Bicycle Mechanics - How to remove clear chainstay protector strip?

My '01 Hardrock Sport has an OEM clear chainstay protector strip that by now is pretty scratched up. I'd like to remove it without harming the paint underneath and nearby. The strip is still securely stuck down -- is there any magic chemical/solvent folks would suggest to loosen the strip?

The problem is that paint can be dissolved along with the adhesive.
If I were you, I'd try a heat-gun/hair dryer to soften the glue so you can just peel it off. Worked with the decals on my '80s car. :p

Use a heat gun to remove the strip. Then use rubbing alcohol to remove the glue left over

Thanks, I'll go dig out the heat gun!

Do what the ricers do when they debadge their cars- hit it with a hair dryer, then use dental floss to get in underneath it and cut/peel it off.

Thanks, I'll go dig out the heat gun!Safer to use a hair dryer. Heat gun can really screw up the paint fast if you aren't careful.

Use a heat gun to remove the strip. Then use rubbing alcohol to remove the glue left over

Low temperature heat gun...yes. Rubbing alcohol (IPA)...no. Mineral spirits work much better on adhesives then do polar solvents. Mineral spirits are known by several names...white gas, naphtha, paint thinner, low odor paint thinner, etc. Note that paint stripper is not the same as paint thinner:eek:

Doohickie wrote:

Do what the ricers do when they debadge their cars-What the hell is a 'ricer'?

Doohickie wrote:
What the hell is a 'ricer'?

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/thumb/b/b1/Ricer.JPG/450px-Ricer.JPG



http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/attachments/mustang-lounge/26467d1176754225-i-have-located-ricer-stang-ricer-48377.jpg

:roflmao2:

Doohickie wrote:
What the hell is a 'ricer'?

I just noticed your location.:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ricer

Thanks for the education. Being an ocean away and not having been 'home' for years, one tends to fossilize when it comes to language. Here I was just calling them wankers. And there are lots of them making stupid noises.

Wow, I went through my ricer phase as a teen back in the '80s. Are there still people doing that?

Wow, I went through my ricer phase as a teen back in the '80s. Are there still people doing that?

Embarrassingly (as a society), yes.

Do what the ricers do when they debadge their cars

Hey! Some people are forced to debadge theirs cars. Apparently some American cars use less than permanently glue on vowels and I was left with a D_DGE NE_N. (And 'e's apparently aren't vowels....)

Thanks for the education. Being an ocean away and not having been 'home' for years, one tends to fossilize when it comes to language. Here I was just calling them wankers. And there are lots of them making stupid noises.

:roflmao2:

The 2 names are interchangeable!

Hey! Some people are forced to debadge theirs cars. Apparently some American cars use less than permanently glue on vowels and I was left with a D_DGE NE_N. (And 'e's apparently aren't vowels....)

When I took Driver's Education in high school, the training car was a brand-new Ford Tonino.:twitchy:
Yes, on the fender, it had individual letters affixed that spell out T-O-N-I-N-O.
And the American motor industry wondered why the Japanese got such a foothold in the market.

When I took Driver's Education in high school, the training car was a brand-new Ford Tonino.:twitchy:
Yes, on the fender, it had individual letters affixed that spell out T-O-N-I-N-O.
And the American motor industry wondered why the Japanese got such a foothold in the market.


A Ford Tonino might be a classic today. Like those messed up stamps that fetch a pretty penny.

Wow, I went through my ricer phase as a teen back in the '80s. Are there still people doing that?

Taken in 2002 in Philly. I walked by this car too many times to not take a picture to remember it.

http://home.comcast.net/~joejackson951/pictures/MVC-002F.JPG

Clear side markers? Check.
Lame foglights? Check.
Cheap paint job? Check.
Wheel "upgrade"? Check.
Illegal window tint? Check.
Weird vinyl graphics? Check.
Super spoiler? Check.
Coffee can exhaust with over spray? Check.