Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
3/12/24 8:31 p.m.

So, my challenge car is my daily. Being a 20 year old subaru, the paint is..... thin.

I don't want to leave them on after the challenge. So i want to make their removal easy, with the highest likelihood of no paint damage. Id use magnetic material, but everywhere the required decals will look good is plastic or aluminum. 

So, whats the deal? Or am i overthinking this? My experience is with cheap vinyl wrap and bumper stickers. 

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
3/12/24 9:41 p.m.

A fresh coat of wax goes a long way..

MrJoshua
MrJoshua UltimaDork
3/12/24 9:41 p.m.
Dusterbd13-michael said:

My experience is with cheap vinyl wrap and bumper stickers. 

Maybe that's your solution: buy some ebay vinyl and "wrap" the area that will have the sticker. The ebay vinyl on my challenge cars has come off much more easily than the stickers.

Apexcarver
Apexcarver MegaDork
3/12/24 10:16 p.m.

When you remove, use a steamer!

One of those ones that shoots a jet of steam for degreasing and cleaning. Works a treat and can't overheat the paint.

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
3/13/24 8:49 a.m.
WonkoTheSane said:

A fresh coat of wax goes a long way..

That may be the solution right there. Wax it immediately prior to applying the decals. That way they can't really stick. And then use the steam cleaner that was recommended a few posts down. I wonder if I can rent one of those?

gsettle
gsettle Reader
3/13/24 9:06 a.m.

Painters tape on car, stickers on painters tape

DeadSkunk  (Warren)
DeadSkunk (Warren) UltimaDork
3/13/24 9:16 a.m.

I removed 21 year old factory graphics by warming the car with a small ceramic heater. Worked like a charm. Did both sides in less than an hour.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/13/24 9:28 a.m.
gsettle said:

Painters tape on car, stickers on painters tape

i think that's a solid plan 

maschinenbau
maschinenbau GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
3/13/24 10:55 a.m.

Also a heat gun helps remove stickers

pimpm3 (Forum Supporter)
pimpm3 (Forum Supporter) UberDork
3/13/24 11:24 a.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
gsettle said:

Painters tape on car, stickers on painters tape

i think that's a solid plan 

This is exactly what I was thinking 

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
3/13/24 1:02 p.m.
pimpm3 (Forum Supporter) said:
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
gsettle said:

Painters tape on car, stickers on painters tape

i think that's a solid plan 

This is exactly what I was thinking 

This a far simpler and more elegant solution than i am capable of coming up with.

I love having all the adult supervision around here!!!

Bigben
Bigben HalfDork
3/16/24 5:45 p.m.

I can share horror stories pics of what happens when you leave challenge stickers on too long before trying to remove them. . . It ain't pretty. I have a 1 square foot area on one side of the car that no longer has paint. I'm going to try to cover it up with Amazon vinyl and work it into some sort of race graphic. 

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