Posts: 840
Joined: 3/29/2011
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Any advice on the most effective/efficient way of removing swingarm stickers? I have a 1989 CR with prolink stickers on them and was wondering if there is a chemical treatment that works well to soften them and get them off? Razor blades and wire wheel ain't cuttin' it.
Thanks in advance, cheers and happy new year!
Posts: 5562
Joined: 1/31/2018
Location: Mansfield, OH USA
Heat gun and a lot of scraping with a razor.
Ive tried goo gone, carb cleaner, gas, dawn, and anything else i have i the garage. Nothing really works as fast.
Havent tried burning it off with a map gas torch tho. Maybe thats the ticket?
Posts: 2885
Joined: 12/22/2018
Location: Idaho Falls, ID USA
Heat gun/hair dryer and then...
Acetone is the organic compound with the formula (CH₃)₂CO. It is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid, and is the simplest and smallest ketone. Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically for cleaning purposes in laboratories
Non Gratum Anus Rodentum
Posts: 840
Joined: 3/29/2011
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Damnit! I don't have a heat gun or torch. Maybe I'll just pour gas on it and light it on fire!
jk
Guess I'll git'ta scraping
Posts: 1239
Joined: 7/19/2018
Location: Wildomar, CA USA
Edited Date/Time:
bonseff wrote:
Any advice on the most effective/efficient way of removing swingarm stickers? I have a 1989 CR with prolink stickers on them and was wondering if there is a chemical treatment that works well to soften them and get them off? Razor blades and wire wheel ain't cuttin' it.
Thanks in advance, cheers and happy new year!
Are you going to repaint the arm or do you want to presrve the paint on it as much as possible?
Are the decals baked on and dry?
You can try a hair blower on the high setting first if you don't have a heat gun. This will make it easier to remove decals that are just moderately baked on but if they are baked on really bad, even a heat gun might not help and if can burn the paint but if they are baked on badly you might not be able to save the paint anyway and if you don't need to save the paint, you can sand decals off if they are baked on bad enough.
Also some decal removers can help. I used on from Wallyworld on a baked on decal recently and it helped somewhat. If you want to try and preserve the paint, you can also buy a plastic scraper from most hardware stores.
Gasoline will not typically remove decals and goo fone never will, however, either will remove the glue that is left by the decal with gas working the best. WD40 or goo gone will remove light adhesives.
Posts: 3119
Joined: 8/1/2013
Location: Avondale, PA USA
Kerosene. Soak a rag in kerosene and lay it against the sticker/glue.
Heat gun 10 bucks from harbor freight. Scraper is the way to go like they use to remove inspection stickers too
Posts: 23615
Joined: 4/1/2008
Location: USA
Posts: 625
Joined: 4/23/2014
Location: Tulare, CA USA
Posts: 840
Joined: 3/29/2011
Location: Dallas, TX USA
OK, so I took my own advice and folded some paper towels over the stickers, poured gas on it, lit it on fire and hit it with a wire wheel.
Done.
Because fuck the environment, the liberal media and open borders n shit.
Posts: 1239
Joined: 7/19/2018
Location: Wildomar, CA USA
bonseff wrote:
OK, so I took my own advice and folded some paper towels over the stickers, poured gas on it, lit it on fire and hit it with a wire wheel.
Done.
Because fuck the environment, the liberal media and open borders n shit.
So I guess the answer to one of my questions is that you are not trying to save the paint, lol.
Posts: 840
Joined: 3/29/2011
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Posts: 1158
Joined: 12/27/2018
Location: NC, USA
bonseff wrote:
Damnit! I don't have a heat gun or torch. Maybe I'll just pour gas on it and light it on fire!
jk
Guess I'll git'ta scraping
Sounds like you already accomplished the mission... but for what it's worth; my heat gun is one of my most favorite and clutch tools in my garage. Where they especially kick ass is for warming up fuel lines or other hoses to make them 100x easier to remove / install. Same concept applies to grips, hell I've even used it during a tire change on a cold night.
Posts: 5562
Joined: 1/31/2018
Location: Mansfield, OH USA
bonseff wrote:
OK, so I took my own advice and folded some paper towels over the stickers, poured gas on it, lit it on fire and hit it with a wire wheel.
Done.
Because fuck the environment, the liberal media and open borders n shit.
I was totally joking about lighting it on fire but whatever LMAO
Posts: 619
Joined: 9/3/2013
Location: BFE, PW USA
Posts: 2
Joined: 9/7/2018
Location: Orrstown, PA USA
3M Adhesive remover has worked well in my experience.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-03618-Adhesive-Remover-oz/dp/B000BQYA7W
Posts: 1488
Joined: 7/31/2015
Location: Oceanside, CA USA
I just did it on an 87 CR500. Heat Gun, and some long nails to pick off the pieces of the Pro Link stickers. Once I got a rhythm it took an hour or so.
You might be able to use a hair blow dryer on hot to get it to be malleable.
Posts: 4299
Joined: 4/1/2008
Location: Edmonton, CAN
Anytime you want to get a decal off of something, or to stretch around on something it doesn't want to, heat is your friend.
Those warning decals on the fenders of new bikes? Just heat the fender up from underneath and they practically fall right off. Can't get your new graphics to lay down nicely on the exhaust side, side panel without a crease. Heat that sucker up a bit and it'll stretch out a bit and lay flat for you.
[LINK TO IMAGE]
Empty a bag of skittles into the toilet and then flush. It's like watching a five second long nascar race.
Posts: 61
Joined: 5/22/2018
Location: Henderson, NV USA
heat gun, plastic razor blade, and 3M Orange Citrus Cleaner.
It's what my old roommate that worked for a sign company used.
Posts: 2094
Joined: 8/17/2006
Location: The RTF/Amboy, WA USA
