How best to remove stickers?

[Kiwi]

Over the last couple of months I've picked up a used flyscreen and 2 sidecovers - I just got the 2nd sidecover this morning. The plan is to get them all custom painted, but first of all I'll need to sand them back to the base primer/plastic. That's not a problem in itself, but I'm wondering about the stickers that Triumph put on and then clear coated over, as I can see the sanding turning into a gooey mess when I get to the adhesive. Any ideas on what's the best way to get the stickers off and the parts sanded back ready to start the paint work? :chin:

Here's a pic of what I'm starting with. I plan to end up with them wrapped in checkered flags and union jacks.

 

[B06Tang]

Some patience with a heat gun and this 3M adhesive remover has really worked well for me in the past. I would definitely use a heat gun though...these aren't that old I am assuming and I bet that the glue underneath is still intact. If you can get the glue soft again, then this adhesive remover will really do its magic. Heat is your friend!

http://3mcollision.com/products/cleaners/adhesive/3m-general-purpose-adhesive-remover-38983.html

 

[Kiwi]

I'm wondering about the clear coat that's been applied over the parts after the stickers have been put on. I can't peel the stickers off until I get through the clear coat. I guess I just sand the clear coat until I get down to the stickers, heat the stickers up, pull 'em off, and carry on sanding. That adhesive remover looks good too, I'll see if I can find some locally.

The side covers are off an '04 and an '06, I don't know how old the flyscreen is.

 

[B06Tang]

You could also apply stripper where the stickers are at...that would get through the clear to get to stickers in order to work on them

 

[Flip]

Heat gun and a fingernail worked for me. Cleaned up the residue with a bit of wd-40.

I didn't know that they were cleared over until a little too late. So now I have the outline of the stickers on my sides. Not noticable unless your a couple feet away. I'll end up repainting them one of these days...

 

[Kiwi]

I got the job done. The trick is to sand the clear coat just enough to be able to lift the sticker. I sanded the 1st one too much and went through the vinyl in places meaning there was just adhesive left in some places, and thin vinyl that kept breaking in other places. I looked for the 3M adhesive remover, but couldn't find any, so tried another brand which didn't really work, I also tried the WD40 without much success. Time and elbow grease got me there in the end though.

So a light sanding is called for followed by a hair dryer to heat the adhesive, but not too much, and then the sticker just peels away nicely taking the adhesive with it and leaving a nice clean surface. Then it was back to sanding the clear coat around where the sticker had been, to leave a nice smooth surface with no sign of the old sticker. If too much heat is used, the sticker comes away leaving the adhesive on the side cover.

Now to organise the painter. I'll put some pics on here after the repaint.

 

[B06Tang]

Looking forward what the finished product looks like!

 

[Flip]

Has anyone had any luck hitting the leftover outline with 1500-2000 grit sandpaper (wet) and then buffing?

Figured I'd try that before worrying about repainting.

-Flip

 

[fender]

Has anyone had any luck hitting the leftover outline with 1500-2000 grit sandpaper (wet) and then buffing?

Figured I'd try that before worrying about repainting.

-Flip

Not without filling the center area with clear and then sanding off the high spot. this site shows it much better than I can explain it.

 

[Kiwi]

Has anyone had any luck hitting the leftover outline with 1500-2000 grit sandpaper (wet) and then buffing?

Figured I'd try that before worrying about repainting.

-Flip

Here's where I'm at right now. The cover on the left was the 1st one I did and was sanded right through to the white plastic. The cover on the right has only had the clear coat sanded sanded back to the level of the paint that was under the sticker, but you can see the difference in colour where the clear coat stops. You can also see the same thing on the fly screen where the Triumph logo was. This has only been done with fairly course paper at this point (180 wet) and I guess it would improve with finer grits but I doubt it would go away. If you like I can try some finer stuff on it and let you know. I already have all the grades through to 2000.

 

[Kiwi]

Here's some photo's of what these are looking like at the moment. These are in progress photos from the custom painter. The pic of the sidecover on the bike is just something I photoshopped up to see what it looked like. What do you think?