It's Re-Paint time.....

[gimmefuel]

Hey guys, just wondering. I am getting ready to re-paint my bike soon and needed to know if I actually need to take the time to remove all the decals or if I can just sand them off. I am changing the color of my bike from blue to orange. I know that all of the decals are on top of the paint as opposed to the "S" on the tank. It's under the clear coat. Thanks for your input.

[steves]

I would remove the decals prior to sanding... otherwise you'll gum up your paper faster. Depending on how old your bike is... look into one of those sticker "erasers" as mentioned in other posts.

[overboost07]

i would remove the decals prior to sanding... Otherwise you'll gum up your paper faster. Depending on how old your bike is... Look into one of those sticker "erasers" as mentioned in other posts.

+111111

[gimmefuel]

My bike is a '92. The decals have been on there for a "little" while. Do you think the "erasure" will do the trick??

[justinboyce]

I agree with previous post, sanding those stickers is going to waste a lot of sandpaper by "gunking" them up.

[Cheriff]

+1

And if the current paint is in good shape (meaning bonded well) you don't need to sand it all off - just rough up with the proper grit. If you sand through the stickers it is likely that you will go deeper on the areas adjacent to the sticker. These transition areas will expose the layers underneath in a bulls-eye fashion and will need some extra attention when applying the primer.

[teddy]

use a hair-dryer to heat up the stickers a bit before peeling...it will usually help soften the adhesive behind them...

[scottynoface]

use a hair-dryer to heat up the stickers a bit before peeling...it will usually help soften the adhesive behind them...

Ditto hairdryer or a heat gun are your friends.

[steves]

Gytrdunkat has an excellent post on the sticker removal tool he found.

[wyzat520]

the eraser tool will take the sticker and paint down to the plastic off with it. A heat gun and razor blade is the best way to do it. When I painted my tank I left the suzuki sticker under the paint and painted over it, then went back with an airbrush and kinda shadowed where you could see it...now its really 3d looking.

[WildSide]

the eraser tool will take the sticker and paint down to the plastic off with it. A heat gun and razor blade is the best way to do it. When I painted my tank I left the suzuki sticker under the paint and painted over it, then went back with an airbrush and kinda shadowed where you could see it...now its really 3d looking.

i would like to see a pic of that, i was thinking of doing something like that.