justinrhenry_imp
First service completed
Thread starter
Has anyone removed the stickers on the gas tank? Any ideas about a good way to do it without damaging the paint?
removing tank stickers
- Thread starter justinrhenry_imp
- Start date
the Ferret
Road warrior
I used a heat gun, held pretty far from the tank, keep the heat gun moving, heated lifted, heated pulled. They actually came off pretty easy. Cleaned off rest of residue with goo gone, then waxed tank. I imagine you could use a hair dryer on low too.
jimigalahad_imp
Running like a top
I just let the bike sit in the sun a bit. Pealed off really easily, very little residue which came off very quickly with a few quick reapplications of the old sticker. I do live in Florida though.
Lord Popgun
Road warrior
Used a heat gun on low. Did what ferret did.INTP_imp said:
edited to add: Used my fingernail to get it started. No damage to the paint if you are careful.
That was the first thing I did when I got home. After I took my helmet and jacket off
oldyaler_imp
Running like a top
Maybe I'm the odd one out but those stickers never bothered me enough to go to the effort to remove them.
SUPERCRUZ_imp
Running like a top
I would go with the hair dryer . Just too much opportunity to blister the paint with a heat gun.
Lord Popgun
Road warrior
Heat gun on low basically IS a hair dryer
Obliviontoad
Running like a top
Now, what to do about those awful little round reflectors on the license plate mount. They look so tacked on.
Randy B
Road warrior
It's a DOT thing. It's one of those "remove at your own risk" sort of things. You might get nabbed for it, but then again you might not.
Lord Popgun
Road warrior
Well, they are tacky, but I'll take them if they help avoid a rear ender. I'm still thinking about adding a flashing brake light of some sort.
jmc1100_imp
Running like a top
Yep hair dryer worked, Prepsol for remaining adhesive, coat of wax=more shiney red paint Thanks
jsinher3_imp
Running like a top
Has anyone tried removing the pinstripes from the tank? I would like to remove mines
LongRanger_imp
Road warrior
My bike didn't come with those stickers. I need to buy a set. I'd prefer to hang on to that "new car feeling" for as long as possible!
uscgmac_imp
Been there
Dont think thats possible. And why would you?jsinher3_imp said:
jerrycon_imp
Running like a top
I didn't use anything other than my fingernails to get the peeling started. Came right off. Maybe a bit of residue that I got rid of with Honda Cleaner Polisher.
flynrider
Road warrior
They're painted on the tank. Not removable.jsinher3_imp said:
Lord Popgun
Road warrior
They are actually decals that are clear coated over. They are available and shown in the MARK section of the parts fiche.
Supervillian_imp
First service completed
Hand held hair dryer worked fine for me. As mentioned, keep it moving and test the decals gently with your fingernail until the glue is soft enough to peel away. Sometimes you can get the edges peeled off but have to give the center of the decal extra heat to soften that up. Works great.
Exactly how I did it.Supervillian_imp said:
I cleaned off any residue with a mild solvent and then finished with some regular car polish.
As long as the stickers stay in good condition you can leave them on if that's what you want to do, but if they deteriorate and are eventually removed the pristine paint under the stickers will be in pretty sharp contrast to the slightly faded paint of the tank.
That's why most of us get rid of them right away.
OTOH, you could buy a set of new stickers and replace them if the old ones fail over time.
I suppose it all depends on how long you intend to keep the bike and if it's exposed to a lot of sun.
I'm the epitome of anal
when it comes to my "toys" so my bikes are always inside and out of the sun except when I'm out on the road.
