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Remove tape residue w/o messing up the paint?

F

FordMan77

Active member
Working on cleaning up an 02 Cadillac Deville DTS. The old 3rd brake light on the trunklid was cracked on one end and it was at some point taped down. I have since replaced the janky light but there is still some old dried up residue on the paint. What would be the best route to remove this and not harm the finish?

From what I can see it appears it was duct tape judging by the adhesive pattern :th_laugh-lol2:
 


I used goo gone to remove the residue from debagding and wd40 to remove some super old plastidip from the previous owner. that one surprised me haha just some cheap alternatives you might already have. no paint damage from either one even after a few years:th_thumbsup-wink:
 
I do have some WD laying around so that could save a trip and some $$. Don't use it for anything else but driving water out of electrical connections so may as well try it. Goo Gone was my first thought but I can't find my bottle of it. It's not a huge layer of adhesive but you can def. tell where it was. I just don't want to lift the clear off with the adhesive since it's really the only place on the car that has any sort of paint issue so far. Being this was originally a Florida car the finish has been baked a bit already but still recoverable.
 
Seconding the GooGone :) I love that stuff. I use it primarily for household stuff though... cuzzzz people better not be putting stickers on my car O_O
 


if it was duct tape residue, mineral spirits should work,too. all of whats been mentioned should work.

on another note with residue, i had an enclosed snowmobile trailer in getting new paint. had to take off all of the old decals/graphics that had been on there for years. i tried a jillion different products but the residue from those decals was like crypton. then a friend suggested trying hoppes #9 gun cleaner. took the residue right off.
 
yea id just be careful with mineral spirits with little to no clear coat it can thin the paint I believe and I can't guarantee the wd40 will work but it's worth a try if you have some on hand. no harm can be done except maybe the $1.13 in wd40 you would use if you asked terry crews lol
 
I've always used Brake Kleen for this. Works like a champ, but you will need to re-apply wax in that spot.

Last year, I bought some Pro-Form adhesive remover, as I was told Brake Kleen will kill me. The adhesive remove is ok; smells worse than Brake Kleen and needs 3 times the amount to do the same job. I hardly use it. LOL
 
Re-applying wax wouldn't be an issue as this car has likely not been waxed since it got here in 2011... I'm having to use compound AND a polish before I put wax on it just to try and get the scratches and dullness out of it. So far it seems to be working but doing this by hand sucks on this much sheet metal, lol. Really need to get myself a DA buffer. My arms/hands are getting too old for this ****.
 
I am from the WD40 camp. Solvent based wax and grease remover is #1. 3M adhesive cleaner #2. WD-40, third choice. Unless theres much buildup, then its WD after washing with soap. Never used GooGone. Nor Hoppes, on paint. I begin with rubbing alcohol. But if it is old, baked-on Florida duct tape glue... don't expect to remove all traces. If it dissolves with whatever you use, fine. If it doesn't, stop and leave that last bit of residue because IF it left a mark its real easy to loosen the paint if you keep on trying and rubbing. Also, if any residue does remain, do not attempt to polish or wax that spot. Go around. Just be gentle, clean it well first so you don't rub dirt in.
 


Well, good news. After some time working with the WD it removed everything to the point where only 1 small spot was left. Followed it up with some Meg's compound and polish and got 98% of it out. After doing the rest of the trunk and waxing it looks just fine. Didn't lift any paint so I think it's good.

Quite surprised as knowing the history of the car's old location and overall neglect coupled with the quality of the clearcoat of that era that it was a lost cause. Just finished the entire car and so far it looks much better. I have yet to take it out in the sun to see for sure but under fluorescent lights most of the imperfections that I had no longer show.

Now it's off to cleaning up the chrome wheels.
 
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