How to best remove decals from wheels...

[Delpo]

I have seen bits of wisdom in regards to decal removal in the forum but not in one thread. Could you guys give me a hand on the best way to remove decals? I have a set of DT Swiss RR 1.2 and would like to make it clean.

Thanks.

Delpo

[justinf]

I've always peeled by hand and then used Goof Off to get the pesky residue that remains.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . to peel up an edge or you can use a razor blade to do the same thing. Then you can grab the edge and peel it off easier. Mineral spirits takes off the glue.

BBD

[Onno]

See my post of about a month ago or so. I took the decals off my Williams' wheels, and it took about 3 hours of hard labor, goo removers of various kinds, lots of cursing, some tennis elbow, etc., to get them more or less clean. The decals are the easy part--the glue is the really, really hard part. Perhaps other wheels and decals, though, use other kinds of glue. This was like the worst klister wax you've ever seen (if you ski, that is).

Onno

[FierteTi52]

Heat the decals with a hair blow dryer and the decal will come off fairly easy. Paint thinner will remove the remaining glue.
Jeff

[Jeff Weir]

This system has worked well for me in the past:

remove the tire and tube.


use a hair dryer to really heat up the decal and surrounding area. you should be able to pull the decal off easily. use goo gone or rubbing alcohol (preferred) to remove any glue reside. lots of alcohol & paper towels required! You've gone to all this trouble to make your rims look good, might as well do the job right. Clean every bit of glue away.

don't use a knife or blade. the risk is way too high that you might scratch the finish on the rim.

I guarantee that after doing this the babes will do whatever you tell them to.
Wheels without decals are a major chick magnet.

[BumbleBeeDave]

See my post of about a month ago or so. I took the decals off my Williams' wheels, and it took about 3 hours of hard labor, goo removers of various kinds, lots of cursing, some tennis elbow, etc., to get them more or less clean. The decals are the easy part--the glue is the really, really hard part. Perhaps other wheels and decals, though, use other kinds of glue. This was like the worst klister wax you've ever seen (if you ski, that is).

Onno

. . . but then found that if I soaked a paper towel in mineral spirits, then held it against the glue for a while, the spirits soften and dissolve the glue and it comes off easier. If you just put spirits (or GoofOff or whatever) on the cloth and start rubbing, then yeah, it's gonna be a major PITA to get all the glue off.

BBD

[Onno]

I guarantee that after doing this the babes will do whatever you tell them to.
Wheels without decals are a major chick magnet.

But aren't DT rims and wheels the ultimate babe magnets?! The reason I took the decals off my wheels is so that babes in the distance might think I was on DTs. Perhaps this feint, though, depends on folks removing their DT decals too. Complicated.

[Louis]

Wheels without decals are a major chick magnet.

The owners of one of the houses I pass regularly on my rides keep guinea hens and chickens. Just yesterday I saw them wandering around in the yard, scratching for bugs. I can tell you from first hand experience that my MA-40's (with nary a sticker on them) had absolutely no impact.

Maybe I should try LW instead...

Louis

[bzbvh5]

Peel the sticker the best you can first. Then, to get the glue off, go get your wifes Avon Skin So Soft bath oil. Put it on and wipe it off. It works.

[Bill D]

Does the answer depend on whether the rim is metal or carbon? For instance, can you still use mineral spirits, rubbing alcohol, etc. to get the glue off of carbon rims, or will what degrade/dissolve the finish or the resin in a carbon wheel? Just curious.

-bd