How to remove car decals effectively and cleanly

Many ride-hailing drivers now supplement their income by sticking advertising decals on the sides of their car doors. Over time, these decals will fade, crack or tear and need to be replaced.

However, when removing decals from your car, you need to be careful to avoid glue stains and even unwanted scratches. Below are some ways to help users remove car decals quickly and keep the car's surface clean.

1. Peel off the decal

Do this in a shady area.

Working in direct sunlight can cause the decal's adhesive to stick to the body of the vehicle, making it harder to remove. Therefore, you should leave the vehicle indoors or choose a shady area to remove the decal.

Note, do not peel the decal at low temperature because it will easily tear into smaller pieces and leave glue residue.

Use a plastic scraper to peel off the edge of the decal.

First, you should try to peel the edges of the decal gently with your fingernail. If you cannot use your fingernail to peel the edges of the decal, then you will have to use a plastic scraper to do this job.

You can buy plastic scrapers at auto parts and accessories stores. Never use metal scrapers to avoid unnecessary scratches.

Heat the decal with a hair dryer

Once you have peeled off the edge of the decal, hold a hair dryer about 15cm away from the decal and heat it on the surface for about 30 seconds so that the glue melts and sticks to the decal instead of sticking to your car. While it is heating, pull the edge of the decal to see if it comes off easily.

Pull the decal at a 15-20 degree angle to the surface of the vehicle.

Use your two thumbs to reach inside the decal and slowly pull it up so that it is at an angle of 15 to 20 degrees from the surface of the car body. Try to keep the decal intact when removing.

Avoid peeling the decal at a 90 degree angle as this will cause the adhesive to stick to your vehicle. Repeat the above steps until the decal is completely removed from the vehicle.

2. Remove remaining glue

Use detergent

Use a soft cloth to clean the residue on the car. Rub back and forth with enough force on the areas where the adhesive needs to be removed.

If the soft cloth fails to remove the sticky residue, try scraping it off with a plastic scraper or squeegee. When finished, the surface of the car body should be smooth instead of sticky to the touch.

Clean the detergent on the car body surface

If you leave the cleaner on the body of your car, this can cause stains, so use a cloth soaked in soapy water and wipe down the areas you just cleaned with the cleaner.

After completing the above steps and letting the surface of the car dry, you can polish the car's paint. This layer of polish will help protect the car's paint, making the car look brighter and more beautiful.

In general, applying decals to cars is usually only applied for a short time and then, many car owners will have to remove them when they are no longer suitable for their intended use.

However, removing it also requires you to be patient and calm because this job is quite tedious, sometimes meticulous to every small detail, so it can easily cause frustration for the person doing it.