Couple of questions for a new owner. Purchased new trunk lid letters
i.e. 900, SE, SAAB, becuase the silver finish is worn off of the old
plastic and I thought that this would be a nice touch-up. I assumed
that these would have a thru bolt of some sort, but they are self
stick on to the sheet metal. I'm not sure how to remove the old ones
or how to prep for the new ones. Any thoughts?
Also, the telescoping steering wheel has about 1/4" of slop/play when
it's locked. Is this normal? Is there a way to tighten it up??
Thanks
Matt matthewdc@n.o.s.p.a.m.mindspring.com
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> Couple of questions for a new owner. Purchased new trunk lid letters
> i.e. 900, SE, SAAB, becuase the silver finish is worn off of the old
> plastic and I thought that this would be a nice touch-up. I assumed
> that these would have a thru bolt of some sort, but they are self
> stick on to the sheet metal. I'm not sure how to remove the old ones
> or how to prep for the new ones. Any thoughts?
3-M Badge Adhesive is the appropriate material for sticking the new ones
on. A good automotive paint shop will have it. Far as taking the
old ones off, slow & easy and try not to scratch the paint. No secrets,
just pry slow and careful with something wide. Putty knife or drywall
knife would be good, I'd think.)
> Also, the telescoping steering wheel has about 1/4" of slop/play when
> it's locked. Is this normal? Is there a way to tighten it up??
My '88 900 had that for a decade or so. Not alarming, and I wouldn't
want to tighten it up as the telescoping action needs to work if
your chest hits the steering wheel during a frontal crash.
Dave Hinz
Grunff - 02 Feb 2005 16:59 GMT
> Far as taking the
> old ones off, slow & easy and try not to scratch the paint. No secrets,
> just pry slow and careful with something wide. Putty knife or drywall
> knife would be good, I'd think.)
Last time I did this, I tried using some dental floss (is that called
the same over there?) instead of levering - it worked very well.

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Dave Hinz - 02 Feb 2005 17:08 GMT
>> Far as taking the
>> old ones off, slow & easy and try not to scratch the paint. No secrets,
>> just pry slow and careful with something wide. Putty knife or drywall
>> knife would be good, I'd think.)
> Last time I did this, I tried using some dental floss (is that called
> the same over there?) instead of levering - it worked very well.
Ah, that's a good idea, and yes it's called the same thing here (amazingly
enough). Do you have a suggestion for him for taking the residue of the
old adhesive off, in a way that won't interfere with the new adhesive?
I'm thinking "goo gone" (orange oil solvent) but I'm not sure if the
new adhesive would care for residue of that.
Dave Hinz
Grunff - 02 Feb 2005 17:35 GMT
> Ah, that's a good idea, and yes it's called the same thing here (amazingly
> enough). Do you have a suggestion for him for taking the residue of the
> old adhesive off, in a way that won't interfere with the new adhesive?
> I'm thinking "goo gone" (orange oil solvent) but I'm not sure if the
> new adhesive would care for residue of that.
I used white spirit (it's a mixture of C6-C12 alkanes). I suspect goo
gone would work too. The trick is to clean up afterwards with a polar
solvent, like ethanol or acetone. This removes the residue left behind
by the oily stuff, so the new adhesive has a nice, oil-free surface to
stick to.

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John B - 02 Feb 2005 17:38 GMT
> enough). Do you have a suggestion for him for taking the residue of the
> old adhesive off, in a way that won't interfere with the new adhesive?
I once cleaned off old badge adhesive using household glass/surface cleaner
with paper towels. Perhaps not ideal, but it was effective, and didn't seem to
harm the paint.
John
Emmy Dubbs - 02 Feb 2005 19:24 GMT
I should of mentioned it's a 97 900 SE T. The dental floss is a good
idea...I'll try it. The new letters/numbers have the stickem already
on them. I'm assuming that it will be adequate but will keep the 3-m
in mind if they don't seem secure. Say...does acetone hurt the
paint???
Thanks
Matt
>> Couple of questions for a new owner. Purchased new trunk lid letters
>> i.e. 900, SE, SAAB, becuase the silver finish is worn off of the old
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
>Dave Hinz
MH - 02 Feb 2005 19:25 GMT
> Say...does acetone hurt the paint???
If it removes nail polish it'll remove paint as well....
Use some gasoline/petrol.
--
MH
'72 97 '77 96 '78 95 '79 96
'87 900T8
http://go.to/saab96
Dave Hinz - 02 Feb 2005 19:33 GMT
>> Say...does acetone hurt the paint???
>
> If it removes nail polish it'll remove paint as well....
> Use some gasoline/petrol.
...which will also strip the wax. Clean, glue, then wax.
Grunff - 02 Feb 2005 19:55 GMT
> If it removes nail polish it'll remove paint as well....
> Use some gasoline/petrol.
There's a fair old difference between nail polish (polymer dissolved in
acetone) and car paint (two part polyurethane based polymer).

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Bobo - 06 Feb 2005 02:10 GMT
>There's a fair old difference between nail polish (polymer dissolved in
>acetone) and car paint (two part polyurethane based polymer).
Yeah, but I've seen some highly magnified photos of auto paint after
being cleaned with acetone, lacquer thinner, etc. It was kind of
worrisome. I now use only an approved product, such as an automotive
surface cleaner designed for removing wax, silicone, etc before paint
work.
Bob
Grunff - 02 Feb 2005 19:33 GMT
> Say...does acetone hurt the
> paint???
No, but it takes off the wax, so you need to give it a good waxing
afterwards. Ethanol/methanol also remove wax, but to a lesser extent, so
are a better option.

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