Here are a couple examples of the horrible stickers that blemish the side of the Aprilia Mille:
Nasty, and there are there more on the other side!
Removing Frame Stickers
Taking the stickers off the frame of my bike was the first thing I wanted to do to it when I bought it home. BUT it's like pulling teeth and takes forever! Well it has always taken me forever in the past at least. The labels really look annoying and were just placed on the bike to meet federal standards. I put it off until today.
Here are a couple examples of the horrible stickers that blemish the side of the Aprilia Mille:
Nasty, and there are there more on the other side!
Here are a couple examples of the horrible stickers that blemish the side of the Aprilia Mille:
Nasty, and there are there more on the other side!
So what did I do? Well this day and age I happen to pack a handy little heatgun that will make anything burst into flames. I thought I could simply aim the gun at the sticker and peel it off. This was not to be. The sticker would pull up when it was hot but then it would melt and stretch apart. Then when you remove the heat the adhesive would once again get a grip on the sticker and cause the sticker to tear when you pull it. I spent over 10 minutes pulling a little section of the sticker at a time and it took forever. The sticker is just too brittle and would not pull off in once piece no matter what I tried.
I suffered through that whole sticker and it took me way too long. There must be a better way, and there is. Since the sticker would melt quickly and the adhesive would basically turn super soft I figured that I would just scrape it off with a putty knife. This worked but left a few scratches even though I went slow and careful.
So I figured since the sticker and adhesive are so soft and easy to push when they are heated up to the point of combustion, that I could just pull a rag over the edge of the putty knife and still push the hot goo off.
It worked great and didn't leave any scratches at all. The only thing to watch out for is the rag catching fire. With the heat gun pointed at the rag it would smoke when the heat was poured on. The sticker would turn brown in color but that's about it. The knife with the rag simply pushed the sticker right off in less than a minute of heating and a simple push of the knife.
Ahh so nice and fast! This is the only way to remove these crummy stickers.
So I figured since the sticker and adhesive are so soft and easy to push when they are heated up to the point of combustion, that I could just pull a rag over the edge of the putty knife and still push the hot goo off.
It worked great and didn't leave any scratches at all. The only thing to watch out for is the rag catching fire. With the heat gun pointed at the rag it would smoke when the heat was poured on. The sticker would turn brown in color but that's about it. The knife with the rag simply pushed the sticker right off in less than a minute of heating and a simple push of the knife.
Ahh so nice and fast! This is the only way to remove these crummy stickers.
Here is what you will have leftover. This is the adhesive that is left behind once you quickly push the sticker off with the rag/putty knife. It's thick and can simply be removed with the goop remover of your choice. I used "OOPS" sticky stuff remover that can be found at Wal-Mart in the steel cans.
Put some "OOops" on a rag and just keep turning the rag, dabbing off the goop, then turning the rag again to get a final clean swipe.
As you can see the knife alone left some scratches but I could care not. I'll eventually have another swing arm sent out to replace this blemished up version. I have a friend that swears by an aluminum filler type material that can be polished to match the surrounding dent on the other side. I'll probably fill in the dent and have the whole swingarm powder coated when I put it on the 2-stroke Aprilia I'll be making later on. In the mean time I doubt anyone will say a thing about the scratches.. no biggy.
Put some "OOops" on a rag and just keep turning the rag, dabbing off the goop, then turning the rag again to get a final clean swipe.
As you can see the knife alone left some scratches but I could care not. I'll eventually have another swing arm sent out to replace this blemished up version. I have a friend that swears by an aluminum filler type material that can be polished to match the surrounding dent on the other side. I'll probably fill in the dent and have the whole swingarm powder coated when I put it on the 2-stroke Aprilia I'll be making later on. In the mean time I doubt anyone will say a thing about the scratches.. no biggy.