Best way to remove tape without damaging paint?

S

sillystanger

New member
Well, even though I like the look, I think I'm going to remove the tape on the side of my Mustang. During the first applications of Z2 and Z5 my MF kept grabbing the letters and pulling them up (and even broke off a tiny piece) which tells me that someday this tape is going to fall apart and look like crap. So, I'm thinking it may be in my best interests to remove the tape now, while the car is only one month old, before the tape creates a permanent image on the paint. One person recommended soaking the tape in a lighter fluid type solution and just peeling it off. Anyone have any experience here or any recommendations??? Pic of the tape can be seen here in another thread (http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55502)... Thanks for any help here!
 
Heat Gun, Goof Off, Alcohol maybe. Heat gun is always the most effective for me, it also works wonders on unwanted pinstripes (If they are not painted on, lol). Heat guns are less expensive than having it proffessionally done, and are goof proof, start at low heat and gradually increase until adhesive melts off. That is how most pros do it. I love your car, celery never looked so good.



PS, if you have any problems with your emblems leaving a mark you can always have a shop paint the area. You could even paint the decal area making it look the same but wouldn't have to worry about decal failure.
 
Cool... Thanks Burlyq (for the advice and the celery compliment!)... I am definitely looking for a technique that is as goof proof as possible given my limited knowledge/experience here and the new car paint... so the heat gun sounds interesting... would I just go to the local home improvement place (Lowes) and grab a cheap heat gun? I'll do some searches on using a heat gun in this situation but should it pretty be much as simple as slowing raising the heat and peeling of the tape when it feels loose enough? I guess I should use some type of paint cleaner and clay afterwards too...
 
sillystanger- With a little help from something like 3M Adhesive Remover you might even do OK with a hair dryer. A heat gun would be better, but be careful you don't heat it up too much. But I'd certainly have some of the Adhesive Remover on hand. The solvent action will help you get the glue residue off and you don't want to have to do any scraping- that's what usually messes up the paint.



Any faint outline from the striping should polish away. Even if you have a little "ghosting", most people won't notice it and it'll go away a little more with each polishing. No real need to polish off a lot of paint all at once.
 
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