First off--this isn't my car.

A client called me to tell me about her new car and to see if I could help her with a small problem. I had detailed her last car and she thought I could help. She told me her car had some graphics on the side and that they made the car look too young for her. She described them as "flames" so I told her that I could probably remove them but I wanted to see them first. When I got there, the graphics certainly weren't "flames" and they were a lot bigger than I had imagined.



This ugly two-toned diamond plate tribal mess ran the whole length of the car.



and it was in horrible shape not to mention it was tremendously awful and didn't match the color of the car at all.

I started to remove the graphics with heat and 99% of the adhesive stayed on the car. I tried everything I knew and after 3 hours I had removed just the front fender's worth. Goo Gone was the best stuff I had and it was going nowhere.

I googled my problem and came across a youtube ad for a remover product called Rapid Remover.

www.rapidtac.com

I found a sign shop that sold it about 30 minutes from my house. I felt like I had just bought into an infomercial and I might be wasting my time.

I was totally wrong. It was amazing and it saved my weekend and the next one too.

I heated the vinyl a bit with the shop light and pulled off the biggest section (the front door). I sprayed the product on and waited about 60 seconds. Then rubbed the adhesive with a hard plastic squeegee (the kind you use to rub the graphics on) and 90% of the adhesive came up on the squeegee in huge chucks. The remaining mess came off with a bit more product sprayed on and immediately wiped off with a shop towel. I removed all the graphics in less than an hour after that.

Amazing stuff!

The XB had a ghost of the design left where the paint was protected under the graphics for 3 years. I did the normal detail job after that to freshen the paint and remove any trace of the graphic.

Washed
Clay bar
Prima Swirl with a DA polisher
a little extra attention to the door handle with Scratch X because I think Wolverine previously owned the car and Cat Woman was the navigator.
P21 Wax
and of course Black Wow for the weathered trim.

And finally a car you car ride in and not be embarrassed. The photo isn't perfect because I ran out of light. But you get the point.



I hope this helps someone else with what is generally considered a horrible task. The product really works well. It's quick and doesn't hurt the paint at all.

I highly recommend it, and in case you were wondering, I don't sell this product or work for this company.

If you happen own a XB with this terrible graphic I hope I didn't offend you.

Oh, and in case you were considering trading your MINI for an XB--I wouldn't recommend it. It drives fine but lacks the excitement that a MINI gives you!

 

Thanks, but I could have used that last weekend.
Fortunately most of my stripe adhesive came off with the stripe and the residual came off with goo-gone.

 

good job on the decal removal. looks much better.

 

Thanks!

 

and to think, someone bought that graphic after careful thought and consideration.

 

Great job! Now you just need to dress the tires and wheel wells and it's perfect!! =P

 

OG- not all of us have free time like you.

 

I can't believe that someone bought it w/o demanding that the graphic be removed first.

 

Looks like the xB was reborn.

 

Your right Richard. There were a few other thing I want to take care of also. I hate leaving things undone but she had a limited budget. She only wanted to paid to have the graphics removed so I didn't get to put all the finishing details on it. I buffed out the hood and used the Black Wow on the trim to just being nice. I would have loved to give it the works but she couldn't afford it.

If you look close, the wheels are hub caps and there was no making them look good. They were all scratched up. The guy's parking abilities are even worse than his taste in graphics. Hard to believe, I know!