Thoughts On Gently Removing Paint?

My '56 tailgate has the remnants of the original Willys dealer decal on it. The "4 Wheel Drive" stencil/decal is also there, but covered by a layer of what is probably rattle can Rustolem paint.

I'm glad they PO's didn't pain over the decal, but has anyone had good luck gently removing a layer or two of paint to expose markings underneath?

When I had my M38 the method to expose hood numbers/markings and other details was to gently hand sand and expose as you go. Is there a better way?

I'm not really concerned with how it might effect the overall finish/patina, the jeep has plenty of character and I'd rather expose what might be the original rather than re-stenciling "4 Wheel Drive".

Here's a pic of the tailgate. 4WD is in the usual right hand panel of the tailgate. A pic of the existing/visible decal is for your reference - and to show that perfection in the finish is not a concern

 

Not guaranteeing any results but

I removed a layer of paint that was sprayed over this decal



With this stuff I bought from Lowes



It’s water based and seems pretty gentle.

The decal didn’t seem to be damaged and never tried to release from where it was originally stuck

I’ve used it to remove paint from wiring as well and it never seemed to hurt the insulation.

Just have to keep checking it.

 

thanks - I may give that a try. looks like the decal you uncovered came out ok!

 

It did. By the way, the wrinkles on the decal were there before I did anything.

Maybe just try a small corner to start?

What part of middle tn are you in? I used to live in franklin, later moved to Columbia working at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill back in the day. I’m in Knoxville now

 

The irony is I went to HS in Knoxville (Farragut) in the early 80s and live in Franklin now. Opposite, yet small world

 

Careful with chemicals on that type of decal. It might destroy it. I would wet sand it.

 

Actually wet sanding sounds like a safer idea.

 

I recently saw a video of a lady removing paint from a VW van with a product called Goof Off Graffiti Remover. Seemed to work well at removing “new” paint to get down to the original and it didn’t seem to hurt the original paint.

 

JMO - if you are going to apply a solvent, suggest you start with least volatile and move to more volatile. For example, I would start with something like canola oil, rub with a soft rag and see what happens. Then maybe wintergreen oil (Marvel Mystery Oil), and then paint thinner. A little rubbing and some persistence would seem to be the proper approach. If you are getting color on the rag and not damaging the decal, keep going. Citrus oil is often a component of paint remover, and something like Orange Glo might be safe and effective. Next would be maybe xylene - very useful for cleaning gently with no oily residue. Graffiti remover probably contains hot solvents and chlorinated hydrocarbons which may be effective but also dissolve your decal.