Ways to remove dealer sticker without harming the paint?

Canvasing for opinions on ways to get a *hideous* dealer sticker off without harming the paint.

Suggestions so far:

• Hair Dryer to take off sticker then wd40 to clean up the residue
• Goo gone
• Goo Off (harsher than goo gone?)

Any personal experience or other recommendations?

Paint over it. That way you are protecting the underlying paint and finish!

What car did you get?

2006 330xi, black in black out. Was down to this one or an Arctic Metallic but that one looked like it had been left alone with a toddler group for too long... still a great car and a great price, but why buy dings even if they'll fix them for you when there's a nice shinny one that was loved for basically the same price?

The stickers are really annoying. I used a hair dryer for a minute or two and the sticker peeled off easily by just grabbing the edge with my fingernail. The sticker was relatively thick and came off in one piece. There wasn't any residue left behind but I polished and waxed it anyways because it had been about a year that the sticker was on. If there is any residue left behind it will probably come off with detailing spray or a clay bar but goo gone or something similar would probably work fine. Some people use a heat gun. If it is stubborn you may need to use a plastic razor blade (be careful).

Goof off is fine on the paint. I use it to remove rubber marks and tar and have had no issues with the paint work. You could use Scratch X too for the same purpose.

Fantastic guys, much appreciated!

Originally Posted by ima747

2006 330xi, black in black out. Was down to this one or an Arctic Metallic but that one looked like it had been left alone with a toddler group for too long... still a great car and a great price, but why buy dings even if they'll fix them for you when there's a nice shinny one that was loved for basically the same price?

LOL. You should have bought my car

2006 330xi. 75k miles. Arctic Metallic, black interior. Premium, heated seats, headlight washers.

Arctic metallic is a choice color. Very very rare. I've only ever SEEN one other car BMW with that color. Depending on how you look at it there is a tiny of blue/green...almost like looking at a thick piece of ice.

How much did you pay?

Adhesive responds best to citric acid based products, although those are not great on paint.

The best chemical cleaner I've used for car paint is Klasse All-in-one, which you can get at autogeek.com and sites like that.

Claybar might also help.

Originally Posted by furby076

LOL. You should have bought my car

2006 330xi. 75k miles. Arctic Metallic, black interior. Premium, heated seats, headlight washers.

It was your car except the interior was gray and it had 1k extra miles... and had dings or scratches on every single body panel and the interior was attacked at some point by a pack of plastic loving rabid weasels judging by the wear marks... nice mechanically but that that grinding inside and out, and on the alloys, etc. just too much to be happy with.

The color is very polarizing. I liked it, my dad who was tagging along to talk the sales person to death (a pass time of his) was overwhelmed with the gray-ness of it. Definitely rare, only 1 car in that color within about 150 miles of me... just wish there was more of it still on the car

The black interior is extra nice, the wood and buttons, etc. all melt away from your field of view and you're left with the view out the window and the whole car in the palm of your hand. A perfect invitation for fun.

Total out the door $17.7k with enough short term warranty to give me some peace of mind until I go and screw something up on my own.

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

Adhesive responds best to citric acid based products, although those are not great on paint.

That's the juggle. remove goo without removing paint. thanks for the suggestions!

Originally Posted by ima747

It was your car except the interior was gray and it had 1k extra miles... and had dings or scratches on every single body panel and the interior was attacked at some point by a pack of plastic loving rabid weasels judging by the wear marks... nice mechanically but that that grinding inside and out, and on the alloys, etc. just too much to be happy with.

The color is very polarizing. I liked it, my dad who was tagging along to talk the sales person to death (a pass time of his) was overwhelmed with the gray-ness of it. Definitely rare, only 1 car in that color within about 150 miles of me... just wish there was more of it still on the car

The black interior is extra nice, the wood and buttons, etc. all melt away from your field of view and you're left with the view out the window and the whole car in the palm of your hand. A perfect invitation for fun.

Total out the door $17.7k with enough short term warranty to give me some peace of mind until I go and screw something up on my own.

Yea city parking. Mine has one door ding and about 5-6 parked car marks from people who can't park, on my front/rear bumper. Other than that no marks (in or out). Now my baby has her own private parking spot free from stupid!

Originally Posted by ima747

Canvasing for opinions on ways to get a *hideous* dealer sticker off without harming the paint.

Suggestions so far:

• Hair Dryer to take off sticker then wd40 to clean up the residue
• Goo gone
• Goo Off (harsher than goo gone?)

Any personal experience or other recommendations?

Those will all work, so if you have something already, go ahead. I assume that almost everybody has a can of WD40, although I guess a few people can't stand the stuff. You could use a plastic razor if you feel like, some people use cards, and I guess others are brave enough to use a real metal blade.

If you're looking to buy something though, I'd suggest 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover. I have not once ever used my goo gone ever since I picked this up, not a single time, and I got it on the recommendation of detailers I trust. So far the applications I have discovered just for cars (I've found other uses outside of automotive) include the removal of: stickers, tar, leftover cosmoline residue from engine bay and door hinges, and leftover wheel weight gunk post-balancing of new tires.



Our site sponsor sells it too, check out their photos in the link where they use it to debadge.
http://www.detailersdomain.com/3M-Ge...983_p_272.html

Originally Posted by Ilovemycar

3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover

That was the magic stuff I remember hearing about at some point for some reason and couldn't for the life of me think of what it was... good to know it's paint safe per your experience and word of mouth.

Originally Posted by ima747

That was the magic stuff I remember hearing about at some point for some reason and couldn't for the life of me think of what it was... good to know it's paint safe per your experience and word of mouth.

Yep. Just follow the directions, which will say something like try spraying directly into cloth, and only go for direct spray when you truly need it. Be careful with its use on plastic, as a massive direct hit could possibly discolor it a bit, ask me how I know.

Originally Posted by Ilovemycar

ask me how I know.

Been there done that. Lost a floor mat to crazy glue once... *DON'T* ask about that one...

Bring it back to the dealer and have them take it off. Here in MA they are required by law to remove it at their expense if the customer so requests, and are responsible for fixing any damage caused by removing it.

Just had my dealer markings removed as well. Dd yours say "Cox" ? Mine sure did. I took it back in and told me I can't have Cox on the back of my BMW. They sent me next door to their detailed and he came out with a bottle of adhesive remover and a straight edge and had it off within a min.

I know CA is not like MA, but maybe CT and FL are. I've been refused a request to have a sticker removed before here. Which is fine I guess, because I've seen some "dealership detailers" in action since then, and I'll just leave it at that. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, but I would now rather just do it myself just because. OP, btw I forgot to list a fifth application I found for the 3M on my car, it worked very well in removing the old adhesive when I changed out my side reflectors from orange to clear.