DIY: Safe Sticker Removal from Painted Surfaces
So, with my recently purchased EP3, I had one obstacle that needed definite attention... quickly. It was one of the reasons I was able to get the car for so cheap. The lady I bought it from, who purchased it new, had the dealer put some ridiculous looking decals down the side of the car on delivery. They were awful and she had told me that everyone who looked at the car when she was trying to sell it walked away because of them. I knew I could get them off though.
Disclaimer:
Do this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any damage to your car.
Materials:
Blow Dryer
Plastic Razor Blades (yes these are real)
A "sticky remover" like Isopropyl Alcohol or Mineral Spirits.
Patience, this the key to not scratching your paint.
Step 1: Wash your car. Or at least wash the areas where you will be working. Get the dust and dirt off, because you will be rubbing on the paint. Here is what I am working with...
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps0395efe3.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps8e409a30.jpg
WTF was she thinking!!!
Step 2: Heat the sticker with the hairdryer. I chose to use a hairdryer over a heat gun because it is much harder to damage your paint with a hairdryer. I was multitasking by leaving the hairdryer running while it was propped on the step stool. I would heat an area and then move the dryer down to the next spot while I removed the sticker in the first spot.
Position hair dryer about 10 inches away from the sticker and let it run until the sticker surface is warm. It does not need to be hot to loosen up the glue on the sticker, warm is fine and will not hurt your paint.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps45fdd88f.jpg
Take your plastic razor blade and gently start pushing it against the edge of the sticker until it starts to peel.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psbcdca477.jpg
Slowly, repeat the process of using the plastic razor on the edge of the sticker and pulling by hand. DO NOT grab and just rip it off real hard. I have seen people pull the paint off doing this... not pretty. Go real slow and pay attention, if something is starting to look wrong take your time to examine what is going on. When pulling on the sticker try and keep it perpendicular to the painted surface. I found that this leaves less sticky residue.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psdb3fdb09.jpg
You can see here, that I have removed some of the sticker and there is a witness line from wax. That easily wipes off. There is also the dreaded sticky residue that will need to be removed later.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps46997ceb.jpg
Step 3: Sticker Residue Removal. Once all the stickers have been removed you are left with the sticky residue that looks worse than the stickers. Gotta get this off. This is actually the hardest part and where being calm and taking your time will really pay off. As with using any sort of chemical or cleaner on your paint, always make sure to do a spot test first to make sure it won't hurt the paint.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps2f871d16.jpg
I have used different "sticky removers" with great results in the past. The key is to constantly use a good clean micro fiber towel. It will take several towels to do the whole job. I sprayed the sticky areas with my "sticky remover" and let it soak for a couple minutes. Then I wiped it all off. Immediately, all the wax residue was removed. Now, I work on smaller spots gently rubbing and spraying. I look at my towel often and anytime I start seeing a residue on the towel I move to a clean spot and repeat. It took me about an hour to get the sticky off of one side of the car, but there are no scratches or blemishes at all. So, don't push hard and try to always use a clean spot on the towel.
Eventually, the sticky will be all gone and will look something like this.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps6efe94ba.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psc36ca56c.jpg
Once you have repeated these steps anywhere you want to remove a sticker you will need to go to the next step.
Step 4: Wash and wax. So after rubbing all that "sticky remover" or whatever you chose to use you really need to give your car another good wash to remove any left over cleaner. Wash as you normally would then apply your wax of choice, because more than likely you removed that as well as all the sticky stuff. I waxed the whole car, but waxing the areas that had the "sticky remover" on it will also work. And, that's it. It's really not complex, but it can be intimidating.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psdc02c2bd.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps1148b01a.jpg
What was removed
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psb7775bca.jpg
