> Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?
If it is amateur-applied to the surface you can perhaps scrape it off with a piece of medium-hard plastic, then fine-sand and repolish the area. I have done that to one of my guitars that has a poly finish. I used 1500 grit wet-and-dry, used wet, and metal polish for the refinishing. There is a big risk that the area where the decal was will still show due to differential fading.
On Oct 29, 10:20 pm, Tony Done <tonyd...@bigpond.com> wrote:
> On 30/10/2012 7:14 AM, Bigguy wrote:
> > Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?
> If it is amateur-applied to the surface you can perhaps scrape it off
> with a piece of medium-hard plastic, then fine-sand and repolish the
> area. I have done that to one of my guitars that has a poly finish. I
> used 1500 grit wet-and-dry, used wet, and metal polish for the
> refinishing. There is a big risk that the area where the decal was will
> still show due to differential fading.
> On Oct 29, 10:20 pm, Tony Done <tonyd...@bigpond.com> wrote:
> > On 30/10/2012 7:14 AM, Bigguy wrote:
> > > Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?
> > If it is amateur-applied to the surface you can perhaps scrape it off
> > with a piece of medium-hard plastic, then fine-sand and repolish the
> > area. I have done that to one of my guitars that has a poly finish. I
> > used 1500 grit wet-and-dry, used wet, and metal polish for the
> > refinishing. There is a big risk that the area where the decal was will
> > still show due to differential fading.
Don't know Goo Gone here in Oz, but after posting it occurred to me
that something like wet paper left over it for an hour or two might
help to soften it if it is just a water-float decal.
> Bigguy <ewill...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?
small squirt of WD-40 on the decal and let it sit for a few minutes
to soak into the decal. use a dry cloth to wipe away the decal and
another dry cloth to wipe away any excess WD-40 residue.
WD-40 will break down the adhesive on the decal and it's easy to
wipe off. WD will not harm the acrylic surface (don't let it sit there
on the decal for days or anything... obviously)
On 30 Oct 2012, Tony Done <tonyd...@bigpond.com> wrote in
alt.guitar.beginner:
> Don't know Goo Gone here in Oz, but after posting it occurred to
> me that something like wet paper left over it for an hour or two
> might help to soften it if it is just a water-float decal.
"Goo Gone" was a solution of stuff, one of the main ingredients being Naptha. It was miraculous! Took off all kinds of gunk without damaging what it was stuck to. They changed the formula a couple of years ago to make it more "environmentally friendly" I guess, and it hardly works at all now. Lighter fluid (containing naptha) is what I use now.
> Nil wrote:
>> "Goo Gone" was a solution of stuff, one of the main ingredients being
>> Naptha. It was miraculous! ...
> x2 on naptha. Won't hurt lacquer or shellac. Not much at all that
> will hurt acrylic.
> Lump
The common commercial version of naptha here is called Shellite. You and Nil are talking about catalysed acrylic? My experience making fretboards for lap steels with spray-can acrylic is that it is very solvent-susceptible. - You can't spray (allowing long drying time between coats) contrasting colours side-by-side without them running into each other. That is the reason I didn't suggest a hydrocarbon solvent. Spray can poly is self-catalysing and doesn't do that.
This is a bit OT, but something someone might find useful one day. There are many different fractions distilled from crude oil, and some of them (I use Shellsol and Isopar), while still volatile, are less so than naptha or water. I imagine these could be used as very mild solvents that eventually evaporate. Unfortunately they only seem to come in 44-gallon lots.
>> The common commercial version of naptha here is called Shellite. You
>> and Nil are talking about catalysed acrylic?...
> Apparently so, yes. All acrylic paint I'm familiar with is
> self catalyzed. It turns into rock once cured.
> My nails are acrylic. Two part, resin and catalyst.
> Once it's cured, even acetone (the solvent/catalyst)
> doesn't soften them.
> Lump
Yeah, two entirely different beasts. IIRC, catalysed acrylic can be as hard and brittle as glass. The cheap hardware store spray paint is acrylic, poly costs a few dollars more. Typically it dries fairly quickly but takes a long time (months), if ever, to go hard. OK for art (spray can or squeeze tubes), not good for working surfaces.
>Nil wrote:
>> "Goo Gone" was a solution of stuff, one of the main ingredients being
>> Naptha. It was miraculous! ...
>x2 on naptha. Won't hurt lacquer or shellac. Not much at all that
>will hurt acrylic.
>Lump
Thanks to everyone for the replys. I'll try some. The decal is on the surface, and was applied by someone after the guitar was built.
I would have answered questions earlier, but we were squarely hit by hurricane Sandy and were out of power for a full five days. Things here in New Jersey USA are just unbelieveable. EJ
>> Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?
