Plainsman

Okay, seems like I have my hands in a lot these days, but learning about bikes sure has proven to be fun. With the little knowledge I have it's been nice to help friends out with the basics. To my point, I just helped a buddy buy his first road bike, a nice Trek 2300, probably a 2002 or so. Anyway, has some cosmetic dings, mostly some peeling decals.

Here is the question, how hard is it to remove those peeling decals, and how good are the vinyl die cut types you can pick up online, like ebay? I want to help him get the new ride as good as new, I'm good with the touch up paint, but I'm a little nervous about suggesting he strip the decals until I understand what the deal is - i.e., does it matter if they are under clear coat, how can I tell since they are already peeling, and how well will new surface applied decals last? New Trek decals are easy to come by and inexpensive, but I don't want to mess anything up (I will mess up my own stuff in the learning process, that's okay).

DannoXYZ 

Look and feel the edge of the sticker/decal where it meets the paint. A sharp ledge that you can catch with your fingernail means it's a sticker on top of the paint. Carefully peeling it off is typically easy. If it's decal under the clear-coat, the edge will be smooth or sloped and you can't catch a nail on it.

If it's already coming off, look at the edge between where it's already peeled off and still sticking on. Is there clearcoat coming off with it? Does it leave a depressed area where it used to be? If so, it's a decal. If not, it's a sticker.

Xylene is good for dissolving the glue and makes peeling the rest of the stickers off easy.

Panthers007

Xylene (dimethylbenzene) is available at most hardware stores under the trade-name: Xylol. Caution: Extremely flammable. Use with plenty of ventilation.

Plainsman

I never really thought about there being a distinction between decals and stickers. So is the only difference that a decal is under the clearcoat and a sticker is on top? If that is the case, is placing a sticker (by this definition) a bad thing, in other words, will it last? These are advertised as Vinyl die cut and are made to replicate the typical Trek logo and font. What do you think?

Mondoman

I always thought the difference between decals and stickers was that on the former, the adhesive was solvent-activated (usually water) and on the latter, the adhesive is pressure-activated. That's a whole different characteristic than under/over clearcoat.

Plainsman

ahh, good point. Thinking back to my youth and model building days that rings familiar. The little decals you put on had to be dipped in water and slid off the backing. Does anybody have an opion about the durability of the vinyl decals/stickers (press on) then?

keisatsu

When I had a few sponsors for my car back in my rallycross days they always sent me those vinyl stickers (pressure activated).

They worked really well on my daily driven rallycross car, so I'd imagine the vinyl ones would work well on a bicycle.

Plainsman

Thanks all!

CACycling

Make sure the surface you are applying to is really clean and dry then be very cautious to not touch the backing when you apply and, of course, get them straight the first time.