Removing '77 Ranger original stripes?

[Blue71]

I am contemplating th restoration of my '77 Ranger. I was going to try and remove the 26+ year old original Ranger stripes so the body guy can do his thing. He said if I removed the stripes he'd give me a better deal. How can I get these things off? Any hints or half-way easy way.

Thanks Much,

Blue71

 

[ken75ranger]

Use a hair dryer and a plastic putty knife. Don't melt the putty knife.

 

[2badrotties]

A autobody supply store has woodgrain and decal remover in a spray can. The heat gun works good like ken75 said, but the spray works pretty well too.

 

[kxbronco]

I used what looks like a round eraser that I got at the auto paint store. I attaches to an air wrench and basically erases the stripe. It took me about 3 hours to erase a stripe from my 77 sport. It will take some paint off if your not careful.

 

[6677ebman]

Are you going to do any blasting on it?? THAT would take the stripes off!! I do sandblasting as a sideline, and have been using an ultra-fine sand from DuPont that leaves an awesome finish, you don't even really have to sand it. I don't know that I wouldn't have a little blasting done on it here & there (QP seam, tailgate, door jams; hard to sand areas) Just my .02!

 

[ASE-73]

Use a heat gun, and control the heat carefully. The "eraser" works good, but can damage the paint if not careful. Not sure how old your paint is ... but be aware that the paint underneath the decals has been protected from UV fading and will look different than the surrounding paint. It can be buffed, but may not give you the end result you want.

 

[Blue71]

Thanks for the tips. I'll try the heat first.

Blue71

 

[Kurt]

I took the original '74 Ranger stripes off my wife's with aircraft stripper. Nasty, yet effective product.