>small squirt of WD-40 on the decal and let it sit for a few minutes
>to soak into the decal. use a dry cloth to wipe away the decal and
>another dry cloth to wipe away any excess WD-40 residue.
>WD-40 will break down the adhesive on the decal and it's easy to
>wipe off. WD will not harm the acrylic surface (don't let it sit there
>on the decal for days or anything... obviously)
Nil <redno...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:
>On 30 Oct 2012, Tony Done <tonyd...@bigpond.com> wrote in
>alt.guitar.beginner:
>> Don't know Goo Gone here in Oz, but after posting it occurred to
>> me that something like wet paper left over it for an hour or two
>> might help to soften it if it is just a water-float decal.
>"Goo Gone" was a solution of stuff, one of the main ingredients being >Naptha. It was miraculous! Took off all kinds of gunk without damaging >what it was stuck to. They changed the formula a couple of years ago to >make it more "environmentally friendly" I guess, and it hardly works at >all now. Lighter fluid (containing naptha) is what I use
now.
It seems that whenever we get something that really works, the government finds a way of banning it. Goo Gone is now worthless. I'll try naphtha and WD40. Thanks, EJ
>> On 30 Oct 2012, Tony Done <tonyd...@bigpond.com>
> wrote in
>> alt.guitar.beginner:
>>> Don't know Goo Gone here in Oz, but after posting it
> occurred to
>>> me that something like wet paper left over it for an hour
> or two
>>> might help to soften it if it is just a water-float decal.
>> "Goo Gone" was a solution of stuff, one of the main
> ingredients being
>> Naptha. It was miraculous! Took off all kinds of gunk
> without damaging
>> what it was stuck to. They changed the formula a couple
> of years ago to
>> make it more "environmentally friendly" I guess, and it
> hardly works at
>> all now. Lighter fluid (containing naptha) is what I use
> now.
> It seems that whenever we get something that really works, the government finds a way
> of banning it. Goo Gone is now worthless. I'll try naphtha and WD40. Thanks, EJ
Just remember that removing the decal may leave a shadow. Nothing to do about it, I'm just trying to avert possible disappointment.
"Bigguy" <ewill...@comcast.net> wrote:
>Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top
of an acrylic finished guitar?
Thanks to everyone who repiled. I tried everything suggested (except wd40 which I did not have) and nothing worked. Finally in despairation I tried Acetone. It took the decal off immediately, and did not hurt the original finish.
If you have a similar problem and try using Acetone be very careful because it can ruin many types of finishes.
>> Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top
> of an acrylic finished guitar?
> Thanks to everyone who repiled. I tried everything suggested (except wd40 which I did
> not have) and nothing worked. Finally in despairation I tried Acetone. It took the decal off
> immediately, and did not hurt the original finish.
> If you have a similar problem and try using Acetone be very careful because it can ruin
> many types of finishes.
If a was doing that, with acetone or a similar strong solvent, I would test it first in an inconspicuous place, as underneath a scratchplate or inside a conrol cavity.
I'm pleased it worked, but you were taking a chance. Did the decal leave any shadow? Maybe that is more of a risk on clear finishes over wood, or softer kinds of coloured finish.
> If I was doing it I'd pick at the corner of it with my fingernail and then
> carefully pull it off in 1 big piece. Ed
IIRC, I used scraper about as hard as a fingernail, but the water float decal was too old and eroded to peel to any extent, it just flaked off fairly easily. - And it didn't leave a shadow.
>> If I was doing it I'd pick at the corner of it with my
fingernail and then
>> carefully pull it off in 1 big piece. Ed
>IIRC, I used scraper about as hard as a fingernail, but the water float >decal was too old and eroded to peel to any extent, it just flaked off >fairly easily. - And it didn't leave a shadow.
I tested a small area before doing the job. The acetone immediately disolved the decal.
There is slight, almost unnoticable shadow of the decal. In my opinion this looks better than the decal did.
>>> If I was doing it I'd pick at the corner of it with my
> fingernail and then
>>> carefully pull it off in 1 big piece. Ed
>> IIRC, I used scraper about as hard as a fingernail, but
> the water float
>> decal was too old and eroded to peel to any extent, it just
> flaked off
>> fairly easily. - And it didn't leave a shadow.
> I tested a small area before doing the job.
> The acetone immediately disolved the decal.
> There is slight, almost unnoticable shadow of the decal. In my opinion this looks better
> than the decal did.
> Thanks,
> EJ
A UV suntan lamp or direct sunlight would probably remove the shadow if it bugged you.
>>>> If I was doing it I'd pick at the corner of it with my
>> fingernail and then
>>>> carefully pull it off in 1 big piece. Ed
>>> IIRC, I used scraper about as hard as a fingernail, but
>> the water float
>>> decal was too old and eroded to peel to any extent, it just
>> flaked off
>>> fairly easily. - And it didn't leave a shadow.
