3M Adhesive Remover fogged over front grill! Help please.

[Kenny Powers]

Hi guys! I had some adhesive junk near the front of the hood on my 14 nautical blue Runner. I was told to try 3M adhesive remover spray to take it off. The good news is that the adhesive is off, the bad news is that it placed a white haze over the black plastic grill on the front Toyota emblem and just to the right of it.

Does anyone have any advice on how to remove it? I immediately tried soap and water and it helped a bit but it's still noticeable. Ugh. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking worst case scenario I could plastidip the grill and emblem.

 

[theunderlord]

Can you post a picture?

 

[Kenny Powers]

My apologies, here are some pics. Just went and saw that best of all, the adhesive marks are still there. All I accomplished was to screw up my car. Welcome to my life.

 

[1engineer]

First, use Goo-Gone or WD-40 to remove your adhesive. Both will soften the adhesive and then use a rag saturated with one or the other and you can wipe the adhesive off. I would use the same on the grille (especially WD 40) and then wipe firmly with a rag over affected areas. See what happens. Worst case is plasti dip or even wet sanding it with 1000 grit to get rid of the white spots.
Geez who told you to use 3M Adhesive Remover? That is some potent and nasty stuff that will etch certain plastic compounds. I would unfriend whoever told you that and delete them from your timeline.

Edit: As [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] says below try the magic eraser but DO NOT USE IT ON THE SHINY BLUE PAINT.

Editedit: With your luck let me be clear: If you wet sand with 1000 Grit paper again DO NOT LET IT HIT THE SHINY BLUE PAINT.

 

[Antman]

Well, here's what I would try- in this order too...


Mr Clean Magic Eraser (Don't laugh, they work for everything!)

Quick Detailer with a claybar

WD40

Citrus Based Adhesive Remover (Goof Off Orange)

Plastidip


(EDIT) 1E beat me to it (at least some of it, lol)

 

[Kenny Powers]

First, use Goo-Gone or WD-40 to remove your adhesive. Both will soften the adhesive and then use a rag saturated with one or the other and you can wipe the adhesive off. I would use the same on the grille (especially WD 40) and then wipe firmly with a rag over affected areas. See what happens. Worst case is plasti dip or even wet sanding it with 1000 grit to get rid of the white spots.
Geez who told you to use 3M Adhesive Remover? That is some potent and nasty stuff that will etch certain plastic compounds. I would unfriend whoever told you that and delete them from your timeline.

Edit: As [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] says below try the magic eraser but DO NOT USE IT ON THE SHINY BLUE PAINT.

Editedit: With your luck let me be clear: If you wet sand with 1000 Grit paper again DO NOT LET IT HIT THE SHINY BLUE PAINT.

Hahaha. Thanks very much. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that I'm a fug up- but that's the reality. I will try these things and see what else I can break. Does autozone, etc. sell 1000 grit sandpaper? And just to confirm, I need to use it with water?

 

[theunderlord]

Another vote for Mr Clean's Magic Eraser.

 

[KVA]

:iagree:

You wanted a new grill anyway...

 

[Antman]

Hahaha. Thanks very much. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that I'm a fug up- but that's the reality. I will try these things and see what else I can break. Does autozone, etc. sell 1000 grit sandpaper? And just to confirm, I need to use it with water?

LAST RESORT WITH THE SANDPAPER! And yes they sell it and use plenty of water.

I think you can get it off without sanding. :boink:

 

[1engineer]

Hahaha. Thanks very much. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that I'm a fug up- but that's the reality. I will try these things and see what else I can break. Does autozone, etc. sell 1000 grit sandpaper? And just to confirm, I need to use it with water?

Yes. Actually for you, since you apparently have never wet sanded anything, go buy one of those headlight restore kits for around $10. They come with instructions (you would just substitute the word "headlight" for the word "grille") and three little pieces of sandpaper that vary in grit from fine to very fine. There is also a bottle of "lube" in there that you use in place of water.

What you will do is start with the fine paper for awhile, hitting all the screwed up pieces of plastic and then end with the ultra fine paper. This in essence will remove nanometers of plastic from the top, hopefully leaving nice black plastic behind. You are polishing it by going finer and finer in the sandpaper grit.
Finish off with the other stuff in the box - a gritty wax that will polish it even finer and get rid of any scratch marks left behind.

Good luck and pm me with any questions.

 

[1engineer]

LAST RESORT WITH THE SANDPAPER! And yes they sell it and use plenty of water.

