Removing hood stripes: anyone done it?
 

I'm planning on removing the hood stripes on the 2005 Cooper S I just purchased. It's the dark blue color with white hood stripes.

2 questions: Will these stripes come up/off in one continuous peel with a heat gun.

Will the paint under the stripe be darker than the rest of the car (due to sun fade)?

Brian in Austin

Heat gun and wax. It will be little darker but will fade into the rest relatively quickly.

Sent from me being awesome around my MINI!!

I did not use a heat gun as the heat made the adhesive from the sticker stay on my paint. I kept the car in the cool/garage and then peeled. Afterwards I used a diluted goo-gone to remove the little adhesive there was. I then took wax to it. I didnt have any coloration issues so I cant say anything there.

I pulled the silver bonnet stripes off of my 2006 MCSa without using a heat gun. If you can, pull them from the top of the bonnet towards the bottom... There was little to no adhesive residue... once the stripes were entirely removed, I just used some spray wax and a clay bar on the entire bonnet... the color is metallic blue and didn't notice any fade... maybe on a non-metallic color the fade would be more noticeable...

I pulled mine off my 2012 with just a hairdryer. They came off mostly cleanly, just a little residue here and there. My car is only two years old, but after clay and wax I can't see any sign of them.

I'm glad to see a thread pop up regarding the removal of stripes on some older Minis. I've been going back and forth with the decision to remove mine, too. I'm the second owner and the car was garaged its entire life up until February this year - when I bought it - so I'm hoping that's some insurance for a less drastic color difference. Happy to see that people have had good results - even on the older cars. When I do mine I'll be sure to post before and afters, see if it helps anybody.

Normally you can park the car outside on a warm day in the sun and let it heat up alittle and just peel them off. Peel slow and straight back, not up into the air. Let the vinyl kinda just roll off. Not that you couldn't have some paint fade, but paint and clear coat has come along ways.. So you probably won't have fade but you most likely will see a difference where the stripe was because it is clean and scratch free if it has been on there since new. As careful as we are washing our cars you still end up with little scratches at times.

I just removed my stripes on an 05 MCS Purple Haze. Removal wasn't such a hard thing if you take your time and be slow about peeling back the stripes taking the adhesive with it. Any adhesive left behind can be removed with 3M adhesive and wax removal spray. You will see a difference where the stripe was but it goes away quite quickly especially if you clay bar and polish the entire hood.

I've removed automotive vinyl before. What I'd recommend, is to keep a slow, low, and steady pull (keeping close to the surface), with your other hand guiding the vinyl down, closer to where it's removing from the surface. I've seen tan lines before, but take a pic afterwards. I'm curious. May do mine (06 BRG) too.

Most don't have real adheasive remover on hand, but if you have some lighter fluid it works well.. Also sounds crazy but gas works. Not something you want to wash you car with but keep in mind you do spill some around the gas cap area from time to time.. Just rinse it off well and be ready to wax/polish before long..

I'll 2nd gas. Worked well removing foam sided tape from the bed rails from my tool boxes

WD40 works great too. It also removes tar. Just make sure you rinse area well after done. I usually use Windex to clean off the WD40.

Not sure why anyone would use heat to remove vinyl, as heat is an aid in getting vinyl to adhere properly ..

Heat will soften and loosen the vinyl and adhesive, allowing you to pull with less chance of breaking. It also lessens the amount of residue left behind.

Took mine off yesterday, drove it for some errands, had a couple of drinks and said wtf! Was still warm and pulled right off!

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I plan to do mine today or tomorrow. If all goes as planned, I'll put up some pictures later. Let's see how this goes

Really wanna do mine just not 100% sure I want to yet. I gotta think about more I guess.

Took mine off last fall, probably would have come off easier if it was warmer but I decided that I wanted them off so I did it.

Remove Stripes
 

On my 08 Clubman the silver stripes have quickly exposed themselves to be a major pain. It started with pieces as large a one inch square, after a few inches the largest piece I can get off is about a 1/8 inch spot.
:eek:
This was supposed to be as easy as I read about, but no.
I talked to 2 Body shops they want $280 to remove the stripes and if I get the stripes painted back on $600, which includes paint the whole hood with stripes.

Any suggestions on speeding up a piece by piece removal?
It tears and seems to have lost most of the pliability.
I hate to use any tool on it as it may scratch/scuff the paint.

:eek2:

My Experience today!
 

I resolved my issue. I went to a auto paint supplier and bought a "Smart Eraser Pad" made by Astro Pneumatic Tool Company PN 400E for $17
It tool less than 30 min to remove both stripes.
Keep it moving with a light touch and it is amazing. 3M makes one for 2X the cost if you feel the need to spend more.
I am attaching the picture of the last stripe about 50% completed.
When your done hose off the residue, it has all the vinyl mixed in it and will leave gummy smears.
When Done with the eraser, I hosed off the eraser residuals, wiped a few adhesive left over spots with Goo Gone, then washed it, then rubbed it with 3M Ultra fine machine polish the Blue stuff, then waxed it.
Now it would be a challenge to see where the stripe was originally.
Very happy with the results.:thumbsup:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ser-81473.jpeg