Pin-Striping Removal

[jdehaan]

I have a '97 cosmos M3 with blue and red pin-striping. It is currently being parted out and a potential buyer wants to know if the pin-striping can be removed off one of the doors. Does anyone know if BMW painted these on back then, or did they use some kind of vinyl decal? Either way, how can they safely be removed? Thanks!

[kineticimpulse]

well, there is one problem. if they are either painted or decals the chances of them having left a ghosting lining under the pinstripes on black is very likely. i see you are in crystal lake. if you want i can come by sometime and see if they can come off and i can possibly take them off for you. the best way to know if they are painted or decal is to rub your finger over then and see if you feel a bump. if there is a bump then they are most likely decals. do you have a picture? by the way i am 15 minutes from you off of palatine and 53.



okie dokie. i guess help is not needed. i will just write to you on how to do it and i wish you the best of luck.

the best way to remove them is using an astro stripper and an air compressor. an astro stripper has a rubber wheel on it to rub off the pinstripe. this is only if they are a decal. after you rub them off you need to run a cleaner over the area to remove the slight dullying of the paint which does not harm the paint at all. however, if you do not have access to either one of these then slowely peeling them off with your fingers and a credit card will work. it is time consuming but can be done. if they are painted on you have two options. either to use paint thinner on the area to remove them or to buff them off using a buffer and a semi aggressive compound. the second option can be a little more dangerous to your paint if you dont know how to use a buffer. either way they both will take awhile unless you have the astro stripper and air compressor. once they are removed the possibility of ghosting still being under the pinstrip is very likely because the car is a dark color. i hope this is what you were looking for.

[jdehaan]

Thanks for the help! I am out of town so I couldn't check to see if they are decal or paint but I will once I'm back. If I decide I need help I'll give you call!

[2000mkoop]

1 easy if it's vinyl, just peel it off (light heat-gun helps sometimes), clean up adhesive residue, correct paint area

2 painted on over clear-coat: wet-sand until through, buff paint after

3 underneath clear-coat.........no dice