arex

I'm working on building up a ten-year-old powdercoated MTB frame, bought used. The previous owner saw fit to apply what I think are chain-stay protectors (the tough stick-on label kind) to the seat stays...I'm guessing to protect them from something the PO was doing with the bike.

These things are really stuck on there. I've tried peeling them off, but tiny bits break loose, and I can't get a good peel started. The adhesive is stronger than the material, I think. I carefully tried a heat gun to loosen up the adhesive, but had no luck there...I didn't want to damage the powdercoating, so I probably wasn't getting it warm enough.

The stickers are not really hurting anything, but they just look kind of shabby. What are my options for removing them? I'm hoping to find a method more efficient than picking them off, speck by speck.

mixteup 

Heat is the only way I can think of - Then clean up the glue with paint thinner.
If you can't get it hot enough, I don't know what to say.

I've worked on boats a lot, and they sell these rubber wheels (To put in a drill), to remove old registration numbers, stripes, etc, and they work pretty well - They just sort of "erase" the stick on numbers.
But that's on polyester gel coat, on a fiberglass hull - I don't know about powder coat, but it might work, especially if you can compound it afterwards.

This is like the ones I've used :
https://www.amazon.com/Whizzy-Wheel-...J4TKCBEX31P2AF

Crankycrank

Slowly pour boiling water over it so it gets nice and hot and scrape off with an old credit card or plastic scraper. Powdercoatings are usually safe up to 300 deg.F. Also Odorless Mineral Spirits, Kerosene, Goof Off, WD-40, etc., all help to remove the residue.

fietsbob 

3M , the adhesive maker also makes an adhesive solvent as well ..

phughes

Heat it with a hair dryer, or carefully with a heat gun. You can also try WD-40, if you have some, instead of rushing out to buy the 3M adhesive solvent already mentioned. WD-40 will sometimes soften the adhesive enough to scrape off the sticker.

frankenmike 

WD40 and an old credit card worked on the dealer sticker on my car, when nothing else would.

Racing Dan

I just removed the stickers from my wheels. Gently peeling as much as possible, then remove glue residue with paint thinner.

sdmc530

heat and wd40 I think work the best, get it warm, and use the wd40 to get rid of the leftovers. takes time but usually gets the job done.

3alarmer

...heat gun and a plastic (not metal) scraper from Home Depot in the paint department.
Finish up with some sort of solvent like acetone, since it's powdercoat. Don't drip the acetone on anything rubber or plastic.

arex

Well, I'm impressed.

I had to get it hot enough for the sticker to discolor before the glue was soft enough to scrape off...the sticker got so soft, it still only came off a bit at a time. However, it came off a lot easier hot than cold. After some diligent scraping and reheating and scraping again, I got one of them off, and then cleaned up with paint thinner.

The powdercoat? In perfect condition...no wrinkling, gouges, or discoloration. Looks beautiful. I knew PC was durable, but as hot as I was getting it, I honestly thought it was going to get damaged.

Thanks for the advice...did the trick. Now for the other one.

BobFishell

Goo Gone. Takes off stickers and leaves paint intact. The trick is keeping it in contact with the thing you want off. Wrap the stay with a couple of layers of paper towels and soak them. Come back in 15 minutes and use a stiff nylon brush to remove the sticker.