Decal Removal

[Downeast25]

I picked up a 2007 DA40 XL and the decals are baked on. I am planning to replace them right away. Any advice you can give on safe removal will be much appreciated. I do not want to burn the surface with a heat gun or "eraser" product. Is there solution I can use to remove any leftover adhesive?

[krellis]

Several years ago, I tried all sorts of different methods to remove the old decals from our 1996 DA20. Most were painfully slow and some caused some surface damage. I finally reached out to Diamond Canada for assistance.

Here was their response:

There is no one good way to remove decals. Generally speaking, a mild solvent (isopropyl alcohol, acetone, etc) and elbow grease will be the best practice. You will want to use plastic scrapers or rags only, as scotch-brite or similar abrasives will mar the paint finish. You may consider heat application as well, although I would caution you to use moderate heat over a larger area. You want to avoid focused high heat on the structure, as this may pose an issue to the paint, or the foam core in the sandwich structures. Here at the factory we have also had some success with a rotary tool which has proven very effective at removing decals, wing walk, etc. I have attached some info on the tool we use. Once the old decal is removed, all glue residue and greases/oils must also be removed. BASF makes a good product called Precleano that we like. I have attached some guidelines for decal application once your removal and prep is completed. If you have any questions, please let us know.

The rotary tool they referenced was called the http://www.mbxit.com/products/mbx-vinyl-zapper-c-9.html

I looked at it and bought a similar tool from a company I was familiar with. They are not cheap, but it did the job very quickly and with very little damage to the painted surface. As I got more familiar with the tool, the quality and speed of removal improved greatly. https://www.amazon.com/Dynabrade-18256- ... B000LQN5YG

[Colin]

My shop in Long Beach uses that tool. I think they quoted six hours to remove my decals. (I had the factory do it when it was there to get the canopy installed instead.)

[Downeast25]

Thanks for the responses. I ended up buying one of these this morning.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZ ... UTF8&psc=1

My plan is to use this tool in conjunction with a heat gun. My huge concern is that I will damage the surface of the plane either by overheating with the gun or too much friction from the tool! I will post updates as I have them...

[Colin]

My shop said they used six of those on the last plane they did. Just in case you want to order a few more for the job.

[rwtucker]

I guess Diamond is the expert but I would be cautious about following their advice to use acetone without testing it in a safe place on the paint surface. Observe the test for 24 hours and look for blistering, softness or other deterioration under a bright light. Isopropyl alcohol probably would not hurt but I would be surprised if it dissolved the decal material.

[carym]

I used acetone to help remove the glue on the old wing walk and it didn't cause any problems with the underlying paint

[Downeast25]

It looks like a citrus based solvent is what is most effective. Many have used it on fiberglass RVs with a lot of success. As for the eraser wheels, I will order a few more...

Thank you all for the advice!

[krellis]

We removed all of the decals from our 20 using only one wheel.

I would caution you about too high an RPM on whatever motorized device you use. One of the advantages of the Dynabrade (and similar) air tools is the ability to generate reasonable torque at fairly low RPM. This kept the heat generated by the rubber wheel pretty low and may have contributed to the long life of the wheel.

We are not experts by any stretch, but we did successfully remove and reinstall all of the decals on the plane.

We used the 3M citrus based adhesive remover to clean up any remaining residue. It did not hurt the paint at all. I would be scared of acetone, even on well cured urethane paint.

[Lance Murray]

3m makes an adhesive remover that works.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/MMM-38983_2.html#.WETyq3eZOt8

http://www.tcpglobal.com/Search.html?qu ... ve+remover

100LL works well also. Acetone works and does not harm the paint.

Be careful using the mechanical remover. The friction causes heat and can cause issues with the fiberglass and or paint.

What works best is about 6 hours of elbow grease. A heat gun applied very carefully, and a hotel entry key or credit card to use as a plastic scraper.

It won't happen fast.