Fuel Tank Decal Removal

[カワサキキド]

Whats the best way to remove fuel tank decals?

I took the rest of the sickers off easily with the trusty hairdrier, and I didn't even need to use the caramel wheel.

Is it posible to remove the the fuel tank decals with the hairdrier and a craft knife or would it be better just to sand through it with some 400 grit?

[thehollowmen]

the other day I used kero, a plastic spatula to lift the edges... pulled it off and then used a mixture of kero and SDA (ethanol + 17% methanol) to remove the last tacky stuff

Hope that helps

[カワサキキド]

thx, I'll give it a try,
if all else fails I can always use paint stripper to strip the whole tank.

[カワサキキド]

I lifted an edge with a craft knife and the took to it with the caramel wheel -took about 5min total - no stickey mess afterwards!

All I needed to after was give the bike a vacum and a dust to get all the rubber bits off from the caramel wheel.

(I used petrol to get rid of the stickey crap off the fairing, then wax and grease remover to get rid off the petrol!)

[thehollowmen]

good work, glad to see another method that works :-)

What exactly is a "caramel wheel"?

[カワサキキド]

It was about $24 from the local panel beating supply store, it makes enough friction to heat up the decal but not burn the paint. (smells good too)
Anyway a pictures worth...

[thehollowmen]

damn now that would be useful *grin*

Many thanks for that :-)

[カワサキキド]

np

usually when I google for an answer all I come up with is about a million people with the same question...so I thought it was a good idea to post a solution to my own question.

[Hitcher]

Use a moderate heat source -- like your wife/partner/girlfriend's hair drier. This will soften the adhesive and you can easily peel off without damaging the paint. Some transfers will delaminate during this process, so it may take a couple of goes. Residual adhesive is easily removed with kerosene and a soft cloth.