Ask Midlife Crisis
 

As the world-renowned (well .... XT660.com renowned) expert on all things sticky - could you tell me the best way to remove stickers applied by a previous owner without damaging the plastic underneath.

Not only will you be rewarded in an after-life but you would receive any stickers that can be lifted whole when we meet at the Ace for some kind of get-together on the 23rd. (BTW - what suit should I wear for the Ace - me Black Spades one or me Black Clubs one?)

Any modification you suggest will be at my own risk and/or ignored completely if it sounds daft.

I learnt this the hard way, that stuff is only good for removing nail varnish. If it's a proper vinyl sticker, go at it at the sharpest point with a finger nail until it lifts and then start pulling away (think back to your teenage years). Any sticky residue left remaining will then take several washes with warm soapy water followed by much polishing.

Sorry, there's no quick and easy trick that I know off, but then again I'm more prone to sticking them on than taking them off. You may want to consider covering the old spot with a new sticker, might I suggest

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=2609

:bling:

The Capt will tell you I sent him a �20 paypal this a.m. for a 12-pack of those glorious stickers.

Thanks.

I used a hairdryer to get me side panel stickers off, worked a treat!

heres sumthing that was posted a while back

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=1415

The best way to remove stickers it's a lot easier than you think.

Using a hair drier (I dare you to ask Alan to lend you one :D ) blow the warm air over the entire length of the sticker from side to side.... once it is warm enough, lift it from one corner and it should peel off nice and easy. :icon_thumleft:

Mine just peeled off quite easily. One of them had already disappeared without me knowing though

Oh yes but they are talking about different stickers not the original Yamaha stickers on the plastic tank panels. I think motonacio is referring to stickers that were added on by the previous owner of his new blackie XTR

Didn't find that when I looked - we should delegate one of the moderators to compile a list of all these gems!:hb:

I've got self removal ones on my XTX.

When I removed my stickers on the tank I used a heat gun and then some Auto Glym showroom shine to get the rest of the glue off.

BTW Auto Glym showroom shine is good stuff for ya plastics and wheels when used with a good quality micro fibre cloth.

I find Bucks trick with the Mr Sheen does the job for me when it comes to plastics.

Industrial heat gun is the best by far. If you have not got access to that then a hair dryer is slower but just as effective. For most peeps and for sure in your case the hair dryer will be fine. When peeling it the sticker starts to disintegrate then you need more heat to soften the adhesive on the rear of the sticker.

all of the above work well + Duraglit (metal polish wadding) will remove surplus glue.

I used Iso propanol on my tank to remove sticker sticky stuff

That sounds like the sort of stuff that wouldn't mix well with plastic??? What is it? Can you use it to remove nail varnish?

sounds like paint stripper to me!!!!

Well - I took a view that the heat gun (an old hairdryer - cue jokes about why it's not needed anymore) sounded the most plausible. It worked a treat on all bar 2 stickers advertising the same company which needed so much heat they distorted on removal and left a yucky residue.

Having recently succumbed to TV adverts for Doktor POWER from JML I had a go with that on the swing arm which looked as if the yuk had never been there - brill'. It did a fine job on the plastics as well - no abrasion and no residue after wiping off.

The sticker removal and cleaning revealed the evidence of previous stickers having been scratched off but I managed to place XT660.com stickers so that the eye is led away from the scratches. I shall try to find the same plastic polishing compound which was given to me by an American friend some years ago but is now used up.

If anyone is interested:-

toothpaste is excellent for polishing plastics, due to its mild abrasive content to clean your teeth's enamel without scratching them

So where would a gummy old man get that from? :100:

funny enough I have learnt about it in this forum, as it was posted during the war by one Buck, who knew anything and everything to do with cleaning.

Dont know wheather this is good for yamaha plastics or not but i have always been told a weee drop of petrol on a cloth and some hard rubbing always take the stickyness away from stickers. I tried it on my honda and it worked. Only thing is dont forget to wash the petrol off or it will eat the plastics or paint!!!

Petrol is good on painted tanks and metal parts but it will make the plastics dull so don't use petrol on plastic.