3M Adhesive Removal
#1
3M Adhesive Removal
Was planning on replacing some of the badging on my car and was wondering what can be used to remove any 3M adhesive that was left after removing the badging and tape attached to it. I haven't started yet, but I'm sure there will most likely be some residual adhesive. I want to make sure I do as little damage to the surface of the car as new badging will go in the same area but probably not an exact match as far as surface coverage. I doubt windex or alcohol will do it, or am I wrong?
#2
I used the 91% rubbing alcohol to remove the 3m tape left over from my stock spoiler (and there was A LOT). I did, however, see some paint on the white rag I used afterwords. But still it came out great and the paint still had it's factory gloss when I finished.
#4
Go to Home Depot and buy a bottle of "Goof Off". Its in a yellow container usually. Works great, but be sure to clean off the area after and then wax it. If the adhesive is real thick (still contains the foam, etc) then apply liberally and keep wiping at it with a cloth, it'll come completely off eventually. This stuff will take sticker residue off glass like butter also. Been using it for years, never had it damage paint...
Last edited by Mudflap; 04-27-2010 at 05:04 PM.
#6
These pinstripe removal wheels are supposed to work great on getting all the tape removed. Then you can use something like goof-off to remove any remaining adhesive.
#8
I just took off a bunch of this replacing the stock spoiler and my GT badges. No matter what you do, you will have larger chunks of the 3m tape/residue left behind in some spots.
What I did was wait for it to be at least 65-70 degrees outside. Then I used a hair dryer to heat up the areas a good bit, enough where its hot (not warm) to the touch. Then as soon as I turned the hair dryer off, I used some fishing line to "saw" between the piece and the car...trying to get under the tape as much as possible to do a decent break in bond. Then I pulled up on the piece and it came right off. If you heated it up enough and the fishing line got under the tape, it should take most of the larger tape chunks off.
After that, I used GooGone Spray Gel (should be able to find at Walmart, Home Depot, etc.) and I drenched the left over tape and residue (yes it is paint safe). After about 5-10 minutes, I took a thin rag, put it over my finger and rubbed off/scraped the tape and residue off. It will take little time, but it will come off. Then to take any left over gel and residue off I rubbed a little iso. alcohol on the area to get it clean for the next piece to bond correctly.
What I did was wait for it to be at least 65-70 degrees outside. Then I used a hair dryer to heat up the areas a good bit, enough where its hot (not warm) to the touch. Then as soon as I turned the hair dryer off, I used some fishing line to "saw" between the piece and the car...trying to get under the tape as much as possible to do a decent break in bond. Then I pulled up on the piece and it came right off. If you heated it up enough and the fishing line got under the tape, it should take most of the larger tape chunks off.
After that, I used GooGone Spray Gel (should be able to find at Walmart, Home Depot, etc.) and I drenched the left over tape and residue (yes it is paint safe). After about 5-10 minutes, I took a thin rag, put it over my finger and rubbed off/scraped the tape and residue off. It will take little time, but it will come off. Then to take any left over gel and residue off I rubbed a little iso. alcohol on the area to get it clean for the next piece to bond correctly.
#9
Get a 3M stripe removal tool such as the one up above in the link. You can use the goo gone to remove any additional film left from the wheel. I've read on these forums where people took literally hours to clean off the tape from the stock spoiler. I had mine completely gone in 3-5 Minutes not counting the trip to the parts store. You just put it in a low rpm drill or even an electric drill if it has enough power. Don't mess around with goo gone or alcohol...I can't stress this enough.
#10
Thanks all, the hair dryer and bug and tar remover did the trick and were bot already available. Most of the stuff came off with the heat and a rub of my thumb. A little adhesive was removed with a soft cloth and the remover.