How to clean glue residue off truck hood
 

I stripped 5 year old vinyl graphics off my truck hood yesterday . The vinyl was sun checked/cracked . Had to remove with heat gun and plastic putty knife . Fun job :D . Anyway I now have this glue residue to clean up .

I tried goof off citrus gel it didn't touch it . I tried acetone and that worked OK. The paint lifted in a few spots so repaint is needed . As of yesterday the glue was still sticky . So do I hit this with acetone ? Or do I use a sander and take it to bare metal ?

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Wd-40?

3m adhesive removing wheel

Can you repaint it yourself?

If yes, that may be your best option.

The glue laughed at WD40 . The glue appears to be drying now that the vinyl is removed . I am going to let it dry for a few days then attack with a sander . The graphic was installed between the two hood creases . So my plan is mask off the hood creases and then sand the center .

I think I can feather the spots where paint lifted and spot prime . Then sand the rest to remove the glue residue . Hopefully leaving a good base for repaint . I seriously doubt I can color match 24 year old paint . So I am thinking about painting the center section black . Thoughts ?

I think I can paint it myself , I took auto body shop class 50 years ago :D so should be easy :eek: . We shall see .

Since you don’t care about the paint, use a chemical stripper. Brush it on, drink a beer, come back and you can scrape everything off with a putty knife. It is NASTY stuff, use it in the open and wear chemical resistant rubber gloves. I learned the hard way that it will burn exposed skin.

I do somewhat care about the paint . I am hoping 95 % can just be sanded the remaining 5 % will go bare metal . That's the plan but plans don't always work out . Thanks for the tip .

I'd back that down to 3M adhesive remover.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-38984-Specialty-Adhesive-Remover/dp/B0054S5OOU/ref=asc_df_B0054S5OOU?mcid=d74c409b5582365caa30035 5ce685f73&hvocijid=13725461266852781999-B0054S5OOU-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw= g&hvrand=13725461266852781999&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqm t=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016003&hv targid=pla-2281435179058&th=1

The real Goof Off Pro that’s oil based might be a good intermediate then, it won’t strip paint. The citrus stuff is a joke.

Or Lacquer paint thinner.

I just used lacquer thinner on a paper towel along with a plastic scraper to remove a patch of old PPF and its adhesive from my 997. It didn't affect the paint, I preceded cautiously and it took longer than I expected.

Listen to the old guy

I’ve been removing the clear bra glue off my cayman for over year now. Most is gone but there are still remnants. Mostly a track car these days so not worried about looks. What a pain in the butt! No more clear bras for me! Best thing I’ve found is 3M adhesive remover. I’ve used spray and bulk liquid. Sprayed on surface, sprayed on blue paper towel, whatever, it’s so tedious I’ve tried it all used a steam cleaner with minimal success. I’ve used a plastic scraper with some success. Once again, it just sucks!

Something I didn't think of until David mentioned a steam cleaner, but a hot water pressure washer (rented) can take some of the heavier glue residue off and then use the 3M adhesive remover. I've used Xylene and lacquer thinner before but the 3M product seems to work the best. On thicker adhesives, I apply the 3M product, let it work for a little bit, take a plastic scraper and remove, then wipe with a paper towel soaked in the adhesive remover. For full disclosure, I'm typically working on powder coat paint but orange and gray paint on Bobcat machines is enamel and I haven't had any trouble to speak of with pain lift. YMMV

Those are awesome but can dent the metal with thinner panels.

I just sanded with 100 grit and got no where . I think the friction/heat is making the adhesive gummy . I used a 1/2 quart of acetone and really didn't do much . Off to the store to get lacquer thinner . This job sucks bigly !!!

Went at it with lacquer thinner and it removed what I will call the top layer of adhesive . Now what's left on the hood is the bottom layer of adhesive . It is a semi clear layer .

I will continue with the lacquer thinner to see if I can finally get down to the paint . May try the citrus cleaner again . This is some tough adhesive !

I know that I will NEVER ever install graphics/PPF or a wrap on any vehicle I own .

