This weekend, I became the happy owner of a Jeep Wrangler. It’s a lovely metallic tan color, with low mileage, and a mighty AC, and the sole bad point is a small Jesus fish on the back. What’s the best way to remove it, and what are the risks of permanent damage?
Try goat’s blood.
If it’s held on by glue, you should be able to pry it off. Be careful not to take the paint with it.
Damn, that makes my answer look boring.
Try WD-40. I’d soak a paper towel in it and masking-tape it over the area to let it soak in really well. Then take a plastic knife (something that won’t scratch the paint) and scrape it off very gently.
I got tape off my washer-dryer with this technique, with no damage to the finish.
Pray to Satan for it to fall off.
Or add feet and make it a Darwin fish.
Decal removal is more of an art than a science, it’s mostly in knowing what you are dealing with.
Decals, at one time, were essentially a film of lacquer, a painted design, and another layer of lacquer to seal the ‘sandwich.’ I assume this is a decal. If so try “Goof Off” available at home improvement stores.
Some current decals are painted on a vinyl base or carrier. Try to lift a corner with a fingernail and gently peel the film up until you can get a good grip on it and very slowly peel up the entire decal. Warmth is essential and a hair dryer may be a big help. Some folks reccommend lacquer thinner to assist.
I wonder if I could find an ‘organized religion’ fish to swallow the Jesus fish (it would have to be an awfully big fish) …
Goo Gone should work without damaging the paint.
I’ll tell you… for thirty pieces of silver.
You can use dental floss underneth the fish in a sawing motion to remove it then try one of the other suggestions for removing the glue residue. It works best on a hot day when the glue is soft.
You could also use a hair dryer. It works great for removing decals.
QUESTION: Is it really a decal, a thin plastic type film thing, or a die cast metal emblem, or what? The exact nature of the object would be a big help to determine the method of removal.
You could also paint/draw/stick on a big red circle-with-a-line-through-it. But that’s probably not quite the message you want to send.
Twickster is correct as always. Use WD40 on the edges. As the glue binders slowly dissolve use dental floss to “gently” ease it off, and lift it up to spray more WD40 underneath. This will minimize and/or prevent paint damage in most cases. Try not to force it.
Afterwards wash any WD40 residue off the paint with soap and water and a soft cloth.
It’s one of the die cast metal emblems.
Praying to Satan failed to take it off.
Have you tried rubbing it with a Chick tract?
That would cause the car to fall off.
The last time I had something unwanted stuck to my car (a huge sticker saying “This is not a public car park!”, a fact which, duh, I knew anyway, that’s why I was taking advantage of its leniency! ;)) I used White Spirit reasonably successfully. Dunno if that has a different name in the US, but whatever, it has better penetration than WD-40 and is a solvent rather than a lubricant.
This is the best GQ thread in recent times, aside from the rest of them I mean.