I just installed a used aero kit which came off a 2003 JCW Cooper S and the rear decals are brittle around the edges and seems like they are were sealed to the bumper with Prehistoric Amber......

Any good ideas on how to remove this crap. Most of the brittle part I tried to remove got jammed up under my fingernails like bamboo torture, and the rest is being very difficult.

I am familiar with Goof off and goo gone, but I need to get under the top decal layer and a scraper will not work without damaging the paint underneith.....

Any help from someone who had been in the same boat before would be most appreciated....

 

You could first try a heat gun. This might soften them up just enough to peal. Often does. Then the goo gone will probably remove any remaining glue.

 

Dremel cut-off wheel, 1/4 square mesh from Home Despot and some 5 min epoxy.

Takes care of the the decal issue...

 

ouch... would try the heat gun method and skip the dremel and chicken wire

 

I removed mine with low heat from a heat gun. Just peels them right off, then you will need to remove any residue with WD40 then wax it up.

It looks MUCH better without them!

 

some of our NAM vendors sell replacement stickers that you can just install right over the existing one

 

Ok Nate, get some better mesh and some cool exhaust tips.

You can do better than that. The cooler the tips the lower the lap times. I read it somewhere on the internets so it must be true.

 

OMG........ !

Not the sorta help I was lookin for exactly
Thanks anyways Nat.

 

Thanks, but were yours brittle like slate ? These are really...well, like baked on and decal is rock hard and brittle only on edges.

Much like if you had backed up your mini to the back of an F-18 taking off the deck of the Enterprise.... .

 

Interesting, I was just about to post a similar thread/question. Mine are brittle and a couple of small pieces broke off last weekend when I washed it.

What are your plans after removal? I've been thinking of getting some thin carbon fiber sheets and trimming them to fit and gluing them in place. I think the original fake grill decal looks cheap anyway.

 

Since my roof and window areas are black, I was leaning more towards a darker color for decal. Aesthetic Creations have a few I believe, but I would not want any sort of fake pattern. Wonder if he can make them in a solid color like flat black or maybe Carbon Fiber look ? Maybe Voltage Products may step up and make something in same material they use for their Fog light Surround.

Right now we do not have access to a heat gun, only my girlfriends hair dryer.....lol. And being rather **** when it comes to the MINI's appearance, I had to do something straight away.

Soooooo, after some prepping and removing the loose portions of the rather dumb decal, I gave it a few coats of "non-permanent" plasti-dip for now.

Today I spoke with a freind who has a BMW parts/boutique shop. He says he has a can of foam spray he sells that can be sprayed onto any decal not harming the paint, and emulsifies the glue....BUT....he is a 2.5 hr drive from where I live now, so it will be a few weeks before I can pick some up.

If it works well, I will ALL post all information and photos of this operation in a new thread for fellow NAMr'S.

 

Yes they were brittle, when I washed the car for the first time, pieces just cracked off. So I decided to remove them. This really isn't a big deal to take them off, just make sure you don't use too much heat, just enough to warm them up.

 

Yes they were brittle, when I washed the car for the first time, pieces just cracked off on the edges. So I decided to remove them. This really isn't a big deal to take them off, just make sure you don't use too much heat, just enough to warm them up. A hair dryer on high should do the trick if you do not have a heat gun. If you plan on placing new stickers back on you need to remove the old ones. Just like if you want to paint but have wallpaper, you must remove the wallpaper or it will eventually effect the top coat of paint.

 

Any update to your progress? I tried removing my brittle/yellow decal yesterday and didn't have a lot of luck getting it off. At this rate its going to take me days removing in 1cm sections.

Bryan

 

Nah, painted over it temporarily with Plasti-dip......

I just purchased some new new decals and they should be here in about a week, I will begin the process of removing old decal and do a how to on what actually works, I have a few ideas kicking around in my head.

 

I'm so glad I searched before posting. I have the cheesey looking decals that have oxidized and are brittle around the edges. I bought new decals thinking it would be a piece of cake to remove and replace but after reading it and looking at the "faux" grille look, I'm wondering if it wouldn't look better with some other type of grill material? Love to see some installed improvements.

 

i know this is a little off topic, but its somewhat related. if anybody knows it'd same me the trouble of looking further into it or doing more than i have to, to figure it out. i have a stock r53 bumper, and im curious as to how i can remove the 2 plastic mesh panels on either side of the bumper.

 

They clip into the back of the bumper main plastic skin. You will have to get behind the bumper and pull the clips while pressing into the grille on the front. So they clip in front the back of the bumper.



Number 4 in the diagram;

Rear Bumper Grille - Left Part number 51127068397


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51127068397/


Rear Bumper Grille - Right Part number 51127068398


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51127068398/


You can see how it mounts in the pics below.




On the rear bumper Aero Ornamental grille , has anyone tried to peel and stick the new ones over the old ones if they are still mostly intact and still holding on ? They are very thin so they should not stick out. Other wise the heat gun should work, or letting the bumper set in the hot sun for a while.




We have the new ones here:

Aero Kit : Rear Stickers Aluminum Look Ornamental Grille Rear Set Part number 51120147453 Cooper S/ JCW


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51120147453/

Thanks

 

I removed the stickers from my Aero bumper with a hair dryer. They will be soft like plastic as soon as they warm up. Start from the edge, warm it, peal slowly. warm the next area and peal.

 

Same thing I did with the aero stickers. Mine were the gold colored ones and were cracked and missing pieces along the edge. I made some custom inserts with perforated aluminum sheet painted black and rubber edging. Looks way better than the stickers.