I am even considering doing that center section with black truck bed coating . She is my DIY truck and our tow vehicle .

Easy button: Go to the bone yard and buy a white hood off of an Avalanche or 1500 and call it a day. Gotta be a million white hoods from that era truck in the bone yards.

Where's the fun in that :D ? But yeah not a bad idea .

Leave it as is and everyone will admire the "patina"

100 grit was a mistake. Yes, it softened the glue when what you really want is to freeze it.

I would get a pack of razor blades and a good holder. Once you get started just half overlap and use long strokes at the angle that doesn't dig in too much. You have to get under the goo. Since they dull relatively quickly they aren't worth cleaning. Flip them over for a new edge and then toss them.

You will still need to sand the remaining paint. I'd use 220 to start lubed with a little soap in water. That will aid in sanding and keep any residue from clogging the paper.

I do this kind of thing as part of restorations of many sorts. I have used steam so I should mention that. Steam and vinegar are the best ingredients for softening old PVA glue, which incidentally is not what you have there.

There are some solvents that will attack that adhesive. You probably can't buy them anymore and you really don't want to. I have some left over swimming pool epoxy paint thinner that must have come from another world. Scary stuff.

Success !!! So thinking about what to try next I decided to try the Goof Off gel adhesive remover again . I sprayed it on in a fairly large area and let it set for 10 minutes . The plastic putty knife easily glided along with the adhesive forming a gooey wake :D .

In about 1.5 hours I stripped off 3/4 of the adhesive . Easy peazy ;) . Tomorrow I will finish with the adhesive removal and then start sanding . Milt you are spot on 220 in soapy water should do the trick . Man this has been MUCH harder than I thought it would be . SmileWavy

Hard to tell from the pic but all adhesive residue has been removed . I just finished rinsing it off . Went over it with a razor blade to remove all remaining tiny pieces of vinyl that were left behind . Now I can start wet sanding . The darker spots are where the ink from the vinyl bled into/onto the paint surface .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749649767.jpg

Spent half the day on the hood sanding/wet sanding . I used 180 dry for a quick knock down then 220 wet . Other than where the paint lifted the hood is smooth . Built up 3 layers of primer on the areas I feathered where the paint lifted . Tomorrow the hood gets another round of 220 wet . Slowly getting there . I will need a very thin layer of bondo or glazing putty to finish off the lifted areas . I am happy so far .

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Went to the local body shop this morning that has painted Porsche parts for me in the past . To paint the hood and driver door ( it has some issues ) is $1400.00 . He would remove the hood but thought he would do the door on the truck . Same color with basecoat/clearcoat . We are going camping for a week during 4th of July so I have time to think about it . The guy isn't a hack , he does good work and has a nice shop/booth .

After thinking about doing this myself I have decided not to . I just am not setup to do it right . I may get another quote just to compare .

You really need a paint booth, and a bit off talent to paint a hood, and make it look really good, like it should if it was done right. And some wet sanding and polishing after the paint.

Sometimes we have to call " the guy " 😁 . I am willing to say this is one of those times .

You might try some naptha, or cigarette lighter fluid as it's sometimes called.

Dropped the truck off at the body shop after lunch today . He thinks it will be done by Friday . For me the easiest way to get it done . And done right . SmileWavy

Good call. Painting is a good thing to leave to the pros, it’s really hard to DIY and get professional level results.

To close this out I just picked the truck up . He didn't like the old paint on the hood so he stripped it . He said the paint seemed brittle and was afraid it would peel . He didn't charge any extra so good by me :D . For a truck being 24 years old the color match is good , she's not a concourse winner :D
All I have left to do is install the hood wind deflector and we are ready for our 4th of July camping trip SmileWavy .


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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750966362.jpg

Kong rides again!!

Indeed he does ! Like the energizer bunny he keeps on rolling . I am not far from rolling 200k miles so just broken in :D

Truck looks good. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...s/beerchug.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...s/beerchug.gif

Thanks

Looks good! Have you given any thought to adding some vinyl graffics? :)

^^^ too soon dude ....... too soon 😁