Would this leave a mark.

tree51, Feb 18, 7:39am
My wifes car has some very wide stickon stripes on it. I would like to remove them. I know how to do this but what I want to know is will we be able to see where they were. The car is 4 years old and a dark grey colour and they have been on it since new.
kazbanz, Feb 18, 7:47am
tree--short version is MAYBEE. Um using a heatgun and being really patient can mean you get the stripes off with no paint damage. To be honest the times I have damaged paint has been when I've been rushing.
BUT what will be left most likely will be some of the sticky residue.
You need to get that off next. Then use a mild cutting polish right along the panels to get the color back even. You might not think you need the last step but if you dontthe stripes will reapear on a wet day.
tree51, Feb 18, 7:55am
Thanks for that. I have taken off a lot of sign writing over the years and am confident I can remove these without making a mess. I just dont want to take them off and find that they are still there. Half the original ones are in perfect condition but some are badly cracked. These are not the original ones as they were replaced after the car was in an accident.
rob_man, Feb 18, 8:01am
As long as the panels haven't been touched up or painted with the stripes masked off there shouldn't be a problem. Like Kaz said, the residue from the glue is your most likely source of grief, a mild solvent (turps maybe) will work on that. Don't try to remove that with cutting compound, do that after it's gone.
rob_man, Feb 18, 8:03am
**replaced after the car was in an accident.**
Alarm bells are ringing. watch for any that have been cleared over or masked off.
tree51, Feb 18, 8:18am
We have had the car from new. The bonnet was replace in the accident and the new stripes put on after they were painted. We had the car back for the weekend and then it went back to get the new stripes put on. The car was about 6 months old at the time.