Removing decals from titanium frame.
 

Any trick to remove decals from titanium frames?
Brushed or satin titanium finish, huge decals that are just annoying..
Acetone? nail polish? Dremel tool? what works without damaging the frame finish?

Have you tried your hair dryer?

Yes, but result is no removal, these decals are not the kind with thick glue layer under the decals.. not sure what the deal is.

What I use for removing stickers from (collectible) books is lighter fluid (Naptha). I use it because you can soak the book in it, and it wont leave residue or damage the book (don't use around open flame!!!). It softens the glue.

But some stronger stuff is Goo Gone. I don't use this on books because it can damage the inks on the dustjacket. It is too strong. But I doubt it will damage the titanium frame.

The stickers are likely plastic, so these wotn soak through the stickers. You will need to get them under the edge of the sticker, then squirt the liquids on the glue as you peel back the sticker.

But another suggestion is to use a heat gun (a little stronger than a hair dryer).

First off, make sure that there isn't a layer of clearcoat over the decals. If there is, you'll have to decide how much you want the decals gone.

Kotts

Perhaps a heat gun, rented from a local home improvement type store. Its a super hot and will remove paint, but I implore great caution. There may be a clear coat over the non-decaled, satin finish areas of the bike, so test an inconspicuous area. The thing is also hot enough to melt grease out of bearings, burn rubber, not to mention flesh, and melt plastic, maybe even some plastic you can't see buried in hubs or BBs. It would be safest to burn the decals off the frame after it is stripped bare.
Furniture finish remover might work also, with the same cautions.
Both of these options seem to be a royal pain. How annoying are the decals..............********************??

Decals are on a titanium frame, no paint, no clear coat, just decals on brished/satin titanium tubes..

I've tried acetone, goo gone, nail polish, hair dryer (with high heat and minimal airflow to increase heat), and still no removal.. What gives?

Try an actual heat gun.

+1 on the lighter fluid. I use that on just about every sticker that needs removing

Try acetone and use more of it. I was able to remove decals from my '05 vintage Firenza with acetone but it took a real soaking and a lot of rubbing.

As a side note...I removed the decals from an Airborne Ti MTB frame and there was a noticeable difference in the finish (the outline of the decals was clearly visible). This was after several years of use. It actually looked worse than the decals. Not a problem though if you are refinishing the frame. Also, I don't recall what I used to remove them.

I removed the decals off my Eddy Merckx Ti with a hair dryer and a credit card to scrape the hot decals. Worked fine. With the ghost images that were left behind, I used finger nail polish remover. Looked perfect afterwards.

I've removed decals off of 2 bare Litespeed frames with just acetone. Use lots of it and rub hard!

cat0020,
What luck in you decal removing?

Hi,

I just took my decals off. I used a hair dryer to remove the stickers, goo-gone to remove the majority of the adhesive (messy and time consuming) and then finished up with a Staedler Mars eraser (available at any office supply store). The eraser worked surprisingly well and highly recommend it :)

I hope that helps.

R.

Try MEK (methyl ethyl keytone) - purchase at Home Repot

MEK is extremely dangerous and absorbs through you skin in nano seconds. We used to use it to clean jet engine parts and other airplane stuff. Don't breath it or get it on you!! It will take anything off, though I never used it on decals.

Same here. Acetone, let it sit for a few seconds, and a LOT of rubbing. The first 5-10 strokes don't seem to do anything, but keep at it and the decals will start to "melt" away. After they're gone, I cleaned it up with a household surface cleaner.

Use acetone, use lots of it and rub hard. It will work but it evaporates very fast and you have to keep the decals wet with it while you rub. I've used it very succesfully to remove decals from my Litespeed. Newer Litespeeds have thicker, more durable decals that require more work to remove but acetone does it.

Whoops, I just realize how old this thread is and I already posted pretty much the same info earlier. Sorry for the duplicate advice.

Use a razorblade with one of those plastic holders and work the edges. This process does take patience so good music and a fine glass of wine should keep you in the proper mood. When the decal is gone then orange cleaner and/or goo gone should remove any residual adhesive. If the finish is brushed then one of the grades of scotchbrite should match well. When done take a rag and lemonpledge and wipe the bike...should look good.
If the decals are the plastic/metallic type this should work well.

Come to think of it, I think Hillrider was the one who originally suggested to me that I use acetone. I also used it on my (aluminum) rims and got a pretty clean look on my Litespeed. I'd post pics but I'm at work.

Just use acetone. This isn't wheel building. :D

.....or perhaps you were joking....:p :D

Just don't put the acetone in the wine glass. :)

Now I'm curious to see what the frame looks like WITH the decals. Is it really bad?

I was stuck between having them put on or not. I was a little late in saying no. Oh well. Mine don't look that bad to me.

When I need to dissolve something off a frame, I soak a strip of cloth in the solvent, then wrap it around the area. Then I do something else for 15 minutes.

When it's actually off the frame, I'd suggest peanut butter for the sticky residues. Love it, smells great and sucks out the moisture from the sticky goo. After a while you can just whipe it off, leaving you with a great smell and a clean frame ;) (Trust me, it works)

Until then, if a hairdryer fails, use an actual heatgun.