ABS Plastic Body Work Decal Questions

I am in the process of getting a 1997 Honda VFR750f back in shape after pitching it in November of 2012.

I finally managed to find a replacement lower for it, the same part number, and paint color, but the decal is different.

After closer inspection of it, and other Hondas that I have, it seems that the decals are just put on on top of the clear coat. I figured I would have to have it repainted.

However, I was thinking I would just remove the existing decal and then apply the correct one.

So the questions are:

1) How should I go about removing the existing decal without damaging the paint on the new piece of bodywork? I was thinking about using a heat gun on a moderate setting to warm it up and then peel it off.

2) Once I remove it, what is the best way to clean and prep the surface for the new decal without damaging the clear coating?

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

Heat gun probably your best choice.
Hopefully Badbilly will chimp in with his expertise

 

OEM tank decals are imbedded (overcoated) with clear.

If you are certain the decals you wish to remove are as described. Removal is easy..


Better a hair dryer than a heat gun to soften the adhesive IMO. Too much heat will warp the ABS fairing. Think warm.

Apply heat to one edge, keeping the hairdryer moving. Using your fingernail peel the edge of the decal (s) away, then shift the angle of the heat sorce so that most of it is on the adhesive side of the decal. Keep the heat source moving and peel that sucker off.

Any residual adhesive can be removed from either painted or painted and clearcoated substrates with paint thinner. aka mineral spirits. Do not use any of the hot solvents like lacquer thinner, acetone ect. Just my two centavos worth but the proprietary cleaners that claim to do it all are iffy.

Unless your bike has been repainted, it's unlikely the fairing parts are clearcoated. After all the residual adhesive is gone, give the part a wash with dish detergent and a good rinse this will strip the part of wax.. No other prep is necessary.

You may want to read up on how to apply large adhesive decals to curved substrates..


Back to trolling. I don't want to lose my rep..

 

I'm gonna start calling you Quick Draw McGraw.. LOL . A hair dryer is best for this type work.A Heat gun even on low is sometimes 1K watts..

Propane torches are not good either...

 

I knew you would chimp in to help :thumb:
Propane Torch would be perfect for JTC in Compton ound:

 

I may have done something wrong, but from my experience when I fixed mine its a balls-up. The decals seemed to be buried way down in the paint and I even had to use filler to get it right.

 

This not an impossibility for many reasons. Tank decals are buried under clear, your bike may have been repainted, new decals applied and clearcoated or the fairing parts clearcoated over the existing decals.

For decal removal on tanks, if the tank in in good shape to minimize the removal area, go to bare metal. Feather the edges, prime with a filler/primer sand it back, prep out the rest of the tank with the same grit paper as used on the final sanding of the filler primer and apply the new paint. Tank decals are buried for a reason. Gas will soften the adhesive on regular vinyl decals applied over paint or clear.

Automotive clears can be used over many paint substrates including lacquer, shellac, other automotive "two-pack" paints, Marine (boat) paints made for above the waterline, even standard alkyd and waterbourne housepaints. Some specialty paints as well including Zolatone and Polomyx that are multicolor emulsions. Lot of other thing too. Genuine gold and silver leaf, Dutch metal and aluminum leaf, artists oils, artists acrylics even watercolors, gouache and oil pastels.

 

Thank you to everyone for your help on this.

I'm certain that the decals are just on top of the paint/clear on the fairing, and it is just the abs fairing in my case and not the tank as well.

I have a variable heat heat gun which can generate heat at much more fine-grained temperatures than a hair dryer so I will try it first on a really low setting.

The plan is to do the extraction and clean-up on the rashed up and broken fairing I am replacing and then do it on the new piece.

So using mineral spirits won't take the paint off?

 

The heat needed to soften the adhesive ain't much. Even pouring hot water on the area works.

Paint thinner is the least expensive. The folks in UK call paint thinner "mineral spirits". The big box stores in the US sometimes have both. The mineral spirits cost more ( SOS) Just like when squid became calamari the price went up..

Alternative solvents that will not damage OEM paint or clearcoat: Cigarette lighter fluid, VM&P Naptha, barbeque starter fluid, Stoddard solvent. Alcohol will work too. Best there is rubbing alcohol. It has a water fraction and evaporates slower than solvent grade. Tequila works too. I would guess Scotch too but only wussies drink Scotch.

Hot solvents NO!! If in doubt, hot solvents smell like nail polish remover.