Best solvent for molding tape?

[Crabbycrab]

So I got my rear, faded-to-pink, arrowhead off today and it was very easy. Heated with a hair-dryer, ran fishing line through the adhesive, and cleaned the gunk off with WD-40 and a plastic card.Emboldened, I endeavored to remove the Vent Shades the previous owner added because they were starting to come loose on the ends. Got the drivers' window shade off without a hitch with the hair-dryer and fishing line, but I can't for the life of me get the tape that held it on off.Is there a solvent that will not only remove the sticky, but also sort of dissolve the foamy stuff the tape is made of?

[Cougar Vibe]

"Goo Gone" is a handy product and is easy to find (Home Depot, Lowe's, ChinaMart, etc.).BTW: I finally removed my faded Pontiac emblem last weekend...just parked in the sun & used some Oral B dental floss. Cougar Vibe

[06pvibe]

As said already, Goo-Gone or an equivilent adhesive remover. BUT, it will not cut through the sponge. For that only patience and time will do... and perhaps a sore finger(s.)Roll off as much of the left over sponge tape as you can, then use the adhesive remover to penetrate through the backing and adhesive.BTW: Adhesive remover is safer on the paint than is WD-40.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »BTW: Adhesive remover is safer on the paint than is WD-40.Hmmm... I have used WD40 on every car I've owned to remove badges, side moldings, etc. and it has never done anything to the paint. As a matter of fact, it's worked better at removing the adhesive than anything else I've tried. Just my $.02 though.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »As said already, Goo-Gone or an equivilent adhesive remover. +1

[Crabbycrab]

Thank you for the advice.It seems like WD-40 has worked better for me in other applications than Goo-Gone, but for getting the sticky from the molding tape off, Goo-Gone was indeed superior.As 06pvibe sort of indicated, I found a solution of 1% adhesive remover to 99% elbow grease is still required to get the spongy off.

[RWatters]

I had a hell of a time getting that crap off of mine but Goo Gone finally prevailed. It's good stuff!

[06pvibe]

If you think that was bad, you should have seen how much elbow grease it took to get the adhesive off my headlights when I removed the first set of burned out RockBlockers... and the "experts" told me, "A little bug and tar remover and it'll come right off." Sure it did!!

[vibenvy]

Yeah, I removed the side moldings on mine and my mom's Sunfire Sedans . You wanna talk about sore thumbs and fingers ...

[zionzr2]

+1 more for Goo Gone!!!And best of all it smells like oranges!

[Crabbycrab]

Just for the record, and for anyone who may wonder about this and be reading this in the future, I discovered that there is a professional tool for this.I present the 3M Stripe Off Wheel:It's about $30, attaches to a drill, allegedly wipes out pin-stripes, decals and double sided foamy tape, and is (again, allegedly) safe for your paint job. My understanding is that it's still good to have a solvent on hand for clean up, and that a buffing is likely required after use.I'm sticking* with the slow manual removal, but I thought you might like to know this was also available.*no pun intended

[keithvibe]

WD-40 is also handy at removing spray paint from your car's paint job. Just in case you upset your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife or a wild vandal. I'm just saying LOL

[06pvibe]

That's exactly why I say it is not completely safe for modern multi-staged paint systems.Pros used WD-40 for years to remove unwanted pinstripes, etc, but it is made from and contains hydrocarbons (hence its Water Displacement, or WD capabilities) which are not exactly easy on base coat/clear coat paint systems... especially when water-based or reduced solvent paint systems are used.Yes, I have used it for this purpose as well like when I did the molding delete on my Mazda, but neutralized it as soon as I was done.I don't know why I didn't think of this before, I have seen those wheels and they are essentially a gum rubber based eraser used for unwanted pencil marks. So if doing the job by hand, go to your local office supply store and buy one of them for a buck and you could use it instead!

[Crabbycrab]

That's an excellent idea 06pvibe. However, I can say from very recent experience that those gum erasers will not remove double side sticky foam... nor will Pink Pearls, nor Staedtler white drafting erasers.

[06pvibe]

Hmmm? Well then perhaps it's a combination of the rubber and the heat built up by the spinning action that does it? I don't know, just a guess. I'll have to try it on my next project... which I hope will be a long time from now.

[Water boy]

I've been using isopropyl alcohol 90% for 30+ years on just about everything.Since I worked on office machines it cleaned just about anything in the machine or on the cabinet. I didn't need to carry multiple products. One bottle did it all. Before that I used pure lemon extract because of the high alcohol content.