Tips for Safely and Effectively Removing Car Decals

Vinyl car decals are an essential advertising medium for commercial trucks, semis, and vans. Businesses can print their contacts on vinyl decals for potential clients along the streets and highways. The best part is that vinyl decals are easy to apply as long as you follow the steps carefully. However, car decals can fade or tear over time, warranting replacements. Unfortunately, most people struggle to remove old or worn-out decals and damage their vehicle's glass or paint job. This article highlights tips for removing decals without damaging your car.

Wash the Decal Area -- Decals that have stayed on a car's body for a long time can be stubborn to remove. Thus, it can be tempting to resort to brute force or a sharp tool to peel off the decal. As tempting as it seems, you must avoid all temptations to forcefully peel off stubborn decals, especially on the painted sections. The first thing you should do is wash a car with warm water since it loosens the adhesive beneath. Consequently, it makes peeling of a decal easy regardless of how big or small it is. Besides, cleaning the area around a decal removes debris that might scratch a car during the removal process.

Warm Decal with Heat Gun -- Although warm water helps loosen the adhesive in decals, it is not as effective as a heat gun. Therefore, aim a heat gun at the point where you want to start peeling a car decal and work your way in any direction you choose. A heat gun melts the adhesive behind a decal and releases its grip on a car's body. When used correctly, a heat gun makes pulling a car decal easy. However, it is critical to maintain a safe distance between a heat gun and a decal since you risk damaging the paintwork. You can use a hairdryer if you are unsure about using a heat gun since the former is less powerful.

Scrape a Decal -- Once you have adequately heated a decal, it is time to peel it off. While you can use your fingernails, it is advisable to use a plastic card. First, find an edge and scrape it using the plastic card. Next, hold the plastic card at an angle under the decal and keep scraping in all directions. Notably, you might have difficulty peeling off big decals since some heated sections will have cooled. Thus, you can use a hairdryer again to heat the adhesive and resume scraping using a plastic card. Once you have peeled an entire sticker, clean your car's body to remove grit and glue residue before preparing it for a new car decal.