Refurbishing/stripping trim

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blurp - 02 Oct 2007 15:15 GMT

Hi all,

I have a 1995 850 wagon without roofracks, instead I have the thin
trim strips that run from the windshield right to the tailgate. As
the matte black coating had started deteriorating I was able to lift
all of the black off (it was a crumbling tape of some kind) but have
left most of the dry adhesive on the otherwise shiny metal beneath.

Any suggestions on what I can use to remove that without damaging the
paint or needing to pull the trim right off? It's too thin and well
bonded to scrape off without scratching the metal beneath.

Any products or methods you might suggest are appreciated.

Thanks for your consideration,
blurp

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c.fiedler@sbcglobal.net - 02 Oct 2007 21:02 GMT

>Hi all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>Any products or methods you might suggest are appreciated.

Two thoughts:

3M makes an adhesive remover which doesn't damage paint in my
experience.

The dealer can get and replace those strips. Ain't cheap -- well, is
anything from the dealer?

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blurp - 02 Oct 2007 21:19 GMT

>>Hi all,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>The dealer can get and replace those strips. Ain't cheap -- well, is
>anything from the dealer?

I'll take a look for the 3M product. I know the dealer can replace the
trim (the dealer can replace anything for a price) but I think once I
get all the black off I'll leave them shiny and maybe clearcoat them.
If that proves unsuccessful then I'll hand paint them with matte black
paint and they'll be black again.

Thanks,
blurp

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blurp - 03 Oct 2007 14:46 GMT

>>>Hi all,
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>Thanks,
>blurp

Well I tried "Automotive GooGone" last night and that didn't work at
all. My brother-in-law tells me that paint shops sell some kind of
rubber disk that goes on a powerdrill that acts like a high-speed
eraser, maybe that will work...

blurp

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Gary Heston - 04 Oct 2007 01:56 GMT

[ ... ]

>Well I tried "Automotive GooGone" last night and that didn't work at
>all. My brother-in-law tells me that paint shops sell some kind of
>rubber disk that goes on a powerdrill that acts like a high-speed
>eraser, maybe that will work...

That should be quite effective at removing the paint.

Try mild solvents (kerosene, WD-40 is mostly that; paint thinner) or
light oils/penetrants (3-in-1, Liquid Wrench, etc.) to dissolve or
soften the adhesive. It may take time to work. Some of them may
remove wax, but I don't think any of them will damage paint.

Do _NOT_ try brake fluid. It _WILL_ damage paint.

Gary

Signature

Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Yoko Onos' former driver tried to extort $2M from her, threating to
"release embarassing recordings...". What, he has a copy of her album?

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blurp - 04 Oct 2007 16:44 GMT

> [ ... ]
>>Well I tried "Automotive GooGone" last night and that didn't work at
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
>Gary

Thanks Gary. This stuff can only be characterized as adhesive because
I know there was a strip of black tape-like stuff that I stripped
away. If you came upon it now for the first time you'd think it was
very thin unevenly applied/mottled paint without even an edge to catch
your nail on. The way this stuff is on there I suspect the
manufacturing process originally involved bonding the two surfaces
(the tape and the aluminum substrate) with heating/baking as a factor.

It seems like some sort of slow-acting thinner will be the best bet
but I usually need to drive the car and can't let it sit for overly
long stretches. Perhaps this weekend I'll section off parts of it and
run tests on various substances.

I'll report my findings!

Thanks,
blurp

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