# Pinstripe Removal



## Leroy77 (Dec 11, 2004)

The adhesive factory pinstripe on my Aunt's 94 Geo Prizm is deteriorating and she has asked me if I could replace it for her. The car is in excellent condition otherwise. While I've never had to replace any of mine I'm reasonably confident in my ability to apply a new one, but I wondered if anyone had a "magic potion" to remove the adhesive with zero damage to the finish? Something that could loosen it to the point where it could be rubbed off with a towel would be ideal. It just occured to me I might as well ask for recommendations on where I might find suitable replacements. Keep in mind I'm not looking for racing stripes here. While checker and flames is very nice I don't think she'd appreciate me putting them on her car. :laugh: Anyone got something for me?


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## Mullet Man (Oct 9, 2005)

Heat gun to soften the adhesive and "Goo Gone" or rubbing alchohol. :smooch:


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## Midnight Tech (Dec 31, 2001)

Even better....3M and AES make a stripe removal wheel that will remove those stripes adhesive and all.
Have a look at it here.

I've seen it in action and it will do the job!


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

Heat gun will work, but be careful you could blister the paint. A hair dryer might be a better solution for the first timer, will not get as hot as a heat gun and almost anyone can get their hands on a spare hair dryer.

As for adhesive removal, another good item is lighter fluid like Ronson Rosonol. You can usually buy this in your local grocery or drug store. Will not hurt the paint and will get the adhesive to soften. Sometimes you can saturate the pin stripe with the lighter fluid to cause the adhesive to release, but due to the age of the car, the hair dryer might be a better solution to start with.

JamesO


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## Leroy77 (Dec 11, 2004)

Yeah. Even though the paint still looks like new, the age of the finish is one of my concerns. The last thing I wanna be looking at is a paint job that was perfect until I got my hands on it.


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

Also note if and when you remove the pin stripes, the paint underneath may not be as faded as the rest of the car. This may be cause to put some sort of pin stripe back on.

JamesO


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## Leroy77 (Dec 11, 2004)

Yup. I figured going into this that would be the case. But if I'm pleasantly surprised I might not bother replacing it. It's just a thin 2 color double line that's barely there anyway so I don't think it'll be missed.


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