How to remove pinstripe?

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buddy01

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On my gf car the old owner tried taking off the pinstripe and stopped half way on one side. So I want to make it look better but don't know what to do. I believe it's vinyl because when you put your hands across it you can feel the strip.

I have seen people recommend 3m wheel, goo off, heat gun, etc.

What would be the best way to take it off? Steps? Also would there be any paint differences? Car is a 08 and is kept outdoors. Was also debating on doing it to my 02 truck.
 
If it's been outside then the paint will probably be darker, more of the original color of the paint since the surrounding paint has most likely faded a bit. If you can feel it, then most likely you can peel it, maybe even compound it off, but try the safest way and goo gone it and try to peel it off. I would probably just try to peel it off myself.
 
heat gun and try to peel it off. Compound it with a rotary (or a DA if you don't have a rotary) if necessary.
 
How long will you think you can tell difference in color?

So you say wipe the strip with goo gone and then try to peel it off? Do I wax/polish after? Also it's still cold here in NJ should I wait till warmer weather like summer?
 
Sorry still new, what's a DA? I have no detailing tools or product I'm still learning on how all works and what to get.
 
buddy01 said:
Sorry still new, what's a DA? I have no detailing tools or product I'm still learning on how all works and what to get.
Click to expand...

ah well, if that pinstripe is old, it might be very tough without proper tools.

A DA is a dual action polisher.

You can still try goo gone and the heat gun still though.
 
Ok, so your saying goo gone wipe on it, then with heat gun go over it and try to peel it up? Any proper tool to peel it with? And then wax after? Any good hand wax I can use till I get more knowledgable on detailing and use a porter cable (probably summer)?

Also can I do with cold weather or best not to?
 
Heat gun and pull off with your fingernail then pull slowly as you heat the strip. If it has been on a long time be patient, adhesive remover after you have off the vinyl covering.
 
heat works well on vinyl stripes, the residue can be easily removed with 3M Adhesive remover. I often use dental tape to remove emblems.
 
Ok cool! The car also has residue from when the old owner removed the GM square badge so ill use that adhesive remover there too.

What kind of hand wax can you guys recommend to do after? Also should I wait till warm weather?
 
A "cleaner wax" will do a good job for now, by hand.. Then study up here til it's warm and you know everything you need to know! :)
 
I have a decent amount of tools and I'm here in NJ also. Where are you located I might be able to lend a hand. Oh and cold isn't the word for what it is out there!!
 
Hey Buddy,

I just removed 15 year old pinstriping from my kids 4Runner. I tried heat, both a hair dryer and a professional heat gun. Neither worked to any degree that was something I could have done the entire truck. Tried soaking it in stuff, scraping, you name it. Finally I broke down and bought a rubber pinstripe removal wheel from NAPA.

They have the 3M (for $35), but also had one from Astro Pneumatic for like $15 bucks. :) Prior to that I'd managed to get one fender done and part of a door. With the wheel stuck it on a cordless drill, did the entire truck in a matter of minutes!

There will be fading, (or lack of fading) underneath where the stripe was. Depending on the paint color and age of the car, it may or may not be noticable from more than a couple feet away. Best solution afterwards would be to go to a paint & body supplier and pick up a roll of 3M pinstriping and re-do it.

If you don't want to restripe it then you probably should take a buffer (DA) and compound, then polish and seal or wax the entire car to help not just blend the off color areas but protect it after the agressive tools needed to remove the stripe.

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I've used the 3m wheel to do this a lot of times. You can also use the 3m adhesive remover after to clean up and sticky residue left behind. I just pulled some emblems of my TBSS and used this process. I went over the areas with M105 after and you can't tell there was ever anything there. You can also try megs ScratchX by hand to even out the color where the tape used to be.
 
Regarding the color difference once the stripe is removed, it wasn't that bad in my case. I took the stripes off after one year and it was pretty noticeable. One year later, I can't see it at all. Non issue at this point.
 
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