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I popped the broken windshield out of my truck this weekend and there is a registration decal on it that I would like to try to remove and keep... (Ultimately it would be cool to re-attach to the new glass some day....
Anyone have any ideas?
Obviously not a major issue, just a neat challenge if I can.
Thanks in advance
Depending on the thickness of the decal you could possibly use a razor blade to carefully remove it. As far as re attaching maybe the real thin two way tape would work?
Is it plastic or paper?The guys who reclaim old license plate decals use a blow-dryer or heat gun and a razor blade to gently remove the plastic stickers.The then remove the old glue,and replace it with some kind of new adhesive and new backing paper.There is a guy,BIGREDTODD who has an add for reproduction decals on page 5 of the classifieds for 48-60.He should be able to give you some tips,as he also sells reclaimed decals.Good luck,Steve.
Sticker is 30 years old (last time the truck was registered, I believe) and is probably some type of plastic. It's a county registration sticker that was put in the lower right corner of the windshield. It's on the inside of the windshield. Would I add heat from the inside, or outside? (Seems like heat from the sun would be similar to heating from the outside so that wouldn't make sense.)??
has the sun wrinkled it at all? If not, I'd say you have a chance. I'd try the heat gun from the outside first. You'd want it hot enough that you'll need an oven mitt to hold that glass, lol.
Not to chime in with something that you've probably already considered, but wouldn't you worry about cracking when you heat glass that much in one spot, or does the heat gun just not heat it rapidly enough to cause a small hotspot?
When I was a kid and had my first car 1967 Bonneville with 455,,driving around wasting gas ,defroster did not work and there was much condensation on the windshield..my friend decided to slid the inspection sticker to the top side of the windshield...I then put it back.
So I think wetting the sticker could work.
Needless to say I drove around for the rest of the years with an orange smeared shaped square for an inspection sticker. Never got pulled over...
on alot of registration stickers the have built in protetion so if you heat them up to remove them thay are destroed to prevent you from puting them on a diffrent car thay might not of done this 30 years ago but i know mo. did it 20
I have a 71 f100 from Virginia ,and the stickers are on the middle lower of windshield. I have never seen tis before. I s this the norm in Virginia? I always saw them in the drivers side corner.....till now............Bill
The key to removing old stickers, aside from using a heat gun, is to use a S-L-O-W, steady, L-I-G-H-T pull on the sticker while applying intermittent heat. Emphasis on the slow and light! Personally, after 30 years, I doubt that you will be able to remove it intact. Good luck.
I went to a friend's house, who is a plate collector-mrcman58-and watched him remove a nearly 50 year old California sticker,using only a heat gun and a brand new razor blade.It requires patience and a steady hand.Many people sell them that old and older for quite a lot of money on EBay.How they then remove the old adhesive and reapply a new coating with backing paper ,I can't say.Forgot to ask him,but I'd guess it's a trade secret.Steve.
To remove inspection stickers and put them on other vehicles (back in the day!) I used a heat gun on the outside and also soaked the sticker in WD-40. stuff peeled right off and was able to be reused.
Warning I do not recommend using a heat gun on a good window as sometimes they do crack.
Warning I do not recommend removing inspection stickers and putting them on other vehicles. This is against the law and can result in fines!