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View Full Version : DIY: Removing Pinstripes



Kyle Undefined
11-19-2008, 08:04 AM
Hi, my name is Camo Kyle. I will be teaching you how to remove those old ugly stock pinstripes on your car with little effort. Please don't flame me too much since this is my first tutorial attempt.
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{But before I begin, I have been wanting to do this for awhile but I didn't know what I could write a tutorial on. Then it hit me, cars, I know cars. If this is the wrong section, then if you could please move it. Thanks.}
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I'm really into cars, I live, breath, sleep cars. I drive an 2002 Acura RSX, it's my dream car. Now I don't know about yall but I don't like taking my car to the monkeys (No offense) at the garage. I do everything hands on, plus you also learn so much from doing everything. Alright it's time to begin, but wait, what exactly is a pinstripe? Well just in case you folks don't know I'll post a picture of a pinstripe on a car.
****NOTE THIS IS NOT MY CAR. PHOTOBUCKET WOULDN'T UPLOAD MY PICS. :(****http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/LilDukey/car2-1.jpg

See how ugly that looks? That is why I'm making this ;)
Ok, well there is only one way that you can do this. That is by peeling it off (didn't see that coming did you?). Now this can be broken up into two categories, they are:
1). Hard way
2). Easy way (This is broken down some more, will explain later).
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*Required items*
1). Lacquer Thinner. This is needed once you get all of the pinstripe off.
2). Microfiber towel/cloth. I recommend microfiber because it doesn't just soak up the lacquer, it holds onto it.
3). Wax. To make the car stand out duh!
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I'm adding this section because Mormonman mentioned it. Thanks.
So, there are three ways to do this but you don't know which one is best right? Well here is a difficulty to result ratio.
-=Hard Way=- This way is by far the toughest method. The difficulty of this one is 75-80% if it is your first time doing it, and 65-70% for the person who some knowledge/experience. The result is about 50-60% depending on how long and how much you pay attention to detail. This is not a bad method, but it is not the best.
-=EASY WAY ONE=- This method reduces the difficulty alot and increases the result percentage. So by using this the difficulty of this is 55-60%. A drastic decrease from 75-80%. The result increases to 65-80%. This is by far the best method to use since not everybody has access to a heat gun.
-=EASY WAY TWO=- This method also decreases difficulty while increasing result. If you think the other method was easy, then this is icing on the cake. The difficulty for this is 35-45%! Wow, now that's what you call easy! The result is just as good. It goes up to 85-95%! Not 100% because there is no way to be perfect at it. This is the second best method to use.
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-=HARD WAY=-
I'm going to start off with this because this is the most annoying and aggravating way. So whats the first step? Well...
1). Clean on and around the pinstripe. I like to clean about 2-3 inches above, below, past and behind the pinstripe to make sure it's clean.
2). Leave it in the sun for about an hour or two. (This will make it a little easier but not much)
3). Go outside and wet the pinstripe down, either by spraying with a water hose or wet towel.
4). Using your fingernails, carefully start peeling at one end of it. Careful not to pull too much at a time.
**Note** You can also use a razor blade to get the pinstripe going. You have to be very careful and slice at an upward angle to avoid slicing your car.
***DISCLAIMER*** I'm not responsible for you scratching your car if you try to use a razor blade.:)
**THIS IS WHERE IT GETS AGGRAVATING. PATIENCE IS THE KEY**
5). Depending on how many years the sun has baked the pinstripe to your car determines how hard it to peel off. The longer it has been on, the harder it will be to take off. As you're peeling it will have a tenancy to break off in small little pieces. (I haven't found a way to stop it from happening using this method) Just keep at it until you have a section done, lets say you did the front driver quarter panel. (Above the drivers wheel)
6). Now take that microfiber cloth (Or any cloth you have) and pour a little bit of the Lacquer thinner on it. Start rubbing on the spot where the pinstripe use to be to remove the left over residue. It will disappear, you might need to use a little force to remove all of it.
7). Now, I like to clean the spot I just used the lacquer on. You can wait until you're finished but I'm OCD when it comes to my car lol. You don't have to do this, it's an option.
8). So after you are done taking all of the pinstripe off and have lacquered and re-cleaned the car, it's time to wax. Why wax? Well you just removed alot of your cars protection by using the lacquer so waxing will help protect your car.
9). Now it's time to sit back and look at the fruits of your labor. Good job, you did it and your car shows, give yourself a pat on the back :D
