Removing side decals from a defender

[fin56]

Hi all,

The paintwork on my 95 defender wagon is looking a bit shabby, so I thought I would give it a nice cut and polish. To do that job properly, I need to remove the side decals. (which are also looking very faded and sad, so I will either put new ones on or just leave it with no decals) Does anyone know a good way to remove the decals without damaging the paintwork? Is there a particular solvent I should use to soften the adhesive that won't attack the paint? Or is there another way to remove them? The old decals seem to be very well stuck on and quite brittle also. Any ideas would be gratefully received!

Cheers,
Craig

[incisor]

seen it done with a hair dryer and then eucalyptus oil to clean up.

no doubt there are other ways as well.

[juddy]

Yep hair dryer will do the trick, as will accetone to get the glue off, then a good compond polish will help to buff up the lines..

[fin56]

Yep hair dryer will do the trick, as will accetone to get the glue off, then a good compond polish will help to buff up the lines..

Thanks to juddy and incisor. I will dig out the hair dryer this weekend and give it a go. :)

Cheers,
Craig

[haggisbasher]

Fin

Did the same to mine but not cut it back yet. I didn't use the hairdryer but believe it is an effective way. I peeled them off VERY carefully and used elbow grease to get the glue off. Patience is your friend.

Where abouts are you in Melb?

Chris

[Michael2]

I've spoken to a decal / sticker sign writer who had a whole fleet of cars with old decals to remove. He had good success using an electric kettle to steam them off.

Just watch you don't get steam burns.

[diso]

Gday, try a caramel wheel (pin stripe removing wheel) from an auto paint supply.

[Brid]

I've used a heat gun to get them off (with care) & was pretty efficient & reasonably quick. I cleaned up with petrol...thought it might be a bit kinder on paint than acetone or thinners.

[VladTepes]

I tried the eucalyptus thing.. don;t bother.


I got the decals off my 130 as follows:


1. Roll vehicle.
2. Repairer has to put new panels down one side.
3. Repairer says he can't get decal to match other side, so do I want both removed, or replaced with newer ones.
4, I opted to have them remove the other one as well.

Job done. Easy.

[Ranga]

I tried the eucalyptus thing.. don;t bother.


I got the decals off my 130 as follows:


1. Roll vehicle.
2. Repairer has to put new panels down one side.
3. Repairer says he can't get decal to match other side, so do I want both removed, or replaced with newer ones.
4, I opted to have them remove the other one as well.

Job done. Easy.
I notice some cheaper ones for sale on ebay at the moment, if you're looking to put them back on

[VladTepes]

No I prefer them gone.