Removing 10 year old pinstripes

[stokes]

Hey guys, just got a 97 F150 reg cab/flareside. Currently it has got some nasty pin stripes on it that I assume have been on since it was new. Now from what I have read and searched, using a hair dryer and maybe a plastic razorblade or something similar should take them off without too much trouble. The thing I am worried about is leaving ghost stripes where the pin stripes were. Do you think if I were to clean and wax the paint really well I could get rid of any posible 'ghost' stripes? I just bought some Meg's ScratchX and NXT Generation Tech wax that I was going to be using on the truck anyways. Would this stuff do the trick? Thanks.
-Mark

[sneek]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

This is what mike had to say about the "ghost" effect that decals seem to have on clear coats. I guess you should be able to reduce the look of the ghost decals but its might not be 100%...I wonder if #83 would work?

Because the car has a clear coat, any fading of color in the color coat cannot be addressed as the clear coat will prevent you from reaching it and the the color difference you're seeing is at the basecoat level.

If there are impressions in the clear coat from where the badges were you can probably improve and possibly remove these by using a product like ScratchX by hand or one of our cleaner/polishes by machine. The idea being and the goal to remove a little clear coat until you've leveled the surface in the affected area until it has a uniform appearance. Often time you cannot completely remove these impressions in the clear coat but you can improve them to the point to where you cannot see them easily with your eyes.

There's some related information in Meguiar's FAQ here,


5. Can a clear coat fade?

http://meguiars.com/faq/index.cfm?faqCat=Paint%20Questions&faqQuestionID=43&section=_43#_43

Yes and No

The word fade means to:

"Lose color or brightness gradually."

Technically speaking, since the clear coat has no color, it cannot fade or lose it's brightness (at least if we use the above definition).

It can however become dull, but that's not the same as fading and is more typically a sign of oxidation and the build up of above surface contaminants. (See in this FAQ – Can a clear coat oxidize?)

Now lets ask the above question in just a little different way.

Can the color coat below the clear coat fade?

In short, the answer is yes, however, it depends upon the environment in which the car is exposed.

A car parked inside most of its life, far away from the equator will not show much sign of fading.
A car continually parked outside in a desert region close to the equator will fade more quickly and the results will be more apparent over time because of the increased exposure to UV rays.
While these answers are technically correct, the non-technical answer to the question, "Can a clear coat fade?", is yes, but very slowly. So slowly that most people cannot perceive any visual change over the course of normal day-to-day living or during the length of the ownership of their car.

[stokes]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Thanks for the quick reply, that is kinda what I figured. I am going to try and do the tailgate first, see how that turns out. Right now I am kinda in the middle of it. I got a little bit of the pin stripes off. However they leave quite a bit of residue behind. I am using WD-40 right now to get the residue off, but that is definately not going very fast. I was wandering if Goof Off would work? Anyone used this stuff before? Thanks,
-Mark

[sneek]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

i have never used goof off before, but i think goo gone woud work to remove it! you can get some at CT.

[stokes]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

I might go and try goo gone, I do however have some of this goo gone **** at home too... don't want to damage the paint though.

[sneek]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

its called Automotive Goo Gone!

What part of Calgary are you from?

[stokes]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Right now I am down in montogomery, right off Home RD and 16th Ave. You?

[sneek]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Edgemont
Edenwold Drive to be specific

[stokes]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Ahhh, cool, I know taht area not too bad, gf's parent's live up their in the Hamptons.

[stokes]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Well the goof off seems to be doing the trick, dosn't appear to be harming the paint at all. I think I am try it some more. See how it does the rest of the tailgate.

[Totoland Mach]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

I had some chipped and cracked stripes on my wife's Pathfinder. I ended up (after much frustration) using a little steamer that my wife got from Costco. The steamer nozzle has a pinpoint nose and simply heated the stripe graphic, then held the nozzle just in front of my finger and pulled the stripe right off. Followed that with some solvent to remove the adhesive.

Totoland Mach

[sneek]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

how old was the pathfinder?

[Totoland Mach]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

how old was the pathfinder?

1996 model LE. Purchased in late 1995.

Toto

[stokes]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Did you have ghost stripes on it when you were done?

I just finished the tailgate now, and it is not too bad, i wouldn't call what I have ghost stripes. It seems that it is lighter where the pin stripes were, rather then darker. Anyone else had this before? Just seems weird to me. You would have thought it'd be the other way around.

[Totoland Mach]

Re: Removing 10 year old pinstripes

Did you have ghost stripes on it when you were done?

I just finished the tailgate now, and it is not too bad, i wouldn't call what I have ghost stripes. It seems that it is lighter where the pin stripes were, rather then darker. Anyone else had this before? Just seems weird to me. You would have thought it'd be the other way around.

Stokes: yes. You can see where the stripe was in the right light. The car is a pearl brown (Merlot I think it is called) and the area is darker in my case. I plan to replace the body stripe with an OEM one, so that will cover the shade difference. I'm going to pay someone familiar with applying graphics to do this as I don't want to mess up the graphic. The price for 1 side was $54 for the doggone stripe.

Totoland Mach