350z X police Car left in wrap for 13 years

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:45 am
Hi all-
Like many before I was on an auction site much longer than I should have been and came across something I thought might be a fun project.......As a younger lad. This was a car that I had seen in parade routes and at local events and fairs. It was a 350z that had been wrapped in a flames by the local police dept. Branded in large letters on the side and back as a dare car to fight against the war on drugs. Well long story short and auto and body person I am not. So I just wanted to use this forum to post my frustrations and what I find as I take this wrap off this car. Maybe get some feedback from people who know a lot better than I do.
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Here is how the cars sits today when I won the auction and picked it up.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2020 11:26 am
Nice project does it run? how many miles are on it?

A Heat gun and a semi soft plastic scraper will probably be your friend for a while.
The use of adhesive remover may be needed to remove the old glue that is used with a the wrap. Any place that does vinyl wraps & vinyl signs should have this.
This would be considered the Hard way!
https://www.amazon.com/Remover-Sprayer- ... 0161&psc=1

I would use one of these wheels on a Die grinder or drill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AscVrV6E_kg

These are made by many different company's under different names 3M is probably the best and probably the most expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Rubber-Erase ... 2227&psc=1
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:30 pm
Doright wrote:Nice project does it run? how many miles are on it?

A Heat gun and a semi soft plastic scraper will probably be your friend for a while.
The use of adhesive remover may be needed to remove the old glue that is used with a the wrap. Any place that does vinyl wraps & vinyl signs should have this.
This would be considered the Hard way!
https://www.amazon.com/Remover-Sprayer- ... 0161&psc=1

I would use one of these wheels on a Die grinder or drill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AscVrV6E_kg

These are made by many different company's under different names 3M is probably the best and probably the most expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Rubber-Erase ... 2227&psc=1



Thanks for the reply, I think it will be a fun project. It does run. The battery was even charged when I picked it up. It just had a flat tire. I was able to pump up with my mobile air compressor. Which worked like a charm. The tire is a slow leaker so it made it home fine. I have been using a scrapper and a plastic razor to start the removal process. I have a vinyl remover spray. I noticed the wrap is leaving behind a little adhesive. I did get something like the rubber easer wheel that you had sent. I haven't really started using it yet. I might use it when I get nearly everything off.



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:54 pm
So this vinyl is really showing its age. I have a cousin that works in the body department of the local bus garage for the city. So they take off vinyl and put new vinyl on all the time. Theirs is never on for that long though. He says he uses a blow torch to heat it quickly and keep it moving. There must be a real art to this, or I think my vinyl is just super old because the blow torch makes the wrap snap like instantly. So I've gone to a trusty heat gun with plastic razor blades I picked up from amazon.
I found that being very patient in the beginning and trying to get a lot of the edge pulled up is really the best way to do it. The plastic scrapper really does wonders to get everything started.
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The paint under the vinyl really looks pretty good. I was reading that it can be a pain to get off the wrap thats left to long, but it really does help keep the paint under it from sun damage.
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I have noticed some other things that are less than ideal though. The wrap helps to hide imperfections. So as I was taking off the wrap little door dents and the fact that the car had been hit in the front passenger fender became really clear.
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Luck had it that I was able to find a replacement fender for super cheap on eBay. Shipped to me for not that much at all. I was a little implusive on the purchase though and I didn't know that the car had come in two silvers that year. This car being the darker grey. :knockout: The fender is the lighter color. So I'll have to paint it. Which is a good excuse to use my paint gun and learn to better use it. The other thing that I have noticed was the doors came off really easy, but when you got closer to the top and the hood the vinyl is really brittle there. Its hard for me to get this off in large pieces. It always breaks. I'm guessing this is because the sun has been beating this vinyl for so many years it just makes sense.
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Finally, I started taking off some wrap on the top of the car and noticed the worst of all. This is where I'm looking for some input. What do you guys think..... You can see a close up here of the paint under the vinyl. Do you all think the paint is damaged here beyond repair? Or do you think this is just adhesive. Using a little of the adhesive removal spray really didn't do much to remove what looks like cracks that have faded the paint. Whats everyone think? Am I going to have to sand this down and repaint the top? Its not the end of the world because I plan on doing some painting anyway. Just looking for feedback. Also, trying to keep this project somewhat in control as I plan to drive it for a year or two and then sell it again.
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The bright area is just a reflection of a light. It looks consistently like a crackle paint as you can see.



