Removing decals and have shadow left behind?

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dfoxengr

New member
How do you remove the "shadow" left behind after a decal is removed? I am thinking that it needs to be polished out to level the surface but I want to check here first.



Thanks.
 
Definitely need to polish it out. Usually a 1 step polish will take care of the shadowing. But it will depend on the material your working on, how long the decals have been there, how oxidized the rest of the area is, etc. If it's fiberglass or gel coat you will have to go with a compound.
 
It might not be where the decal is that needs to be polished... it might be everything else! Either way, you definitely need to polish.
 
Not saying anything until we know what it is, car, boat?

What color, single or base clear, how old of vehicle, etc.

Grumpy
 
Was just a general question but there are two cars I'll be doing it on soon.

1) blue metalic cleared paint from 1996

2) black cleared paint from 2004
 
It's like removing the shadow after debadging..can't be done, as the base coat around the emblem is faded thus the difference in color.
 
Yup!

Blue base coats are more prone to UV damage(UV rays will penetrate the clear's UV blockers), over time, the surrounding areas of the paint/color, will be "faded" out in the blue base coat., so the base coat and clear under and the "decal" were not subjected to the UV damage.(IE-fading of the pigment of the blue base coat). Buffing and polishing do not replace the lose of pigment.

Black is another issue, and that is as always, a crap shoot.

Black pigment will vary depending on the paint manufacturer, some use more "brown", some more "orange/red", etc, in the creation of the "black",and each of these base coats, depending on the "resin" content of the base material will react differently to UV exporsure.

I know it sounds complicated and it is, sorry, just the facts.

Grumpy
 
That's fine and makes sense. Maybe you can write another post with all the main colors covered and other little factors? Sort of a guide?
 
I removed the "SLE" badges on the sides of my 10 year old Bonneville this summer. I was sick of cleaning around them. :) After a polish, there is no noticeable shadow left. The car is black.
 
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