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removing stickers from a frame

jdd

Maximum Pace
Hardest Crash
Jul 26, 2008
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The frame I got recently has a few stickers I'd like to remove. Two are close to the BB--vendor name and another--but one is close to a sticker I'd rather leave on (reynolds), so something very local needed there. I've googled and gotten lists of stuff (peanut butter was on one!) and have watched several youtubes.

But nothing so far about stickers on bikes.

Suggestions?
 
Depends.

Are they just applied on top of the paint / finish (ie, can you feel the edge of the sticker with you finger?) or are they put on, then the final lacquer applied over the top?
 
Applied on top, and I can feel the edge.
 
OK, well that is fine then.

Peel them off, then deal with the residue after. Depending on the type of sticker, and glue, and the amount of residue, there are a number of options to getting the gunk off.
 
Heat, a hair dryer on high or a heat gun on low will work wonders, then you don't get that residue that Owen is talking about, but they will come right off! :D
 
Hang on are you 100% postitive they are not laquered over? My Pinarello's have an ultra fine coat of laquere over the graphics so you can feel the edge but you won't be able to peal it off. If the frame is painted/coloured then those graphics you are trying to remove will be under a fine coating.
 
I second Stu's hair dryer recommendation. If there is some glue residue, nail varnish remover takes care of all kinds of stuff.
 
Along with peanut butter, nail polish remover was on the same list.

I'm leery of scraping--would prefer not to mar the paint. So was looking for something that would soak in and make them rub off without too much extra work.

I'm sure they're above any clear coat (if it even has that, it's not all that great a frame)

One is the vendor (put on late), another claims rust treatment (perhaps earlier in the process), and the puzzler is the one up top that ID's it as a 58cm frame (never seen this, like they need a hint!?!?).

**
The googling I did suggested many different things, I guess I'll start with the least caustic-sounding. I've always had weak nails, so I'd like to avoid using those to get them off.

Thanks,

John D.
 
Well, if the stickers come from different companies, it is likely that the glue is going to be a bit different.

The frame size one has always been really easy to pick off on every bike frame I have ever had that has had one on it. I think they are as much for the shop stocking them as the customer.

The vendor one will come off pretty easy too.

Just go at it!
 
A card like a credit card, maybe a membership card to some shop you don't go to anymore etc work well as a scraper, they will not damage the paint and are disposable (don't use an actual credit card ;) ) the plastic card will also bend to take a curve similar to the shape of the tube the sticker is on. Use some heat, like I said a hair dryer is great, it will NOT get hot enough to damage the paint, but it will make the sticker much more pliable and the glue will release a lot easier. It is cool out now, so if the bike is outside the sticker and the tube will be cool too. I know when I put sticker sets on dirt bikes, I'd always lay the sticker sets out in the sun for a while to warm them up, then use a hair dryer to warm up the surface the sticker was being applied to, so it will work in reverse just as well.

If you have any gunk to remove, WD40 works good, and will not damage your paint, the nail polish remover will damage some paints, but not others, depends on how your frame is finished.

Cheers!
 
Good news - Un-Do is the best self adhesive sticker remover.
Bad news - Unobtanium in Japan. (But I have some here and will bring back with me)

Falls into the same category as:

1) Pro quality CA Adhesives
2) Canned Jalapenos
3) Cheese
4) LPS Tap and Cutting fluid
5) Limes
6) Masa Harina
7) Roasted Chipotles
8) Mesquite Chips
 
Good news - Un-Do is the best self adhesive sticker remover.
Bad news - Unobtanium in Japan. (But I have some here and will bring back with me)

Falls into the same category as:

1) Pro quality CA Adhesives
2) Canned Jalapenos
3) Cheese
4) LPS Tap and Cutting fluid
5) Limes
6) Masa Harina
7) Roasted Chipotles
8) Mesquite Chips

Cheese...?

Dude I have to show you my cheese shop, just down the street near Akebono bashi :D
 
Yeah, you can get some hench cheese here, if you spend the money. Not located a really pungent Wensleydale though, if anyone can help?

Hear you on the Jalapeños though...
 
Providing photos of the bike and the stickers you wish to peel off would greatly help us in answering this question.
 
Sorry for the lack of photos, I know it would help. Let me try some of the above first, and if one of them doesn't budge, I'll post pics.

I switched computers about a month ago and the one app that doesn't work is Photoshop (so far...). Overkill, but I've used it for years, and don't really know any alternative photo-editors.

I de-authorized it on the machine I transferred everything from and perhaps shouldn't have done that--it may have come thru okay. Now, when I try to open PS, it gives me a dialog asking for deinstallation+reinstallation, but when I put the PS disc in, this machine says it's too old...
 
I know it sounds silly, but if it is a new frame, check you won`t void the warranty.
 
Hang on are you 100% postitive they are not laquered over? My Pinarello's have an ultra fine coat of laquere over the graphics so you can feel the edge but you won't be able to peal it off. If the frame is painted/coloured then those graphics you are trying to remove will be under a fine coating.

Okay, two of the three that I wanted off are gone, but FarEast--thanks for this comment. The third is suspect, possibly under a clear coat, so I've zapped an email to the folks that sold it to me to find out, and will leave it there in the meantime.

Stu--the hair dryer worked and neither of the two that came off needed much nudging. I guess I was being over-careful. And a little parts cleaner did it for the adhesive.

John D.
 
Okay, two of the three that I wanted off are gone, but FarEast--thanks for this comment. The third is suspect, possibly under a clear coat, so I've zapped an email to the folks that sold it to me to find out, and will leave it there in the meantime.

Stu--the hair dryer worked and neither of the two that came off needed much nudging. I guess I was being over-careful. And a little parts cleaner did it for the adhesive.

John D.

Good to hear John, glad I could make a useful suggestion!

When it comes to glue, most will react to heat and release, or at least soften.

Cheers!
 
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