Visor Labels Removal

[Amylovebus]

Originally Posted by kav

I have no idea how you managed to do this..

I used the same hair dryer technique but was left with the residue.. I tried Goo-gone (all they had), then nail polish remover, then bug/tar remover, then stain remover and the residue is still there!! It looks bad. Is it worth trying goo-off, if I can find it or using a laquer thinner (I thought the nail polish remover would be the same)?

Do you think WD-40 or Pam cooking spray might work?? It's worth a try...
and neither should hurt the color of the visor.

[robrwalker]

Just went to local hardware store bought $8 can of goof off

Sprayed it on the visors (out of car) gave it a rub, sprayed and rubbed 2x more - now my visors are clean and relieved of that useless warning.

Goof off is great stuff. Worked perfectly.

[HOG4DNR]

^ Can not go wrong with Goof Off. I have leather visors and it worked like a charm (much easier if removed). I just used leather conditioner on them when I was finished.

[jdl1pt]

Originally Posted by robrwalker

Just went to local hardware store bought $8 can of goof off

Sprayed it on the visors (out of car) gave it a rub, sprayed and rubbed 2x more - now my visors are clean and relieved of that useless warning.

Goof off is great stuff. Worked perfectly.

Those of you doing this mod/removal now, any discoloration due to sun fade?

[robrwalker]

Originally Posted by jdl1pt

Those of you doing this mod/removal now, any discoloration due to sun fade?

Nope. I do not think the visor gets much sun. At least I didnt have any problems on an 07 coupe.

[jdl1pt]

Originally Posted by robrwalker

Nope. I do not think the visor gets much sun. At least I didnt have any problems on an 07 coupe.

Sweet, will do this soon.

Thanks!

[Amylovebus]

I used the goof-off on mine. Afterwards I cleaned with alcohol and then conditioned with leather cleaner. It was easy and looks great!!

Thanks for a great idea!

[Amylovebus]

Here are the results of my label removal.

[Finnegan]

Gotta find time to do this mod! Looks good Amy!

[ZedFourM]

Thanks for this trick....will give it a try.

Originally Posted by Dammmittt

I tried doing it with Goo-gone and I didn't feel like wasting more than 2 minutes on it at the time. Perhaps goof-off is stronger...

Yeah, Goof-Off is Xylene, which is a pretty strong organic solvent. Goo-gone is a very complex oil (complex oils can sort of dissolve simpler oils), so they work differently. I would be a little concerned with using it (baselessly -- would have to know more about the vinyl).

[jdl1pt]

Thanks for posting the pics Amy.

[Kimo]

For those that might resurrect this thread during a future search, here are a few more thoughts on the process:

Car is an '08 Z4 3.0si with the vinyl covered visors. Black.
These visors are so rigid that they almost appear to be a single 'slab' of molded plastic, but they are indeed covered in a very tightly stretched vinyl.

I purchased the can of liquid (not spray) Goof Off Professional (MUST be Professional) from the paint section of Lowes (5 or 6 bucks).

Remove the visors!! There are only two Phillips head screws per visor. It is much easier -- and SAFER -- to do this on your workbench.

Wear rubber gloves.

Stick two fingers in an old terry cloth rag, soak up a decent amount of the Goof Off Professional, and start rubbing over the decal in a circular motion. Within seconds, the decal will begin to disintegrate and can be wiped off, then another application or two to completely remove any residue. Once the decal is completely gone, go over the entire exposed surface of the visor with another application of Goof Off Professional to feather out and clean the entire surface.

Thoroughly clean the surface with a water soaked rag and then a cleaner, i.e. Simple Green, etc.

I had very few ripples, but (as described in earlier posts) they tightened up as the material dried.

Once dry, I could still make out some lines and inconsistencies, and considered going back over the entire side with another application of Goof Off, but instead decided to try a tip that appears earlier in his thread, i.e. Forever Black. www.foreverblack.com

I've used this product (sparingly) for years, and actually still have the original bottle that I bought YEARS ago. The box says "New", so I must have bought it when it first came out.

This stuff goes on like black liquid shoe polish (sponge tip applicator), and I covered the entire surface with a generous amount, smoothing any puddles, etc. until I had a nice even covering.

Once dry, the visors looked perfect!!

[Devious21]

Originally Posted by Amylovebus

Here are the results of my label removal.

Attachment 514215

Someone else mentioned that the fabric will tighten up once it dried. I just wanted to confirm. The picture above looks like the material got really saggy/loose. Did that go away once dry?

[wolfman1807]

Mine looked like that if not worse when I did mine, but after a few days of worrying it looked good as new. Minus the decals of course!!!

[Devious21]

Cool, that gives me more confidence. Thanks wolf.

[wolfman1807]

No problem, I sweat the little things too!!!

[StickMon]

I did this on my leather visors a few weeks ago.

First one:
Dumped lots of Goof Off Professional liquid on the label. Melts it immediately.
Trouble is the Goof Off evaporates in about 10 seconds, so you have to work fast to mop off the label.
I was left with a slightly sticky residue, and you could still see a ghostly shadow of WARNING.
So I put on more Goof Off and rubbed some more. Making progress.
Lots more Goof Off, rubbing harder ... making progress ... almost got it ... ohshit ... rubbed top layer off the leather.
Quit while I was behind. After re-moistening the leather with lots of Glovolium, and then Meguiars, and finally Gliptone, got it mostly back to goodness.

Second one:
Dumped lots of Goof Off on the label and mopped gently until all the white and yellow was off.
Quit.

Summary: Quit while you're ahead and don't worry about the ghost WARNING.

As others have mentioned, part of my problem was that mine were baked on by years of California sunshine.

[inTgr8r]

FWIW

These labels get a little more difficult to deal with now that the cars are a little older.

In the OP, I did that with my M roadster when new & it was VERY easy.
I picked up my coupe used & noticed that it was more difficult to do.

[GP20]

My M was built in Nov., '07, and I removed the stickers in Oct, 2010, using Goo-off and also magic eraser. Absolutely zero residue or shadow. The visors looked completely fucked up while I was working on them and I was certain that I had to buy replacements. But after I cleaned and dried them and put a couple coats of leather conditioner on them, they looked brand new.

Disclaimer: use magic eraser / goo-off at your own risk.

[SCHMOUPE]

Originally Posted by GP20

My M was built in Nov., '07, and I removed the stickers in Oct, 2010, using Goo-off and also magic eraser. Absolutely zero residue or shadow. The visors looked completely fucked up while I was working on them and I was certain that I had to buy replacements. But after I cleaned and dried them and put a couple coats of leather conditioner on them, they looked brand new.

Disclaimer: use magic eraser / goo-off at your own risk.

During the application, it looks like a mess but have faith and they will go back to looking normal once everything is dried!!!

[itdnwiwbp]

I used Goof Off and an old tooth brush. I found that covering the area then brushing lightly from the edge inward removed it almost in once piece with no residue. The one that I "scrubbed" left a little bit of residue. So don't scrub, lightly brush from an edge in one direction without rubbing the decal. Basically don't set the bristles directly on top of the decal.

[Devious21]

Originally Posted by itdnwiwbp

I used Goof Off and an old tooth brush. I found that covering the area then brushing lightly from the edge inward removed it almost in once piece with no residue. The one that I "scrubbed" left a little bit of residue. So don't scrub, lightly brush from an edge in one direction without rubbing the decal. Basically don't set the bristles directly on top of the decal.

When you guys "apply" the goof off, are you basically just pouring it directly on top of the sticker, creating a small puddle? Or applying to a rag first? Or something else?