Side Stripes (Monza 2+2)

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Side Stripes (Monza 2+2)

Postby TTait » Fri May 14, 2021 2:57 am

The Side stripes on my car are in bad shape. Touched up in places with black electrical tape etc, I've been looking at how to make up some replacements.

The originals are multi-layer stickers. I'm not sure if mine are factory or faded as the text is more yellow that orange. I'd prefer orange text I think but someone chime in if that mismatch was intentional.

stripe LR.jpg


I set about seeing how hard they would be to remove. Darned near impossible. The black comes off easily along with the clear overcoating, but the yellow appears to be some made of impregnanium alloy with a transparent diamondite shell bonded with the same glue they use on pickle jar lids. Neither chemical sticker removers nor the eraser wheel seems to have any effect at all. I'm afraid of damaging the door at this point if I try any harder without specific guidance.

I was thinking of laser cut vinyl replacements allowing the paint to show through where the letters are, but with the original letters being so stubborn that may not be feasible. Now I'm leaning toward full color printed fleet graphics with the letters and black strips all printed as a single graphic on vehicle grade vinyl. I used a very similar font to the original, but it is a little different. A purist/perfectionist would notice the difference but unless two cars were side by side and you were looking for differences, I think its going to pass muster 99%+ of the time and be a lot better than the mess that's on there now. I can get a set of 4 printed up online for less than $100 shipped and have spares, or I can possibly even print them at work if I order the correct vinyl for our photo plotter.

I've got the artwork more or less ready to go. I just wanted to check in here and see what others have done to remove or replace the stickers on the car. I suspect they came off easier 20 years ago than now, and that the more upscale graphics packages have been reproduced, but not what I'm trying to do here. Any tips or leads appreciated.

If anyone needs side stripes like this let me know.
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On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
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Re: Side Stripes (Monza 2+2)

Postby TTait » Sat May 15, 2021 5:20 am

Thanks man,

I have been trying a 2 wheel kit - one is exactly the second slotted wheel listed, and a solid wheel was also included that is similar to the first one - except its not 3M brand.

They work ok on the clear overlay and the black, but they won't touch the yellow letters.

Recharging batteries - I'll work on it some more this weekend. Can't remember who borrowed my corded drill so I'm working on it off and on.
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
TTait
 
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:47 pm

Re: Side Stripes (Monza 2+2)

Postby 79MonzaSpyder » Sat May 15, 2021 1:17 pm

Hey Tom, sometime a hair dryer or heat gun helps soften the old graphics and adhesive. If using a heat gun I would be careful not to over heat the door and potentially warp the metal. I used a heat gun to get 20 year old graphics off an aluminum skinned RV and it worked well but the aluminum had lots of texture and ribbing to stop it from wrapping.
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2018 Toyota Camry XSE V6
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80 Monza 2+2, Cloned into a 79 Monza Spyder V8 4 Speed (Current Project)
80 Monza Spyder V6 Auto (parts car, sadly)
80 Honda CB750K Fully Restored with Custom Full Dress
80 Honda CM400A 10,000 Orig. Miles Full Dress
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73 Honda SL125 off roader
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1980 Chevrolet Monza 2+2

Re: Side Stripes (Monza 2+2)

Postby TTait » Sun May 16, 2021 11:36 pm

I've used an adhesive solvent, heat gun on low and plastic razor blades in a scraper and removed all of the adhesive and stickers.

The slotted decal wheel worked well to get off the black sticker and clear overlay, but it didn't do anything on the yellow letters, and I've been nervous that the solid wheel would be more aggressive.

With only the yellow letters remaining I tried the solid wheel and I can now confirm that at least on my car, a 1975, the yellow was painted on. I can also confirm that the solid wheel will go through paint down to metal quickly - so its not recommended.

I don't know the history on the car, this may have been factory, dealer, or done after delivery - but that seems less likely. In any case I'm going to have to do a paint repair and I'll then apply new printed stripes which are about 0.5" taller than original to ensure that they fully cover any repairs on the side I'm working on, as well as whatever I decide to do on the other side. I may start by applying a small piece of extra stripe from the first side directly over the stripe on the second to see the ridge from the original sticker telegraphs through before I have a final plan of action.

In general then for those reading this in the future - don't count on the stripes coming off cleanly regardless of how much care you use. If a portion of them are painted on then that's going to remain even after you get any of the stickers off.
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
TTait
 
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:47 pm

Re: Side Stripes (Monza 2+2)

Postby CDA » Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:28 pm

It doesn't matter how much care you use in removing old stripes, the paint underneath may be cracked and will be removed with the decal (as was the case with my old hood decal). I used the Whizzy Wheel Car Decal Remover with drill adapter kit which can be ordered from Amazon. I also applied a hair dryer but unfortunately, as is usually the case, the decal put up a good fight. Ironically, the clear part (which had gone yellow) was the most difficult to remove. As you can see from the picture on the left, the paint under the decal was destroyed. I had the centre section repainted and a new decal applied. The final job came out amazing.

Spyder-Stripe.jpg
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