Getting Rid of the sign ghost. (Tip)

[Slo-Ride]

After peeling the vinyl and removing the glue residue. And then trying every thing I thought would work that I had in the garage and house to clean the ghost off. Nothing was cutting the image away, nothing would clean the paint to make the old image go away..As a last resort I grabbed a lil bottle of that headlight restore stuff..
With no effort at all this cleaned the paint back to near show room condition..aboustly no hard rubbing at all..Damp rag, applied cleaner to rag. Wiped (no scrubbing) the whole door down and washed with soap and water. The stuff I have felt a lil gritty but absolutely no scrubbing was needed,I was really surprised how much road dirt this removes as it came in contact with the paint. Totaly removed the image from 5 years of fading around the stickers.
This truck is white,,not sure what it would do with custom paint colors. This wont remove the glue residue.

(disclaimer: Spot test small area first)

 

[xiggi]

I think that stuff is basically a light rubbing compound like that made for car body's so it would make sense it worked.

Sent from my Fisher Price X900 via EO Forums

 

[RMPM01]

What about regular fuel. Place some fuel on a cloth and rub it around.

I took lots of rubber, oil from my fenders.

Just dont over do it.

 

[Slo-Ride]

What about regular fuel. Place some fuel on a cloth and rub it around.

I did try regular gasoline on the barn doors and it didnt even touch the glue..Maybe smeared it a bit.
Process I went thru was to get rid of stickers with a lil heat..(seems the hotter I got a sticker the more glue that was left behind???) Trick maybe to just get the vinly warm & soft and peel it..
Remove all glue left behind (Goo Gone)
Then clean the paint to remove the dirt that was built up around the old stickers.
LOL I hope I never go thru this process again,what a pain..

xiggi, You could be right Im not sure whats in that bottle but it worked good for me. There has to be some sort of active cleaner in there also to melt the road dirt away???

 

[jeffman164]

Or you could just drive through a mud puddle to get rid of the sign ghost . And to think that some people acuse me of not having wisdom .

 

[BobWolf]

The restorer is a pollishing compound like Turtle wax Number 7. I prefer a product called Trouble Shooter made by Body Pro and its been arround since creation it sells at detail and paint shops.
Use this and a couple coats of high quality wax and you will havs a finnish like glass

 

[Slo-Ride]

The restorer is a pollishing compound like Turtle wax Number 7. I prefer a product called Trouble Shooter made by Body Pro and its been arround since creation it sells at detail and paint shops.
Use this and a couple coats of high quality wax and you will havs a finnish like glass

Going to have to find this product..The stickers on the back door beat me..The ghost wont leave.. Nothing left at the house to try.

 

[Dynamite 1]

you had it rite the first time. it is the fact that the paint has faded and the outline is dirt build up. you will need to use something aggressive to take of the oxidation. as far as the glue residue, 3m product called label and adhesive remover and a light duty sponge scrubber. the kind with the pink on the back from scotchbrite. spray it down, let it soak a few minutes, spray it then scrub it lightly, let it set a few minutes then repeat the process and the glue will come off.

restoring the paint will be job but can be done and if you dont have the knowledge to do it yourself then a detail shop might be in order. depending on the type of finish on the truck you have to be careful. if its a basecoat/clearcoat you can buff through the clear relatively easy if not careful. there are many products out there but only a small % that are really good. products need to match the finish and the process your vehicle needs. then a good quality wax and maybe a sealer as a finishing step. once again depends on how YOU maintain your paint. if you let the beacon put all their chemicals on it and their wax then a sealer might help. if you just have them do a straight wash [soap and water and rinse] or you wash it yourself, then a good wax would be fine. it all depends on you.

personally, we dont have ours washed at the truck washes very often. luckily we can do it at the yard when on the road and we get there and then i do it myself at home. some dont have any other option than to have it washed on the road. you do have the choice as to how it is done. stay away from the chemicals. just do soap and water, no brighteners or wax at the truck washes. they do presoak you on the way in but that small amt wont hurt if you have a good wax/sealant on the truck. the weathershield option is ok also after a wash. dont care for the rainx option though.

keep working on it and it will get there. dont get me wrong, we dont know everything and the finish on our truck is credited to my son who does do this for a living but he is constantly on me to keep it up myself when possible. we dont wax but once a year but good products and maintenance, along with proper washes make a huge difference. our truck is soon to be 8 yrs. old. anybody who has seen it would attest to how well the finish is. so has bobwolf pointed out, use tried and tested products and the proper ones. let us know if you have any other questions and take care of your truck, not just mechanically.

 

[Slo-Ride]

I think this truck has seen the Beacon twice in 5 years and that was as a last resort due to winter driving. I too stay away from them. If you watch the Quarter car washes that would be me with the box sticking out..I nose in ever chance I get to brush the front clip and sleeper down..Same at the house I have the p/washer and brushes but will admit I dont worry about the freight box as much as I do the front end and sleeper. I do wash the box from time to time but its usally when the barn doors get so nasty it bothers me when Im not even looking at em..
Its the barn doors that got the best of me on cleaning the stickers. Im 99% sure the glue is gone and dirt is removed..What I am left with is a real slick surface and also with some color bleed from the vinly. The bleeding and slick surface didnt happen on the Freightliner paint, so Im thinking I need to attack it with different products like you guys said. (I know when stumped seek proffesional help.) Ill get back to it but I had to get back out on the road. It will bother me untill the day the doors fall off if I dont get em clean..LOL

 

[Lawrence]

All - this seems to be pervasive problems with straight trucks in our industry. So, we thought we address it with a cartoon min the next issue of Expedite NOW magazine. Watch for it!

 

[Slo-Ride]

All - this seems to be pervasive problems with straight trucks in our industry. So, we thought we address it with a cartoon min the next issue of Expedite NOW magazine. Watch for it!

So what your really saying is your going to capitalize on our misery..
As if dragging up and peeling stickers isnt hard enought on us. Your now going to poke fun at us.

 

[mugurpe]

I've cleaned up a lot of used trucks. Here's my procedure.
heatgun & PLASTIC scraper, get all the vinyl off, this will leave lots of glue
use one rag soaked in acetone to soften and loosen the glue, use a different rag with mineral spirits to clean it
this also makes sure the box is very clean for the batch of vinyl signage.

This will still leave the mat vs gloss issue that is just due to sun damage, but I don't even worry about that. Our livery is bold enough you'd never notice once it's on.

 

[Dynamite 1]

ya, you do notice the fade even after the new logo is on cause the old takes up a different space. the easiest way to prevent this is to keep the box maintained as well as the truck. we have had a few signs on our truck but i bet you cant see where. the products you mentioned work but there are less evasive products that work just as well.