blow dryer always works, Heat it up for several minutes and the sticker will start to peel bit by bit. Depends how old and crumby it is. Good luck