Removing Bicycle Decals
Does anyone know of a good way to remove the decals from a bicycle, specifically a Mongoose Montana?
On the Interweb, a lot of people say you can, but just as many others say that doing so will ruin the paint and mess up the clearcoat that is applied over the decals.
Is there a way to tell if my bike has a clearcoat above the decals? If I can remove them, would heating them with a hairdryer aid the removal process? And the sticky residue - what's the best thing to get rid of it? Lighter fluid?
Thanks!
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Jul 19, 2010. 8:10 PMpacific3.1man
says:
I want to remove the decals off of my pacific fast and easy, going to repaint it this winter if ican.
May 14, 2009. 10:05 PMGeorge76
says:
Hey just few days back, I came across one website http://www.decalstickerremover.com that provides decal remover tool. I had gone through the reviews of that product and many of the peoples had found it quite useful. I can certainly recommend you to check that product, may be it will help you to remove decals from your bicycle.
Dec 3, 2008. 6:25 PMchrisman27
says:
Hey hows it going. I am a auto detailer i will tell you the best way to do it is A: heat gun 19.99 at walmart heat the decal a little it does not take much then follow up with a plastic razor blade. Yes they make plastic razor blades. A few bucks a bag at autozone or something. If you want to be super careful B: Get a wheel eraser under 10.00 at napa i think is where i got mine you need a drill for it. it just is a circular eraser with a stem that you insert into a drill. spin it with the drill its as simple as erasing pencil. I like B myself. It's up to you.
Oct 28, 2008. 10:38 AMLump_Beefbroth
says:
I used a blowtorch to loosen up the decals on my new frame, then wiped off the mess with a little paint thinner.
Feb 10, 2008. 10:18 PMAustringer
says:
My dad bought a pickup truck (Carter was president maybe - or maybe it was Ford) that had been owned by a home improvement contractor and had giant stickers for this business on its doors. He was told you could get them off with oven cleaner and it worked just fine. Stickers gone, truck still painted. That was several decades ago and the formulation for your paint and every oven cleaner now available may have changed, so if you try this, start somewhere you'll never see, like remove the kick stand and see if it takes the paint off the bit that it bolts to.
Oct 12, 2008. 10:17 PMextremegtafan
says:
But if it takes the paint off there, then in 20-30 years he won't have a kickstand anymore. Rust.
Feb 10, 2008. 4:43 PMBran (author)
says:
So, when removing paint, will the fluid do it all, or will I need to sand, also?
I don't know about your situation, I just know it works on car paint.
. Close examination of the edges of the decals should tell you if they have been clear-coated. A magnifying glass may be required. . If there is no clear-coat over the decals then you have several options: 1) Apply heat (hair dryer, IR lamp, propane torch) and gently scrape off. Remove any residue with WD-40, lighter fluid, glass cleaner, &c (fine steel wool, if needed). 2) Very carefully sand them off with fine sandpaper, steel wool, abrasive pad, &c. 3) Saturate with WD-40, lighter fluid, glass cleaner, &c and scrape off. . . If the decals have been clear-coated, you'll have to remove/replace the clear-coat. No way around it. :(
Feb 10, 2008. 5:07 PMBran (author)
says:
By remove the clearcoat, you mean sand or blast the entire bike?
. Either. If you think you can patch the clearcoat, that would be easier than having to shoot the whole bike. A patch job is probably not something you want to tackle if you haven't done any spray painting. Not that difficult, but it takes a little practice. . I wouldn't recommend blasting - too hard to control how much material is removed. And sanding the whole frame would be quite a chore. . Same procedure(s) as on a car. Check out some of the automotive repair and/or classic car restoration sites. . If you have no experience with spray painting, so that you can patch the clearcoat, I'd say leave them alone. Hopefully, they are on top of the clearcoat, so you can peel them off.
Feb 10, 2008. 5:55 PMBran (author)
says:
I'm fairly good with spray paint. Would patching the clearcoat entail masking out the surrounding area?
. You will need to prep the area (good sanding with the proper grit), shoot some new clearcoat, then sand and polish it smooth. I guess, if you are real careful, masking wouldn't be absolutely necessary, but it will limit the area you have to sand/polish.
Feb 10, 2008. 5:30 PMledzep567
says:
im thinking get a double edge razor(the really thin, really sharp ones) and two small pliers. clamp in pliers on each dull end and bend razor to the curve of the tube and scrape.
Feb 10, 2008. 4:11 PMBran (author)
says:
Thanks, I'll be sure to remember that! The color scheme my bike has is black, blue, white, and aluminum. Sadly, the decals cover up where the black paint and the aluminum come together, so I'll probably just sand all the paint off and add a clear coat, so I have a plain aluminum bike. (*stops rambling*)
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