Hey FTE,

I have a government surplus van that still has some of the decal adhesive

you can see the Engineering lettering outline here

on it and i cant remove it. I've tried carb cleaner and goo b gone. Any suggestions?

 

 

Goo B Gone or something similar will soften it enough to be scraped off with a razor, also try heating it up with a hair dryer or heat gun if you have one.. it helps. I used one of those paint scraping handles with blades available at Home Depot, much easier on the hands. My truck was owned by a glass company before I got it so both sides and the rear doors were covered with decals, took me several days to get them all off. Final cleanup with Varsol will take off everything left after the heavy scraping.

 

A decal eraser wheel may work. They usually work better when the decal is in tact, though. Using chemicals, you risk damaging the paint. I've used these mulitple times over the years and they do the best job in my opinion. I only had a problem one time where it went through the paint, because it was a poor repair and cheap paint was used. Click on the Amazon link.

 

Try Bug & Tar remover before you go to the big guns. A blow dryer will soften things without damaging the paint.

 

 

Expensive? The eraser wheel is $10. Practically everyone has a drill. I've removed lettering on several vehicles, motorcycles and personal watercraft over the years. The decal eraser is by far the fastest and easiest method.

 

You may not be able to see it in the picture posted but i believe they tried to use a sticker removal tool. there was a chunk of paint taken out of the bottom left of the engineering sticker.

So far, I have tried carb cleaner and goo be gone with a credit card to scrape away. ALL the other stickers came off and are cleaned up nicely. I don't know what they did to this sticker, but the outline that's dark is what is left and that stuff is DRY and very stubborn.

Do you think light sandpaper is a good idea?? I'll have to try the gasoline option too.

 

No.

Before sand paper, I'll try tooth paste. It is indeed a light abrasive. If you want a little bit more abrasiveness there are several grades of polishing paste.

 

3M makes a "wood grain" removal spray.Also,try soaking with WD40.With any luck,the paint underneath will not have a different shade than the original.

 

If there's a lot of adhesive left, the decal eraser tool will get the bulk of it off without hurting the paint. You do need a high speed electric drill since most cordless don't spin fast enough to make the eraser tool work (and it's really hard on a cordless to run a long time).WD-40 will make quick work of whatever gum is left.

 

Sandpaper will just get gummed up.

 

One of the services my company offers is graphics for commercial fleets. I use a variety of adhesive removers, some stronger than others, depending on the job and type of paint. You can get them from uscutter.com or signwarehouse.com or wherever. Never use razor blades on paint. In fact, if it's good paint, I'd avoid using the rubber eraser as well unless you plan to buff with compound after because it will haze the clear coat. Since you've already got the graphic itself off, you probably don't need heat. Let the adhesive remover soak for several minutes. Then use a plastic squeegee to carefully rake off the thick goop. If you keep the surface wet with the solvent the less chance of scratching the paint. Repeat the process until you can use a towel to wipe off the residue. Finish with a cleaner like Windex to remove the solvent.

 

I would think a good buffing wheel with some polishing compound would do the trick …. but then you might have to polish the rest of the van to match your new-found shine !!! :lol:

 

That's the nice thing about forums like this. You always get the usual half-baked opinions, of course, and some solid, informed opinions, and the occasional know-it-all-know-nothing opinion.

But then sometimes you get to hear from someone who really knows what he's talking about.