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PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 9:19 am
Once you get all the adhesive off the paint it may look a little better.
I would get all the glue off then really look at it. You may be able to lightly sand the clear coat with 1200 or higher grit and buff it out? I am not holding a whole lot of hope this will work though but it is possible?
Then again it may be a Goner with Sun fade in those cracks your not gonna know for sure till you get it all cleaned up first. I would try it before repainting either way its gotta get all cleaned up.

I would take a rags lay them on roof and soak them in the vinyl remover and let them sit for a while see if that soaks in to the glue and softens it enough to scrape away with your plastic scraper.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.



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PostPosted: Mon May 11, 2020 2:54 pm
So here it is. I finally got all the vinyl off while working at night. Took me quite some time. The verdict on the paint is in..... I think its a lost cause. I took some sand paper starting at 2000 to the top of the car where the damage was the worse. Hoping that it was just something on the top? Maybe adhesive that was ontop of the clear that had picked up a bunch of dirt over time. Not the case. Its funny how you can see the imprint from the police decals.
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You can see where the damage occurred the most was the dark parts of the wrap.
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The parts that faced the sun the most on the flatter surfaces of the car. I'm thinking maybe this car sat in a parking lot for most of its life as a police car not getting driven. At least for the later part of its life. Luckily it probably sat in a paved parking lot, because the car really doesnt have any rust underneath it. For it being a central new york car thats a very rare thing to see. [img]https://photos.smugmug.com/ADV/ADVRIDER/i-qPpLxXF/0/d75f8947/L/IMG_20200422_225454-L.jpg[img] Overall the sides of the car held up great. I did notice that the sides of the car had a double decal. The base color and then flames over that, with the police decals on top of that. The top and the back where most of the damage occured was a dark black color and only single layer.
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Overall the car looks good at night right not from a distance of about 30 feet.
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I have a replacement front right fender for the car that will be the first thing I'll be painting. The paints not flaking on the car or anything so im thinking i'm just going to be doing a light sand to it and respray the hood,top,and trunk area of the car. Unless I can find a cheap carbon fiber hood used..... Also toying around with the idea of putting some wrap on the hood top and rear, putting it for sale and calling it a day.
I'm having fun with the car right now though. I got some trashed brembo brakes that I'm rebuilding and powder coating. That and an intake, exhaust. Just seeing what I can find used on marketplace/ ebay.

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PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2020 9:09 am
I am not seeing any of your pictures.
1968 Coronet R/T


ACTS 16:31



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PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2020 11:26 am
That's a real shame about the paint.

What did you find that worked the best for removing all the Wrap material and adhesive?
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.



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PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2020 2:25 pm
'68 Coronet R/T wrote:I am not seeing any of your pictures.

sometimes its because you have a web filter that is blocking the smugmug site where they are hosted? If you're looking at work or something that might be the case. Some of the webfilters categorize smugmug as a social media sharing site. Also, maybe try a different web browser. They are there. :splat:

Doright wrote:That's a real shame about the paint.

What did you find that worked the best for removing all the Wrap material and adhesive?


I found what worked best for me was working slow. Taking the time to get a large part started and then heating up with a heat gun. I found there was a nice sweet spot. Right about to the point where I couldn't touch the vinyl because it would get too hot to the touch. I did find you had to give it a second before pulling. If I heated too close to wear I was pulling at the same time I was pulling it would tear and rip very easily. Also, if I heated to much a lot of adhesive was left behind. I got 3m adhesive spray remover that worked really well. Still have some more of that to remove. One bottle went along way though. I was able to spray down the whole car. Thankfully the car isn't really that big....



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PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 9:43 am
It should be an easy repaint no major dents or real rust.
I would sand it down with 600 and shoot Base coat then clear it flip it for some quick cash.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.

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