Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hi there, I want to remove the blue Stages powermeter decal from my Ultegra 6700 Glossy Grey crankarm.

http://www.stagescycling.com/stagespower-models" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What's the best way to get the decal off without damaging the Glossy Grey paint? If it was just polished aluminium as many cranksets are, I would have no qualms using Acetone/nail polish remover, but given the Glossy Grey paint on the 6700 series, would Acetone/nail polish remover damage the paint?

By the way, is that Glossy Grey colour painted on by Shimano, or is it powder coated on or what?

Hair dryer to soften the sticker and adhesive, peel it off, follow up with eucalyptus oil on a cloth to clean up the residue.

Perhaps you should've waited for the new Garmin Vector pedals if you wanted a power meter with stealth...though the cost is eye watering for such an personally uninteresting piece of data

The surface finish on the crank is anodizing; the only way you'll get that off is with abrasives.

Duck! wrote:The surface finish on the crank is anodizing; the only way you'll get that off is with abrasives.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will start with a hairdryer as that's the easiest. But if that doesn't work, Duck you are confident that I can use nail polish remover to remove this decal without any risk of damaging the crankarm's coloured surface?

I wouldn't. Acetone is pretty powerful, and probably overkill for removing stickers... It eats through enamel, which is why they use it on nail polish!

If you want to remove sticker residue, try one of the citrus-based goo removers. You can get that "Orange Power Goo Remover" from the supermarket: http://www.orangepower.com.au/sticky-sp ... dissolver/ It won't damage paint or anodising.

Alternatively, you can use a pinstripe removing disc in your angle grinder. They're available from many auto parts sellers. Designed to remove sticky stuff from painted surfaces.

Arlberg wrote:

Duck! wrote:I will start with a hairdryer as that's the easiest.

After reading the above about heat I removed some stickers using my soldering station's heated air nozzle. Worked well. Why can't the manufacturers use removal friendly stickers like Stan's Notubes use on their rims? The decals on my Crest rims came off easily and left no residue behind. Manitou do the same. Fulcrum are the worst - it took me ages to take their gaudy crap off of three sets of their wheels. Should have used heat.

ball bearing wrote:Why can't the manufacturers use removal friendly stickers...

Because they want others to know what nice things you've bought so they'll buy more nice things from them. Have you never heard of marketing?

Fulcrum rims are gaudy but, luckily for them, the wheels I just got are finished with decals that actually complement the colour scheme of the bike...so in this instance...no de-stickering

rkelsen wrote:I wouldn't. Acetone is pretty powerful, and probably overkill for removing stickers... It eats through enamel, which is why they use it on nail polish!

If you want to remove sticker residue, try one of the citrus-based goo removers. You can get that "Orange Power Goo Remover" from the supermarket: http://www.orangepower.com.au/sticky-sp ... dissolver/ It won't damage paint or anodising.

Alternatively, you can use a pinstripe removing disc in your angle grinder. They're available from many auto parts sellers. Designed to remove sticky stuff from painted surfaces.

Interestingly, I was looking at what is involved in removing the decals from my Lynskey as I want to fit new decals. The Lynskey decals are removed with Acetone because they are essentially just paint with an adhesive back. They recently posted a video of the removal process and it was very easy, Basically get a damp rag with Acetone and give it a couple of wipes. The decals come straight off with no fuss.

queequeg wrote:The Lynskey decals are removed with Acetone because they are essentially just paint with an adhesive back.

What colour is your Lynskey painted?

rkelsen wrote:

queequeg wrote:The Lynskey decals are removed with Acetone because they are essentially just paint with an adhesive back.

What colour is your Lynskey painted?

Well, like most Lynskey frames, it is bare Ti

Here is the video though: http://youtu.be/9HH4LLekkqk

Obviously this only works on Lynskey decals. Next time I think I'll just get the decals laser etched.

is it a decal or paint?

acetone for paint

hairdryer and tweezers for decal

alex wrote:is it a decal or paint?

acetone for paint

hairdryer and tweezers for decal

if you watch the video, they explain that their decals are essentially auto paint with and adhesive backing. That is why they say to use acetone.

the op is asking about a totally different product?

I ended up scraping it off with a credit card. It came off very easily.