Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Thursday March 28, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
Mid Atlantic Impreza Club
Mid Atlantic Impreza Club Forum sponsored by Annapolis Subaru
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Chapters > Mid Atlantic Impreza Club -- MAIC

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-09-2012, 10:57 PM   #1
tjmazz13
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 291681
Join Date: Aug 2011
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Baltimore, MD
Vehicle:
2004 Pearl White STi
IAG1000, PTE6870, Haltech

Default Removing 3M film

I just bought an STi and it had the 3M protective headlight film on it. When I removed it, it left a lot of adhesive. What can I use to safely remove the adhesive without damaging my headlights?

Thanks
TJ
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
tjmazz13 is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 11-09-2012, 11:28 PM   #2
enjoi1968
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 234416
Join Date: Jan 2010
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: 21703
Vehicle:
It's A BRAAAAAHtato,
Yo.

Default

Goof Off and a fair amount of elbow grease
enjoi1968 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 01:36 AM   #3
Matt_H
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 107000
Join Date: Feb 2006
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Bristow, VA
Vehicle:
2015 BMW X1

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by enjoi1968
Goof Off and a fair amount of elbow grease
Do not use this on your head lights.
Matt_H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 03:29 AM   #4
aznboi0204
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 266514
Join Date: Dec 2010
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Maryland
Vehicle:
2011 OBP STi Sedan
OBP

Default

bug and tar remover and elbow grease
aznboi0204 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 03:58 AM   #5
jewbaru42
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 265098
Join Date: Nov 2010
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: virginia beach virginia
Vehicle:
2003 wrx
silver w/ blk enkei rims

Default

alcohol wipes, dry paper towels/microfiber towel and windex. DONE! that's what I used when I removed my old tint and there was still some adhesive left behind. works like a charm and didn't take a lot of elbow grease. But it also depends on how thick the **** is so elbow grease is depending. good luck
jewbaru42 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 04:05 AM   #6
Scoobie_88
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 337465
Join Date: Nov 2012
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: SoCal
Vehicle:
2002 WRX GDA
Sedona Red Pearl

Default

rubbing alcohol will help
Scoobie_88 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 07:20 AM   #7
spagez
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 252748
Join Date: Jul 2010
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Baltimore, MD
Vehicle:
2013 wrx
DGM

Default

acetone or nail polish remover.
spagez is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 10:31 AM   #8
enjoi1968
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 234416
Join Date: Jan 2010
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: 21703
Vehicle:
It's A BRAAAAAHtato,
Yo.

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt_H

Do not use this on your head lights.
You clearly know something.... Care to share, as I've cleaned 3 sets..
enjoi1968 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 10:46 AM   #9
jeffie7
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 321791
Join Date: May 2012
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Vehicle:
05 STi
Aspen White

Default

WD40 is something almost everyone has, its a better cleaner than it is a lube lol.

FWIW I removed the rear badges/gunk left behind with it, I also remove stickers and such from motorcycles using it.
jeffie7 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2012, 05:34 PM   #10
lilblue619
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 288292
Join Date: Jul 2011
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: arbutus md
Vehicle:
2004 sti
wrb. the blue one.

Default

Pressure washer
lilblue619 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2012, 05:01 PM   #11
2.5_IMP
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 163604
Join Date: Nov 2007
Default

3M citrus based adhesive remover and a microfiber cloth. Some auto parts stores have it, craft stores should carry it too.
2.5_IMP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2012, 07:30 PM   #12
P.Rico
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 239452
Join Date: Feb 2010
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Wilmington, DE
Vehicle:
2012 Volvo S60 T6
2005 Outback 2.5i

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by enjoi1968 View Post
You clearly know something.... Care to share, as I've cleaned 3 sets..
Goof Off contains acetone and xylene, which melt many thermoplastic polymers. Obviously ABS/polycarbonate is a thermoplastic, so if you had success with it, then fine, but I wouldn't use it.

There are also several types of Goof Off that have varying contents of spirits/etc. I even think there's one with no spirits but with citrus oils, similar to Goo Gone which also does not have "harsh" mineral spirits.

A lot of people on here confuse Goof Off with Goo Gone, with disastrous results. There was an image in the $10 taillight mod thread of one taillight that was eaten through with Goof Off. Taillights are usually made with much lower impact protection requirement, and thus much more compliant and low temperature thermoplastics, which are more susceptible to chemical attack.
P.Rico is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2012, 02:28 PM   #13
BarmanBean
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 297778
Join Date: Oct 2011
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Northern VA
Vehicle:
2005 OBXT 6mt

Default

Also try stoner's invisible glass cleaner. The stuff is awesome for cleaning glass, but i've also found it works really well at getting adhesive residue off--worth a shot.
BarmanBean is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2012, 04:07 PM   #14
kts262
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 45464
Join Date: Oct 2003
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Hanover, MD
Vehicle:
91 E30 325i
95 E36 325is

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2.5_IMP View Post
3M citrus based adhesive remover and a microfiber cloth. Some auto parts stores have it, craft stores should carry it too.
^^ this stuff has worked great removing a number of different bits of adhesives on a number of cars and other projects around the house I have had. I picked up a large can of it a while back and it has been worth every penny.
kts262 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2012, 04:25 PM   #15
lando
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 149637
Join Date: May 2007
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: HR. Gangsta
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffie7 View Post
WD40 is something almost everyone has, its a better cleaner than it is a lube lol.

FWIW I removed the rear badges/gunk left behind with it, I also remove stickers and such from motorcycles using it.


WD40 is a water dispersing agent, it is not a lube. It actually gums up and dries out after a period of time. I wouldn't use it on anything.
lando is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:03 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.