Date:         Wed, 13 Jul 1994 09:16:42 -0600 (MDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Emerson Schwartzkopf <eschwa@csn.org>
Subject:      Re: stripes

Well, the first part of this is pretty good. A hair-dryer will work in a 
pinch to get the striping off, although a heat gun is better -- hair 
dryers will often get too hot and either fail or have a small circuit 
breaker shut the appliance off.

The adhesive is another matter, since most of the vinyl-striping adhesive 
is solvent-based rather than water-based. ("Greens" should take note that 
water-based will likely become the norm in a decade or so.) A 
solvent-based cleaner will do the trick.

In the trade I work in (signs and vehicle decoration) the big news in 
adhesive removal is the use of citric-acid-based solutions. A company 
called Graphic Adhesive Products in Sun Valley, CA (800-866-8440) will 
sell you a citric-based remover, but shipping and handling for a quart 
can brings the price to about $16; this is pretty expensive for a lot of 
VW owners, but the stuff works nicely.

I've also heard of people using a citric-based cleaner from, of all 
folks, Amway. No guarantees on effectiveness, however.

The 3M stuff also works well. The warmer the stuff gets, though, the 
better it comes off -- vinyl striping won't apply if the ambient 
temperature is less than 45 degrees F.

The Bondo spreaders are okay, but you also might want to waste a buck or 
two at the local music store and get a selection of sturdy guitar picks. 
There's also a handy little hard-edged scraper called a "Lil' Chizler" 
that someone found for me at a Montana feed store. I wish I knew who made 
them, because they take off striping like a charm.

Hope this helps.

Emerson Schwartzkopf       Gunnison, Colorado
eschwa@csn.org             A warm spot in a cold place