I put gold 3m brand stripes on my car. Now they are looking crappy, they are discolored by weather? It looks like when it rains on your car and the dust is spotted but not washed away just dries later.

What do I do to clean them up? Cleaner wax?? Clay bar liquid stuff??

Web site I bought them from mentioned using some orange cleaner and a good wax. they also mention not leaving the road grime on it for long periods......oooops. I kept the car garaged, but started driving it a bunch and moved to a new house with no garage. Help

 

i use macquires spray detailer (black bottle) and have never had a problem, but i dont let the dirt stay on there long

 

I had to get rid om my 3m stripes and switched to oracal and much happier. I use mequires vinyl and trim wax now. Hey they are vinyl right.

 

I've had my 3M vinyl stripes for going on three years and they still look great. I'm in Texas and car is parked outdoors while I am at work in the sun/elements too. Keep a good coat of wax on them and they will last much longer, I use Zaino and have never had a problem.

Rob (BSM) suggests orange cleaner (Goo Gone) to clean them if you need to. I'd give that a try and see if it does not clean them up. If so get a good coat of wax on afterwards. If they are trashed form not being waxed/protected then your probably looking at replacement.

Tim

 

I tried regular orange cleaner, will try goo be gone. I think they are shot, I even tried magic erasure, no go.

 

I had it with vinyl strips I had mine painted on with metal flake added
oooooo so sweet I love them now

 

How hard is it to remove them? Or will I have to re clear coat the paint afterwards.

 

depends on how long they're been on... if just a couple 2-3 years, they'll come off fairly easy. you might need a heat gun to soften them up a little bit, but other than that, just grab a corner a pull. little goo-gone to get the adhesive residue off, quick wax, and you're all set.

your clear won't be damaged at all. in fact, the clear/paint that's under the stripes is in better shape than the rest of the car, but as long as you've kept up on your detailing, you shouldn't see much, if any, difference in the finish.

 

+1 - not hard at all and no damage!

 

i would definately use a heatgun, if you just pull them off, thats how you can damage the clear coat

 

I disagree. They can be a big PITA to get off. Mine were only on about six months when one got damaged and I removed them. It took me two and a half days to remove them (in little peices )

 

What kind of stripes did you have? Did you warm them up? They will break if to cold and tear if to hot. Most of my 3m stripes came right off just from sitting in the sun for a few hours, used a hair dryer on the rest.

 

For removal of vinyl , I took off my vinyl rocker panel stripes with this awesome stuff old or new vinyl, its called Vinyl-Off 104, just wipe it on and wait 15 minutes and pull off adhesive and all, its awesome stuff

 

wow, that vinyl-off looks like some really good stuff... http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Vinyl-Off...hicle-Graphics

thanks for the tip, steve!

 

The extra money for PAINT is always well worth the cost PERIOD.

Lessons learned will always cost more in the long run.

Pay the price and get the stripes painted. Looks better and will last longer.
The $500 more for them is a drop in the bucket even if you are broke.

 

No problem Paul, it is amazing stuff , and no heat guns to ruin paint

 

where can you get this? is it for sale at auto parts stores?

 

online, CrystalTek Vinyl Off 104

 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Vinyl if applied right and well cared for. I've had mine for three years and they look as good as the day I put them on. Now don't get me wrong, someday I do hope to paint them but while my car is a DD I don't want the heartache of getting stone chips etc. And there's no way your going to pay $500 more for paint, at least not well painted ones. Expect to pay $1800-$2200 for painted, wet sanded, and cleared stripes done the right way.

Tim

 

i just got a 2011 black mustang and would like to know what Zaino product works well with the stripes and black paint and how warm does my garage have to be to use this product.i want to get started as soon as possable to help protect my new investment