Removing a decal

Bigguy

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Oct 29, 2012, 5:14:41 PM10/29/12

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Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?

esha...@yahoo.com

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Oct 29, 2012, 5:17:31 PM10/29/12

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On Monday, October 29, 2012 4:14:41 PM UTC-5, Bigguy wrote:
> Anyone know a good way to remove a decal from the top of an acrylic finished guitar?

Is it on top of the finish or embedded.. Ed

Tony Done

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Oct 29, 2012, 11:20:01 PM10/29/12

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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.

--
Tony Done

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=784456
http://www.flickr.com/photos/done_family/

Pt

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Oct 30, 2012, 12:33:37 AM10/30/12

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Something like Goo Gone might do it.

Pt

Tony Done

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Oct 30, 2012, 1:00:32 AM10/30/12

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> >http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=784456http://www.f...

>
> Something like Goo Gone might do it.
>
> Pt

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.

Tony D

Squier

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Oct 30, 2012, 11:03:49 AM10/30/12

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> Bigguy <ewil...@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)

Nil

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Oct 30, 2012, 12:03:31 PM10/30/12

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On 30 Oct 2012, Tony Done <tony...@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.

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke

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Oct 30, 2012, 12:47:53 PM10/30/12

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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

Tony Done

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Oct 30, 2012, 3:10:25 PM10/30/12

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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.

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke

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Oct 30, 2012, 5:34:53 PM10/30/12

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Tony Done wrote:

> 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

Pt

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Oct 30, 2012, 5:56:27 PM10/30/12

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On Oct 30, 4:35 pm, "Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke" <lu...@LumpyMusic.com>
wrote:

What color are they?
Pink, Blue?
I like yellow.

Pt

Tony Done

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Oct 31, 2012, 2:51:03 AM10/31/12

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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.

Bigguy

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Nov 3, 2012, 11:12:55 PM11/3/12

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"Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke" <lu...@LumpyMusic.com> wrote:

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

Bigguy

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Nov 3, 2012, 11:13:40 PM11/3/12

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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it. EJ

Bigguy

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Nov 3, 2012, 11:31:48 PM11/3/12

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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

Tony Done

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Nov 4, 2012, 12:20:18 AM11/4/12

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Just remember that removing the decal may leave a shadow. Nothing to do
about it, I'm just trying to avert possible disappointment.

Bigguy

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Nov 7, 2012, 10:27:25 AM11/7/12

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"Bigguy" <ewil...@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.

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke

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Nov 7, 2012, 1:19:33 PM11/7/12

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Bigguy wrote:

> If you have a similar problem and try using Acetone be very careful
> because it can ruin many types of finishes.

It will also ruin many types of brain cells. Be berry carebul
with acetone/lacquer thinner.

Lump

Tony Done

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Nov 7, 2012, 1:23:41 PM11/7/12

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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.

esha...@yahoo.com

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Nov 8, 2012, 5:29:53 PM11/8/12

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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

Tony Done

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Nov 9, 2012, 1:50:35 AM11/9/12

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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.

Bigguy

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Nov 10, 2012, 4:12:10 PM11/10/12

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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

Tony Done

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Nov 10, 2012, 4:29:53 PM11/10/12

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A UV suntan lamp or direct sunlight would probably remove the shadow if
it bugged you.

Tony D

Bigguy

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Nov 11, 2012, 6:04:14 PM11/11/12

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Good thought. Thanks EJ