Removing Graphics

[Cleveland]

I have been thinking about removing the graphics from my bike, and I was wondering what sort of experience people have had with this. How do I go about it? Does it leave marks on the paint below? The bike is new, so I dont expect there to be any issues with faded paint. Any tips appreciated. :)

[Lurch]

The graphics on the tank are usually clear coated over. You will need to sand them off. The other graphics are just stickers and you can remove them with a pin stripe removing wheel. You should be able to find one at a paint supply store. BE careful as it will pull off the paint if you get to aggressive.

Lurch

[BenFolds5]

I've always had good luck w/ a hair dryer. Heat the graphic up with the hair dryer and then lift the decal up w/ your finger nail. Once the graphic is nice and warm, it should come right off. As for the tank and the clearcoat challenge, I'v always avoided that because of the clearcoat.

Lurch's method sounds a little more professional than my hairdryer method though, so you might check into that first.

[Cleveland]

Damn, I didnt even think about the clear coat. If the tank graphics are sanded off, will the whole tank need to be repainted or just new clear coat? If I have to do that, I think I would just repaint the rest of the bike so its all black. Thanks for the info.

[Anonymous]

You'll have to repaint the entire take.

FWIW, I sanded mine off on the race bike, however you will probably need to sand the whole thing down to bare metal to get it smooth... don't ask me how I know.

I'm not sure what your painting/finishing/smoothing skills are, but Morse does a *killer* job on this stuff. If you're going to the IMS show this weekend you can see the bike they just did for me at the MRA booth.