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-=EASY WAYS=-
Remember how earlier I said that the easy way could be broken into two subcategories? Well I'm going to explain them to you now. The first easy way is using a hair dryer. Yes, a hair dryer, this will heat up the adhesive holding the pinstripe down and make it easier to take off. The second easy way is using a heat gun. A heat gun is a mans best friend when it comes to removing adhesive stickers from cars.
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-=EASY WAY ONE=-
These next two ways are almost exactly alike, but change the difficulty dramatically!
1). Clean on and around the pinstripe. I like to clean about 2-3 inches above, below, past and behind the pinstripe to make sure it's clean. (Seen this before?)
2). If you have a garage this will be the easiest place to do this. Plug in your handy dandy hair dryer and set it to the highest and hottest setting. After it has heated up, hold it about an inch away from the pinstripe. Move it along the pinstripe for about 5 inches or so. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT HOLD IT ON ONE SPOT! Go back and forth for about 15-20 seconds. When you start to peel off be careful so that way you can get start.
3). So after you have a good start, peel as much as possible without applying to much force. We don't want to break it. As it begins to cool down you will be able to tell because it's harder to pull off. Simply re-heat that area and the one following and begin peeling. Repeat until the job is done.
*NOTE* It may still have a tenancy to break into pieces but it might be bigger ones. Try applying a little more heat and see if that helps. But like stated before, the longer it's been on, the harder it is to take off.
4). Now repeat steps 6-8 mentioned above.
5). That was easy huh? Don't think it could get any easier? Well your wrong. The next way is ALOT easier :D
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-=EASY WAY TWO=-
Using the heat gun. This one will seriously be like taking candy from a baby. All you need is a heat gun. Dealerships have this normally and some mechanics do. I'm lucky enough to have my best friend's dad work for a dealership and brings home the heat gun.
1). Clean on and around the pinstripe. I like to clean about 2-3 inches above, below, past and behind the pinstripe to make sure it's clean. (Again?)
2). If you have a garage this will be the easiest place to do this. Plug in your heat gun. After it has heated up, hold it about an inch away from the pinstripe. Move it along the pinstripe for about 5 inches or so. *I know what you're thinking, "He made the same thing twice but one with a heat gun rather than a hair dryer." Not really, here is where the difference comes in. Instead of peeling the pinstripe off, you rub a towel over the very hot sticker and it comes right on off. "Hey come one now, it can't be that easy!" Yes, it can. Have you seen the dealerships that put the sticker on saying that you bought from them. Well if you sell that car to another dealership, they are not going to want it saying a different one. They don't want to risk scratching the paint so the heat gun virtually melts the sticker off.
3). You don't have to lacquer after using the heat gun but if some residue is still on then just spot treat the car.
4). You guessed it. Repeat the cleaning steps over again.
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Good job! You finally made it through! Your car looks better than ever, and you did it by yourself. Don't you feel proud? Go ahead, pull up a seat and relax. You deserve it big dog on campus. :D ;)
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Now for the final step. If you liked my tutorial then please don't forget to +Rep :) :D Also, if you have any questions/comments just reply to this thread.

More will come soon hopefully!

THANKS FOR READING!

~Camo

tls
11-19-2008, 06:58 PM
... nice! maybe don't make it centered, cuz it hurts my eyes. other than that very nice tut, would use but my truck doesn't have pinstripes!

Edit: didn't want to post again so ill just say it here... much better! i like that there are three different ways(maybe add which way gives the best results!)

Kyle Undefined
11-19-2008, 07:01 PM
Ok, sorry. How's that? Oh, THANKS FOR READING! ;)

~Camo

HyperSecret
11-19-2008, 08:10 PM
Should add on the hard section that it is also easier to get the stripe started by using a razor blade from a utility knife and to make sure you cut at a small enough angle to not scratch the car. The same concept as taking window tint off of window.

Kyle Undefined
11-19-2008, 08:56 PM
Should add on the hard section that it is also easier to get the stripe started by using a razor blade from a utility knife and to make sure you cut at a small enough angle to not scratch the car. The same concept as taking window tint off of window.

Yeah, well I didn't want to post that and people try and scratch their cars =/ But I'll add it in there tho. Thanks.

@Mormon. OK, I'll post like a percentage of how difficult each method is and which has better results. Thanks for the idea!

~Camo