Removal decals/stickers off a bike
 

Hi, I am just looking for some advice on how to remove stickers/decals that are on my motorcycle. I bought the bike used and there are a lot of ugly stickers/decals that the previous owner stuck on.
Any advice on what is the best way to remove them without leaving any residue? I've heard blow dryer, WD-40?
Thanks

i removed my factory stickers with a blow dryer

the trick is not to get it too hot, because you'll just end up melting the sticker to the panel and its a bitch to get off.

point the blower at the sticker for 20-30 seconds to heat up the sticker and just start peeling from one edge, continue to blow hot air on it as you peel, if the sticker feels very soft like taffy and feels like stretching stop blowing!

never used wd40, the blow dryer worked fine for me

use goo-be-gone from cdn. tire

thanks guys for the quick responses. I will try to blow dryer.
Does the Goo be gone stuff remove the sticker or used to make it easier to remove the sticker? or is it used to remove any residual glue after the sticker has been removed?

^ it will remove residual glue stuck on if you do it wrong

i never had to use that stuff when i took off my stickers

IMO i would stray away from goo off... i use that stuff to get dried paint off flooring... so if it can strip paint i would put it far far away from my fairings!

if u do get some residual stuff still on, use the sticker's sticky side and reapply a small bit of that sticker on the residual stuff and pull off again. it confusing to explain, but think of it as a lint roller and you're taking lint off.

if the glue is still stuck on then use wd40, it shouldn't if you do it right.

don't use wd-40. wd-40 works because it has small amount of alcohol. But it not good for the paint.

Use cleaning alcohol or break cleaner that doesn't eat into your painting to remove residue.

Somehow this doesn't make sense to me...

you say don't use wd40 because it has small amount of alcohol, but you're telling us to use cleaning alcohol and brake cleaner?:confused: both contain a shit load of alcohol...

i wouldn't use any type of alcohol, alcohol is a degreaser and it will remove the layer of wax protecting your paint and dry it out.

just use some sort of cleaner/polish meant for a bike. I use Honda Polish, and basically just soak the sticker and rub gently till the residue comes off. WD40 works wonders because its very greasy and it'll penetrate underneath the sticky bonds make it easier to wipe off.

alcohol = bad

PS - alcohol isn't listed in it's MSDS sheet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

WD 40 may not contains alcohol as you point out, but it's not ideal for cleaning 'cause it leaves residue.
I said it did because I thought it did and that little alcohol could be the reason for cleaning.

looks at the wiki you point out...

WD-40 is not an electrical contact cleaner. It leaves a sticky residue that can attract dust.
WD-40 should never be used in locks for the same reason. Locks should be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol, allowed to dry thoroughly and lubricated with dry graphite powder.

To be more specific, Isopropyl alcohol is the one you should use. Maybe not break cleaner 'cause they may be a little too strong.
Isopropyl alcohol will not leave residue, it vaporized and will not penetrate your paint (depending on %). Paint thinner is great sticker remover too, but it penetrate badly into your paint. If you ask mechanic about lube, they even prefer A non-staining and non-dripping lubricant like Jig-a-Loo Lubricant.

For Isopropyl alcohol to penetrate into paint, you have to leave the alcohol on the surface for a long period of time with sun-light shining at it. For WD-40, it's better to wash them off and wax it again, for alcohol, you can simply just wax it again.

However, I would think WD40 are called "Lubricant", for a reason.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropanol

It's up to you to believe me or not.

I've used isopropyl alcohol to remove all kinds of stuff (sticky, sharpie, greasy) from all kinds of surfaces (plastic, glass, fabric). Never used it on something like paint though.

Blow dryer is probably the best solution. If the area is flat maybe you can use some soapy water and a razor blade to cut or gently scrape the sticker away from under it? Let us know what works best.

Noizz, please check your PM inbox. Thanks.

Taking the 11 year old decals off of my bike a heat gun worked the best for the brunt of it. goo gone, wd-40 and paint thinner did nothing for getting the residue off, a very small amount of acetone took it off in basically one swipe, but only use that as a last resort, acetone melts ABS plastic (what fairings are made out of) and i imagine is tough on the paint on your bike too (though most bikes the "paint" seems to be something thats bonded right into the plastic)

I definitely don't disagree with anything you said, but you just proved my point right there.

depending on % right? thats why i wouldn't use any alcohol at all on a bike/car. i use it to clean computer parts, keyboards, mice, etc. it works wonders. it will strip the wax off your bike, and you'll have to reapply wax just to remove a sticker is what im trying to get at.

i've never used anything to remove stickers because i always peel it off 100% with the blow dryer technique. but i know that those other ways work to get that stuff off

if the stickers are newish they should come off easy, once they've been on there for 10-15 years, not so much

Well, true is, with WD-40, you still need to wash them off and wax it again.
wd-40 will collect dust.

Actually break cleaner on paint is fine. It's just you sound worry, that's why I said lower percentage for you.

They actually use 90% Isopropyl alcohol to prep the touch up area before painting new coat. check out wax/painting forum.

Wax comes off after a few days of rain as well, that doesn't stop me from riding in the rain. :p

anyway, do whatever you like. I confirmed this with my mechanical friend who's is a maintenance manager for more than 10 years because you all seem to like putting wd-40 on everything.

He told me he won't use wd-40 on paint for sure. wd-40 only on plastic without paint. But either wd-40 or alcohol it's fine. as long as it's clean off and wax on both, it's fine.

Well when i first got my bike i was cleaning the rims with brake cleaner cas all the gunk from the chain lube was so hard to get off. But then I started noticing that when I used it while the rim was already clean, the towel i used to wipe it with would turn black, my guess is that its the paint coming off. just like my fairings, i used klasse polish (red bottle) on it and my applicator pad turned red :S

honda prob used a one step paint on it. so thats why i stay away from anything that will be abrasive to my paint.

2007 cbr600rr ftw! ;)

I used WD-40 and then cleaned my tank and waxed it as a precaution

lol. you have 07 600rr as well? :thumbsup:

goo gone worked on my gas tank warning label, but not working for my other warning labels. I have 2 more to remove.

yeah in red! insuring in may so i'll see you out there

i used a hair dryer and then goo gone to get rid of the adhesive,then washed where the goo gone was used and waxed that area as it looked a bit duller than the rest of the bike and that worked perfectly.dont bother trying w/o a hairdryer though.