Remove Stickers: Easy Guide & Tips

Hi.

Would you dare to remove the "TOUR" stickers from a Golf 5 after 1.5 years (but 115,000 km)?

The car is Olympic blue...

Hi Martin,

Yes, the advertising stickers on my red A3 were definitely on for a very long time. After cleaning and polishing once, you couldn't tell at all that they had been there based on the color.

The only thing that was quite annoying was removing the stickers. Even after warming them up with a hairdryer (be careful not to use too much heat), they tended to tear into many small pieces instead of peeling off cleanly.

There's also a special sticker remover spray, but I couldn't find it anywhere, and I didn't have the patience to order it online.

Best regards, Rainer.

Rainer K. wrote:

There is also a special sticker remover spray

.
"It doesn't really do anything. It doesn't work any better than brake cleaner."

Regarding brake cleaner - I just saw a car where the owner had put a sign on the window using tape. After he removed the tape, the adhesive was left stuck on the window... Is it okay to use brake cleaner on it? Surely nothing bad can happen, right?

Greetings.

Arne wrote:

Speaking of brake cleaner - I just saw a car where the owner had put a sign on the window using tape. After he removed the tape, the adhesive was left on the window... Is it okay to use brake cleaner on it? I mean, nothing bad can happen, right? Greetings

No, nothing can happen. If there are plastic parts around the glass, especially at the bottom, you should avoid flooding the glass and instead use it sparingly.
I'm not sure about brake cleaner, but I've already spilled paintbrush cleaner into the toilet while using it on various parts. So, I would be cautious when using it on plastic.

Petroleum is also quite good for cleaning paint, but it's definitely not suitable for use on glass.

Best regards, Rainer.

Morning...

I removed that thing after about 7 years - the rest with a sticker remover. It really worked well.
After that, use a 6000 grit polishing compound (or a paint cleaner would also work), and that's it.

Thank you for the tips.

"TOUR" stickers on the C-pillar after 1.5 years are definitely different from the "Golf_CL" sticker on the tailgate of my G3 Varian after 6 years.
Because later on, the clear coat wasn't adhering properly, but was instead dull and wouldn't cooperate even after two rounds of sanding and polishing. It just left a shadow.

dieselmartin wrote:

Thank you for the tips. "TOUR" stickers on the C-pillar after 1.5 years are definitely different from the "Golf_CL" sticker on the tailgate of my G3 Varian after 6 years. Because later, the paint wasn't adhering properly, but was dull and, even after two rounds of sanding and polishing, it wouldn't cooperate. There remained a shadow.

Yes, I'm also familiar with that kind of matte finish. With the right polish, it's not a problem at all. A normal polish can't do that either, but ask a painter or, as I said, use a paint cleaner, then a microfiber cloth, and with strong pressure (the paint needs to get warm), it will be 100% gone. You can find that in a good specialist shop - they have a wide selection. ATU and similar stores don't even offer such products, and the reason for that is probably clear .

I'm familiar with brands like Festool and 3M, but there are also others like Devilgloss, etc. The budget should be around 6000-8000. You could spray paint on your hood, then sand it down with 2000 grit sandpaper, and then use polish, and nothing will be visible. Basically, all those "smart repair" companies are just taking advantage of this.

I wonder how you managed to do that. Now I understand too. X

Is RotWeiss polishing compound already a step above the ATU level?

m;

As far as I know, the finish becomes dull afterwards because the product is too abrasive. But I might be mistaken. Maybe someone else knows more. You could try using a paint cleaner; it's good stuff, but it takes a bit longer.

"Rot Weiss" polishing paste is good, but be careful, it removes a relatively large amount of material. If you rub it for too long, it will become thin.

If you then work with a finer polish, it shouldn't be a problem.

I think the "Tour" lettering shouldn't be a problem. You probably just need regular polish/paint cleaner and maybe some brake cleaner to remove the adhesive residue.

Okay, go ahead.

So far, Rot-Weiss and then Nigrin hard wax have worked quite well.

m;