Carbon Fibre Wrap?

[calebR33]

I have a car in mind that i want to buy and have gone to test drive it today. I like the car but i realised that parts of the dash have been wrapped in the carbon fibre thing that many people are talking about. Only issue is that there are bubbles in many places and it seems to be coming off. Generally it looks really dirty. Does anyone know how to remove it ?

[Husky33]

a heat gun should work fine, are a blowdryer.

Heat it up a little so the glue underneath melts, then it should peel off, might have to use a plastic spatula or something.

Citrus spray will help get remaining glue off.

Edited January 7, 2011 by 180_mph

[calebR33]

Sorry but what is a citrus spray ? :S

[calebR33]

If i just heated it up... it wouldnt just come off perfectly right ? scared that there will be bits of glue stuck :S

[Waxhead]

If i just heated it up... it wouldnt just come off perfectly right ? scared that there will be bits of glue stuck :S

If it is the 3M stuff, should come off without leaving any (not much anyway) residue. Heat it with a blow drier and peel it off. I have applied this stuff to some of my car interior, and when not happy with the first application, heated it up and removed ,then re-applied again. Left no residue (glue etc) when I did it.

The citrus spray is just a cleaning product ,can be found in most supermarkets next to the spray and wipe etc.

[calebR33]

Ah great! hopefully itll come off clean it seems to have bubbled and half peeled.. looks dirty

thanks for your help

[RusH_]

a heat gun should work fine, are a blowdryer.

Heat it up a little so the glue underneath melts, then it should peel off, might have to use a plastic spatula or something.

Citrus spray will help get remaining glue off.

If it is the 3M stuff, should come off without leaving any (not much anyway) residue. Heat it with a blow drier and peel it off. I have applied this stuff to some of my car interior, and when not happy with the first application, heated it up and removed ,then re-applied again. Left no residue (glue etc) when I did it.

The citrus spray is just a cleaning product ,can be found in most supermarkets next to the spray and wipe etc.

These guys hit the nail on the head,

The issue is, with that type of vinyl, it has a lower adhesion that others due to the pattern and (if its the one im thinking of) the honeycomb effect on the back designed to make application easier.

When the vinyl is stretched to conform to curves and such, it loses a portion of its adhesion, which can cause it to pop up when exposed to high temperatures such as those experienced in a car on a warm day when the windows are up. This is usually counteracted with a small dose of adhesive promoter/primer to add that extra 'stick' around areas where the vinyl has been stretched.

Should come off fine with the above methods

[calebR33]

Thanks for the great explanation!

[calebR33]

Oh and instead of taking it off is there anyway i can get rid of the bubles and make it stick better or something?

[Charles89]

Use a pin to pop them then heat it up and push all the air out

[calebR33]

AHthanks! im guna try that first i dont mind the carbon fibre lookk.. it just looks really dirty with bubbles and all

[Husky33]

good wrap should have little air channels to help get rid of the bubbles when applying it.

I would suggest, before popping it with a pin, to heat it up a bit then try to smooth out the bubbles to the edges. Shouldn't be too hard.

[RusH_]

Chances are the vinyl will have already lost its adhesiveness since the install, so its unlikely youll be able to remove the bubbles, its ok to pop them and push outthe air when you first do the install but over time it loses its adhesion.

Sadly its probably time to re wrap it

[calebR33]

Well i dont mind just removing the wrap totally as long as it doesn't leave weird glue marks..

[Hadouken]

Haha I'm about to do that. My trim is all scratched up, so it's time to cover it .

Don't be scared of it. If you don't like it, peel it off. If it's stuffed underneath, go to the wreckers and get second hand trim. Easy peasy