How to remove car decals without damaging paint – different methods

Decals can really make our cars look groovy and cool. They give the car a personality and represent who you are. However, after a point, the decals can get boring and/or you might want to upgrade with better decals.

How to Remove Car Decals without Damaging Paint

The problem arises when you start considering removing the decals. What about the paint? In all likeliness, the paint will come off too and spoil your car. And, of course, we don’t want to waste a lot of money getting the car painted again, do we? Worry not. There are a few ways to remove the decals without damaging the paint, and we know what they are. Read on to find out:

Removing decals from car – vinyl

A hair dryer is all you need! Yes, your style friend can come to your rescue for removing decals too. Here’s what you should do:

• Clean the decal and the surrounding area with soapy water.
• Use the hair dryer on the decal to loosen the adhesive. Heat weakens the sticky nature of the glue, making it easy to peel the decal off. Some people may use a heat gun, but we do not recommend it because heat guns are powerful and can damage the paint, which we are trying to avoid.
• Once the sticker or decal is heated up, use a plastic card like a credit card to peel it. If you have long nails, that will work too. You may use a razor blade too, but you have to be extra careful with blades and ensure that you are only cutting through the glue and not the paint.
• After the sticker comes off, you will see residue on the car. There are many glue removal products that you could use for this. Apply some of the product on a cloth and rub the residue off.
• Now, all you have to do is to wash the area to get rid of any dirt and then wax it so that all the glue is removed and the surface is protected.

Removing decals from car – 3D with foam

If you have adorned your car with 3D stickers and are looking to get rid of it, you might want to use a fishing line. Use it like you would use a saw, and the decal will come right off. To remove the foam residue, you can use a solvent or an eraser wheel based on your preference. After that, clean it as usual and use wax to protect the surface from any damage.

Some people apply decal over decal because they fear they will damage the paint. This just makes the car highly unaesthetic. Some others use harsh chemicals or products that anyway end up damaging the paint. Trust us, the solution is quite simple here. Follow this article, and you will save your car (and yourself) from a lot of pain.

Have you used any other methods for removing decals from car that are safe and reliable? Tell us about them so that we add to our list and help our other readers.