When at home my fiver faces due south. So my cap decals are cracked and look like ****. Putting on a new decal is going to cost big bucks with much of that being the labor to remove the old decal. This I think I can do myself. Since I'm retired time is not an issue. What I do need help on is from people who have done this before, what is an adhesive remover that actually WORKS based on your experience? Thanks in advance for your reply.

I removed and replaced my 5er decals on the front and rear last year. Started with a heat gun and plastic scraper. That worked fairly well with decals that were still semi pliable. I could get an edge lifted and with just the right amount of heat could peel off fairly large pieces. But decals that were really cracked and brittle, not so well. They would come off in very small pieces. A lot of adhesive left in both cases. Bought a 3M eraser wheel. Have a strong 3/8" corded drill. That was much easier. The decals would come off under the wheel in flakes taking a lot of the adhesive with them. I don't think a battery powered drill would work well. In both cases, I removed the left over adhesive using 3M adhesive removed. Bought a quart can at O'Reillys auto. Worked very well. I took an old towel, held it below a section of adhesive, squirted a stream of adhesive above and across that section of adhesive, let it sheet down over the adhesive, and soak into the towel. Then using the thoroughly soaked towel just wipe the adhesive away. With enough remover in the towel. the adhesive will essentially melt and soak into the towel.

Jim4929 wrote: What I do need help on is from people who have done this before, what is an adhesive remover that actually WORKS based on your experience? Thanks in advance for your reply. I just did this last week. One of the decals on the sunny parked side of the Colby T looked awful and made the whole trailer look bad to me. I ordered plastic razor blades and a large spray bottle of Goo Gone Pro. It still took some elbow grease, but together they did the job.

X2 ON the eraser wheel ,pretty easy and cheap to do,tried heat and scraper,too difficult,used goop off to remove any adhesive,have fun.

alboy wrote:X2 ON the eraser wheel ,pretty easy and cheap to do,tried heat and scraper,too difficult,used goop off to remove any adhesive,have fun.x3

I've done several trailers with new decals, I use a long handled wallpaper scraper and a can of carb cleaner, but only on fiberglass and not aluminum siding trailers. Nothing is faster or easier for residue removal

Decal Adhesive Remover | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Denny___Jami
Explorer
Jun 22, 2016
rjsurfer wrote:
Denny & Jami wrote:
rjsurfer wrote:
Denny,

I have the same thought about painting the decals. What paint are you going to use and how are you going to edge it? I'm thinking the painters blue tape won't bend enough for all the curves I have.

Thanks

Ron W.

I'm using base coat clear coat paint with a sealer underneath, I have a friend that has a body shop with his own mixing station. I bought some Scotch 233+ tape from him and it works great, good clean lines and it will bend to a point, really tight turns I'm using a 1/4" vinyl tape, I'm also using a Scotch Bright A very fine scuff pad to prep the surface between the tape. I have one color done and plan on the second color Friday.

Denny

Denny,

Thanks for the info. I don't have access to auto paint, will go with rattle can. What would be the best finish gloss, semi-gloss or flat in your opinion?

Thanks again

Ron W.

My sidewalls are still have their shine so I went with gloss, be sure to use a primer before the paint to seal off any leftover wax.

Denny
rjsurfer
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
ksbowman wrote:
I did mine with a hairdryer and a steel putty knife, being very careful using a low angle with the knife so I wouldn't gouge the glass. the plastic razor blade did little for me. Cleaned the glue with mineral spirits. Put on new decals. If using paint most definitely not flat. The higher the gloss the less the sun will break it down.

Thanks

Ron W
ksbowman
Explorer II
Jun 21, 2016
I did mine with a hairdryer and a steel putty knife, being very careful using a low angle with the knife so I wouldn't gouge the glass. the plastic razor blade did little for me. Cleaned the glue with mineral spirits. Put on new decals. If using paint most definitely not flat. The higher the gloss the less the sun will break it down.
rjsurfer
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
Denny & Jami wrote:
rjsurfer wrote:
Denny,

I have the same thought about painting the decals. What paint are you going to use and how are you going to edge it? I'm thinking the painters blue tape won't bend enough for all the curves I have.

Thanks

Ron W.

I'm using base coat clear coat paint with a sealer underneath, I have a friend that has a body shop with his own mixing station. I bought some Scotch 233+ tape from him and it works great, good clean lines and it will bend to a point, really tight turns I'm using a 1/4" vinyl tape, I'm also using a Scotch Bright A very fine scuff pad to prep the surface between the tape. I have one color done and plan on the second color Friday.

Denny

Denny,

Thanks for the info. I don't have access to auto paint, will go with rattle can. What would be the best finish gloss, semi-gloss or flat in your opinion?

Thanks again

Ron W.
Denny___Jami
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
rjsurfer wrote:
Denny,

I have the same thought about painting the decals. What paint are you going to use and how are you going to edge it? I'm thinking the painters blue tape won't bend enough for all the curves I have.

Thanks

Ron W.

I'm using base coat clear coat paint with a sealer underneath, I have a friend that has a body shop with his own mixing station. I bought some Scotch 233+ tape from him and it works great, good clean lines and it will bend to a point, really tight turns I'm using a 1/4" vinyl tape, I'm also using a Scotch Bright A very fine scuff pad to prep the surface between the tape. I have one color done and plan on the second color Friday.

Denny
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer II
Jun 21, 2016
Goo Gone and Goof Off are 2 brands of glue remover that work well.

Acetone works well also, but be careful, it can mess up the paint too. SLX denatured alchohol works, not as good as acetone, but much easier on the paint than acetone.
rjsurfer
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
Denny,

I have the same thought about painting the decals. What paint are you going to use and how are you going to edge it? I'm thinking the painters blue tape won't bend enough for all the curves I have.

Thanks

Ron W.
Denny___Jami
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
Just removed ours on the whole trailer so I can paint them back on and I used what I have always used on the glue, mineral spirits.

Denny
mobilefleet
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
I've done several trailers with new decals, I use a long handled wallpaper scraper and a can of carb cleaner, but only on fiberglass and not aluminum siding trailers. Nothing is faster or easier for residue removal
goducks10
Explorer
Jun 21, 2016
alboy wrote:
X2 ON the eraser wheel ,pretty easy and cheap to do,tried heat and scraper,too difficult,used goop off to remove any adhesive,have fun.

x3

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Decal Adhesive Remover

13 Replies

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