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How do I get the stripes off of my K1200?

S

SweetT

Guest
I'd like to send some spare body panels for my K1200RS in to have them repainted. Before I do that, i need to remove the "stripes" from the panels. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stripes simply decals? What's the most effective way to remove them without scraping them off (might damage the plastic panel) or leaving a lot of residue? :dunno
 
Heat gun or hair dryer?
Oven Cleaner?

The above should be tested very gingerly on a small area.

Or ... take the panel to an auto body repair shop and just ask for a couple of suggestions. They must face similar problems on a daily basis. Good luck.:type
 
If they are just decals I would use a hairdryer (or heat gun but they get MUCH hotter and could score the paint and/or melt the panel) to heat up the adhesive and then use a credit card to start to lift up the edge. Once to have enough to grab with your fingers, or pliers, put a bit of tension on it and and pull toward the rest of the stripe. Use the hairdryer to heat the area where the stripe is now separating from the panel. I used that method to remove decals from one of my other bikes. I would not use and chemical as you raise the possibility of damaging paint or panel itself.
 
A guy I worked with bought an old 240 or 300D Mercedes that had painted on stripes which he didn't like. He found this thing that looks like a big (pencil) eraser that had a shaft through it that you use in a die grinder (I don't think a drill would be enough, from what I've found looks like you need 4000 rpmish speed. Worked just great. He had to do some polishing afterwords, but when he was done, you couldn't tell there were stripes on it. Looks like it would work with tape stripes too. Here is a link, looks like an out of stock thing at this site. but just to give you an idea what it is:
http://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pinstripe-Eraser-Pad-Qty/dp/B000JPKXUI

Gilly
 
Yes, they are stickers, and they are fairly exspensive to put back on when the paint is done. I ended up using a hair dryer (heat gun got too hot), a nylon scraper and a citrus degreaser type cleaner. It took forvever! Even then I managed to dig into the paint in a few spots, but I was having the panel repaired and touched up anyway. Have fun!
 
I just removed mine on my RT for a paint job. pick at an edge with your fingernail till you get enough to get your fingers on. then keep the piece in your fingers at a 90 deg. angle to the bike and gentley pull. a hairdryer can help some. if any glue stays behind, use lighter fluid or alcohol to remove...:thumb
 
Go to your local parts store or dealer that sells automotive paint supplies. 3M sells a spray that will soften the paint, then another spray that will loosen the glue. It should not harm the original finish. If the bike is old, the glue will be real hard and the sticker brittle, if all other suggestions fail this should work, you just have to follow instructions and be very patient.
 
Oh yeah, the eraser that was mentioned before is just that. It is probably not a good idea to use on plastic panels though as it will probably develop too much heat and melt or warp them. Also, it is really for use on dry (hard), inflexible, older vinyl stickers that are applied to painted metal surfaces. At least that's what I have been told and experienced.
 
The paint will blister before that plastic will melt. It needs high rpm but just a light touch on the surface, if it's a painted stripe it'll work fine. Not sure on tape, I think it would whiz it right off, but some of the other suggestions would probably be better fro a tape stripe. Since it's a Beemer I figured it would be paint:dunno
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'll try working on it this weekend!
 
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