[Guest]

Bought this '96 Chevy van a week or so ago. Its a conversion with a lot of decals. everything that is teal aside from the bottom spoilers is a decal. I'd like to remove them. Any advice on taking them off?. I tried using a razor and a hair dryer on a couple of spots but that would take forever plus I dont think it would come out too good. A friend told me about an attachment for a power drill that would strip the adhesive right off but is not sure what its called. Any tips?. Thanks.

 

[z06bigbird]

Couple of ways:

1. Go to local army surplus store and buy a flame thrower. Adjust nozzle down to minimum setting.

2. Go to McDonalds. Soak veh in large vat of their food. Anything will do. Be careful with milkshake, as it has more salt than other foods. Salt can scratch paint.

3. Listen so someone not as crazy.

 

[CIWS]

Large bottle of Goo-Gone ?

 

[z06bigbird]

Go to an independent body shop (mom & pop). Manager/owner will likely tell you hints on this job. I have found that the bureacracy in the chain shops will generally prevent you from getting past the receptionists. Many times, you won't get much more than the time of day at the chains.

 

[Benzilla]

Damn that's a shame, I really like how it looks now.

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

What? The decals are too gay for you?

 

[Rolex]

I'd use my fingernails to get them started, and take your sweet time peeling them so they come off in one piece. The left over sticky junk comes off with a little Turtle Wax and some elbow grease.

 

[caddycruiser]

Hmm, good question. I hate stickers, but think it looks terrific now, and all stripped will just end up like a refrigerator/cargo van with windows and nice wheels.

If you absolutely must, my only guess too is just getting it started piece by piece with a fingernail or something and just keep going, then goo-gone, polish, etc. Could be an ever so slightly different shade of white underneath because of the 11 years, as well.

 

[Guest]

What? The decals are too gay for you?

No they look ok but up close a lot of them have scratches and you can see the white paint underneath, etc. I'm not gonna go out of my way to find new ones so I figure I'll take these off and make it look more like a work van, lol.

 

[Red_October_7000]

Shit, that looks cool. If I lived in FL I'd have one of those too; I considered one ages ago when I was buying my first car, but as those are scary-bad in snow I decided against it. I'd leave it alone until I found new decals, to be honest. Up near me there's a firm called Yankee Custom that does that sort of stuff, but I don't know if they're just the northeast.

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I don't think I've ever seen a conversion van come into work without a lot of decals like that. Who was the conversion company originally? Waldoch? Explorer?


EDIT: I see the Gulf Stream logo...nevermind.

 

[gothicaleigh]

You need a vinyl eraser and a jug of RapidRemover.

Get a few plastic razor blades too (will help scrape off the vinyl without harming the paint).

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Hey, Gothicaleigh reminded me of something. Nick, why don't you buy a bunch of those Cadillacowners.com vinyls from her and cover your van with them?

You are a supporter right? :stirpot:

 

[Guest]

Hey, Gothicaleigh reminded me of something. Nick, why don't you buy a bunch of those Cadillacowners.com vinyls from her and cover your van with them?

You are a supporter right? :stirpot:

Cause its not a Caddy and I'm not a Caddy owner as of right now.

 

[Guest]

You need a vinyl eraser and a jug of RapidRemover.

Get a few plastic razor blades too (will help scrape off the vinyl without harming the paint).

That is what I think my buddy was talking about. I see if I can find one on ebay. Thanks.

 

[Night Wolf]

I would leave them on, they look good.

If you take them off, you'll probably see where they were as it would mess the paint up and/or fade it... like old cop cars with the decals removed.

Check out Vans By Drew in St. Pete... he is a really good guy and does conversion vans, I went to him because he was able to order me the new gasket and handle for my aftermarket sunroof in my Isuzu... he helped me when nobody else was willing to, and barely chraged me more then his cost too.

 

[Guest]

I would leave them on, they look good.

If you take them off, you'll probably see where they were as it would mess the paint up and/or fade it... like old cop cars with the decals removed.

Check out Vans By Drew in St. Pete... he is a really good guy and does conversion vans, I went to him because he was able to order me the new gasket and handle for my aftermarket sunroof in my Isuzu... he helped me when nobody else was willing to, and barely chraged me more then his cost too.

Hmm, maybe he can hook me up with different graphics too. Thanks Rick. I dont think I'll see where they (decals) were once removed. This van was covered (not garaged but still under a roof) and not used much by its previous owner. I buffed the hood and clayed/waxed the van when I got it and the paint isn't faded at all.

 

[Guest]

You need a vinyl eraser and a jug of RapidRemover.

Get a few plastic razor blades too (will help scrape off the vinyl without harming the paint).

Is this thing called a vinyl eraser?. Cant find it anywhere. Know where to get one?.

 

[gothicaleigh]

Is this thing called a vinyl eraser?. Cant find it anywhere. Know where to get one?.

Here's a link to that one and a few other vinyl removal tools:
http://www.signwarehouse.com/shop/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TT-VR

At $385 for the electric and air versions of the vinyl eraser, you may just want to pay a graphics or bodyshop who already has the equipment to remove them for you.

 

[dkozloski]

I removed the signage from the sides of a 7500 gallon aircraft refueling tank truck using a hair dryer. Park the thing in the sun and get it good and hot. Use the hair dryer to get it started with your fingernails or a plastic picnic knife and slowly pull. It comes right off in sheets. Try several different angles as you pull out from the surface. Your technique will be pretty refined by the time you get to the second side. Once you get started don't stop. Sometimes getting it restarted is more difficult than the original try. It's like the sticky stuff cures or something. This is not rocket science. A couple of hours of your time and you're home free.