Perhaps you have purchased a new or pre-owned car, and the dealer put advertising decals on it. Or a previous owner added some decals that had meaning to them, but not to you. Regardless of the reason, you may wish to remove these decals or badges from your vehicle. You can always bring your car to 2zero Car Studio and we can remove them, but with a little effort and some care, you can do it yourself. Caution — don’t just pick up a knife and start scraping away, you can seriously damage the car’s finish, and it’s not necessary to use a knife in this process.
Wash the car — It’s good to wash the entire car regularly, but for this process you only need to wash and dry the area around the decal to remove any dirt.
Get a heat gun or hair dryer — About one minute is all you need to heat the decal’s glue and soften it. Carefully remove the decal with a plastic putty knife. If the decal starts to tear, heat some more. You don’t want to scrape the paint, so let the heat do the work. If you use a heat gun they can create more heat than a hair dryer, so start first on lower heat until you figure out what works best.
Reach for the glue remover — Your local hardware or housewares stores will sell glue removers to get rid of the excess glue once the decal is gone. You may wish to test the glue remover on an inconspicuous part of the car to make sure it doesn’t affect the paint. Don’t use paint removers, abrasives, or harsh solvents to remove the residual glue; all can damage the paint. There are citrus-based glue removers that won’t damage paint, but check the product instructions carefully before you start.
Clean the car one more time — Wash and dry the car one more time to remove any of the glue remover. Even gentle products should not be left on the paint. Then enjoy your decal-free car.
If this is more than you want to handle, come to 2zero Car Studio and let us handle the job for you. We can also perform a full range of car detailing services to make your car look like new. Contact 2zero Car Studio and let us do the hard work to keep your car looking sharp!