50 Handy Tricks

Step 12: Remove Bumperstickers and Pinstripes with Hot Air

A regular hairdryer works well for most bumperstickers.
For some pinstripes you need more heat, and a formal "hot air gun" is better.
If the bumpersticker isn't too old, the heat makes the glue soft and the decal flexible, so you can pull it off without ripping it. If your kungfu is good the glue will come off with it.
Otherwise you'll need to use laquer thinner or some other toxic laborsaving chemical to help remove it.

If the decal is very scratched or damaged by sunlight, you'll be scraping it off with a knife or razor like this gentleman at a boatyard in Richmond, California.

Comments

[technogenuis]

if you have acetone (in nail polish) that works well too since it eats plastic

[Grey_Wolfe]

"Otherwise you'll need to use laquer thinner or some other toxic laborsaving chemical to help remove it." Actually, what works great for sticker (or tape) goo/glue, is hand sanitizer. Like Purell, anything alcohol based, that say it doesn't require water.

[df00]

cost per ml hand sanitizer vs plain old methyl hydrate.

The trick with removing stuff is to match the solvent to the adhesive used.

[MT-LB]

when i was little i helped my parents peel a ton of decals off our trailer. it was actually kind of fun!

 

[pechka]

I've had good results spraying a bit of WD-40 on stickers, etc. Let it soak till it either comes off easily (or till you figure out that a given adhesive is insoluble in WD-40). Just found this site. Where've you been all of my life?