1. shut off the car battery and remove the key from the ignition – this prevents electric shock, which can be painful even when not enough to do any real damage.
2. cover surrounding surfaces with newspaper or a drop cloth to avoid permanent scratches due to scrubbing; also make sure no paint overspray will get on anything else (especially driver and passenger seats).
3. rinse the area around where you want to remove the decal with rubbing alcohol and let it dry completely before proceeding- this will help loosen up some of that glue underneath it. place some paper towels over materials that you don't want wet, such as seats or carpeting, then get out your liquid dish soap (dish
how do you remove car decals without damaging paint?
cars have a limited number of clear coats. removing a decal may remove the final coat, exposing bare paint to uv rays. the result? faded and pitted paint that takes on an aged appearance. if you're determined to remove the decal yourself, use a razor blade and put it between your thumb and forefinger to protect your hands from getting slashed while you work (okay, not really). then go at it carefully with light cross-cutting strokes–don't pull! if an edge gets caught on something underneath it like molding or glue residue…keep going; do not stop because there's no way for anything sticky to get under there after its loose. and finally dump baby shampoo in buckets
how do you remove car decals?
while various methods exist, remeasuring your car before applying decals can actually save you time and frustration.
the best way to remove these pesky stickers is by taking the sticker off with a putty knife or scraper, or by scraping away wet lamination with the edge of a spatula.
can a decal be removed?
a quality decal should be removable with the use of any standard adhesive remover, alcohol wipes or glass cleaner.
the decals are usually removed by applying an adhesive remover on a cloth to remove dirt and oils before wiping the area to which you want the decal to adhere. clean-up will probably have to be repeated until all of residue is gone, then actually pressing the new decal into place–since there's no guarantee that it won't come up again otherwise. glass cleaner may also help remove oil residue if present before reapplying the decal–but this solution may damage some surfaces so please read labels carefully first.
how do you remove a decal and reuse it?
we have yet to try it, but the usual way to remove a decal is using mild soapy water or rubbing alcohol. let wet for 10-15 seconds, then try peeling by hand–if this doesn't work, use an adhesive remover like baby oil gel or nail polish remover to dissolve the adhesive. (don't do this with contact paper though, because there's no way you're getting that off without destroying the surface!)
the back of vinyl decals are coated in a strong adhesive which can be very difficult to get off completely without damaging your surfaces. we recommend lightly rubbing dishwashing soap over the area where you want to place your vinyl sticker and letting it sit tenish minutes before scrub
