1980 Liquifire Project

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Great information!!! Thanks.

DA

[johnnycyclone]

We can thank the guys at Ace, they recommended it to me when I went in looking for some Goo Gone.

[Joliet Jake]

MAN O MAN
Can I relate to this post on decal removal !!!
I used to have a painter who did this for me , But unfortunately he passed away.
So I decided to get this one done myself. I have removed a lot of decals on newer machines and usually the heat gun and patience will remove the decal and some WD-40 or common cleaners would clean off the glue residue.

Not so on this 77!………

IMG_0386 (600x450).jpg (236.24 KiB) Viewed 1213 times

It took hours and hours to just peel the decals off with every square inch being razor bladed off after a good heat soaking with the heat gun.
And the worst part was yet to come …..the glue residue was like some new super composite they used on the robot from the day the earth stood still!!!…….. completely immune to everything I threw at it.
After trying
Goo gone … did not even soften at all
Goof off……like I put water on
WD-40.……Made a nice shine on the glue……didn’t phase it
Acetone……last resort ..removed some paint ..didn’t remove any of the residue
Finally I called a body shop and he said If acetone didn’t budge it you may have to blast!! Then he suggested to try Zep big orange and some plastic razor blades.
Well I sprayed it on and let it soak for 20 minutes and it turned some of the outer layer soft and I was able to scrape some of the goo off ,….not much but some!………well after about 10 applications and scrapings of a material I can only describe as industrialized horse snot. I got down to a thin enough layer I could completely soak and as long as it was wet use a scotch bright pad and while it dulled the shine I got down to smooth feeling paint surface.

In my opinion I would rather drill out three suspension cross shafts rather than remove decals off a 35 year old sled!!!

[JD600]

The way i was taught was to use the DA and 180 grit pads. Takes the decals and adhesive of in a matter of seconds. You have to block sand the entire hood anyway, and as long as you keep the DA moving, you won't do any damage to the fiberglass at all. Just my $0.02....

DE

[WinnipegStPaul9]

My painter told me if I took one more blade to a hood he'd refuse to paint for me. If you've seen my stuff you would know I do NOT want to lose my painter.

DA

[Joliet Jake]

The way i was taught was to use the DA and 180 grit pads. Takes the decals and adhesive of in a matter of seconds. You have to block sand the entire hood anyway, and as long as you keep the DA moving, you won't do any damage to the fiberglass at all. Just my $0.02....

DE

Now you tell me !!!.............

Hey ....WinnipegStPaul9.......I do need a painter .....any help?

[WinnipegStPaul9]

J.A.C. Body in Churubusco, IN. 260-693-9210.

DA

[Matt]

3M has a spray-on adhesive remover that a lot of people don't seem to know about. It it supposed to soften up the decal, and help remove the residue. 3M doesn't usually mess around.

[johnnycyclone]

3M has a spray-on adhesive remover that a lot of people don't seem to know about. It it supposed to soften up the decal, and help remove the residue. 3M doesn't usually mess around.

Good suggestion Matt. 3M makes the material for decals, so you would think they would know how to take them off. Have you ever used their product?

[S_Kyle]

Has anyone tried those rubber pinstripe removal wheels? They are supposed to take the adhesive off while leaving the paint alone.

[Matt]

3M has a spray-on adhesive remover that a lot of people don't seem to know about. It it supposed to soften up the decal, and help remove the residue. 3M doesn't usually mess around.

Good suggestion Matt. 3M makes the material for decals, so you would think they would know how to take them off. Have you ever used their product?

I've used it on newer decals, but not 30+ year old ones yet.

[nick80lf]

Matt,

What is the product number that you have used? A quick search on 3m's site turned up about 4 different proudcts from their automotive and household lines.

[427cobra]

Since you are one the topic of removing decals....

I just had the pin stripe replaced on my Trialblazer. Along with a heat gun he used a plastic/rubber razor blade. I think the plastic razor blade would work well on sleds as well. Especially when you dont want to damage the paint! He used a 3M product to remove the residue.

Ive always found that goo gone and a heat gun works great on older sleds.

[johnnycyclone]

Well, the project took a little turn yesterday, nothing serious, just changing out the tunnel we will be using. The 80 tunnel had some damage to the right foot area, which I thought would be an easy fix, not so. In order to fix it right I would have to drill out the spot welds, disassemble, straighten, and then reassemble the parts. Since I'm trying to get this one to the Toledo show in September I decided to go back to the 82 tunnel. It isn't perfect, it looks like it took some hard riding, but it is pretty straight. We have it on the stands now trying to bring back some of it's luster.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Nice polish job, what are you using?

DA