I think you can get it off without sanding. :boink:

Ha listen to Mr. Caution here! Relax, your Magic Eraser is just about 1000 grit sandpaper in reality.
As you can see I gave him another option of using a headlight restore kit. Pretty sure it is going to take something abrasive though to remove the white spots. I'm no chemist but I will go out on a limb and say the adhesive remover changed the color of the plastic's surface, which means he has to remove said surface to get the black back. I hit the sack
I been too long I'm glad to be back Yes I am Let loose from the noose
That's kept me hanging about I keep looking at the sky cause it's gettin' me high Forget the hearse cause I'll never die I got nine lives cat's eyes
Using every one of them and runnin' wild.

 

[Antman]

...to get the black back. I hit the sack
I been too long I'm glad to be back Yes I am Let loose from the noose
That's kept me hanging about I keep looking at the sky cause it's gettin' me high Forget the hearse cause I'll never die I got nine lives cat's eyes
Using every one of them and runnin' wild.

I see what you did there, but I still think the sandpaper is ...A Touch Too Much.imp:

 

[GSPRunner]

Try isopropyl alcohol

 

[Kenny Powers]

I can't thank you all enough for your time and info. I will tackle this in a few hours and report back. Again, thank you so very much- I know this is dumb but I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the "fix" screw up something else.

 

[2014 Warthog]

Try isopropyl alcohol

I use the 99% rubbing alcohol on anything that I don't know the condition of. I.e. random painted or plastic surfaces. It's not as fast as things like the goofoff (xylene) or acetone based gunk removers but it's a lot safer.

As a side note, there is no reason to spend $8 on a 4 Oz bottle of goof off either, you can buy one gallon cans of acetone or xylene from home depot for about $16 and they'll last you through a decade of cleaning!

 

[Mistaken]

I would just wave the white flag and tell my wife that now I have to buy the TRD Pro grill. :yield:

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

I reproduce RV graphics for a living, its what I do all week long, actually! I never, EVER use that 3M crap for removing adhesive! Its stinky and will turn your hands so dry, they actually turn white and crack!
I've been using an adhesive remover called "Orange Peel", its made specifically for removing adhesive from vehicles and doesn't hurt plastic/paint/vinyl (although it will turn rubber-handled tools into black oil in seconds!). In case anyone wants to know more about it, here ya go:
Amazon.com: Orange Peel Adhesive Remover

Now, back to that grill! There is nothing you will be able to do to get rid of that overspray without getting beneath the damaged area! You can try coating it with some oily vinyl protectant like Black Magic Pro Shine Protectant, but the overspray will return once the stuff dries out.

I'd suggest doing that first though, you may find it to be acceptable, rather than sanding and re-spraying the grill.

Basically, what has happened is that the acetone-quality of that 3m stuff has melted the plastic to the point of discoloring (and possibly disfiguring too, can you feel bumps where the overspray was?) the plastic. I think you could just re-shoot right over it with matte black enamel after cleaning it really well, but as others have suggested, might as well dip it! At least it comes off if you don't like it or make a mistake.

I still don't know why 3M continues to sell that product, none of the sign shops that I know use the stuff! We all try it once, then realize we're loopy from the fumes and have wasted more time and money with the stuff...

ainkiller:

 

[GSPRunner]

I reproduce RV graphics for a living, its what I do all week long, actually! I never, EVER use that 3M crap for removing adhesive! Its stinky and will turn your hands so dry, they actually turn white and crack!
I've been using an adhesive remover called "Orange Peel", its made specifically for removing adhesive from vehicles and doesn't hurt plastic/paint/vinyl (although it will turn rubber-handled tools into black oil in seconds!). In case anyone wants to know more about it, here ya go:
Amazon.com: Orange Peel Adhesive Remover

Now, back to that grill! There is nothing you will be able to do to get rid of that overspray without getting beneath the damaged area! You can try coating it with some oily vinyl protectant like Black Magic Pro Shine Protectant, but the overspray will return once the stuff dries out.

I'd suggest doing that first though, you may find it to be acceptable, rather than sanding and re-spraying the grill.

Basically, what has happened is that the acetone-quality of that 3m stuff has melted the plastic to the point of discoloring (and possibly disfiguring too, can you feel bumps where the overspray was?) the plastic. I think you could just re-shoot right over it with matte black enamel after cleaning it really well, but as others have suggested, might as well dip it! At least it comes off if you don't like it or make a mistake.

I still don't know why 3M continues to sell that product, none of the sign shops that I know use the stuff! We all try it once, then realize we're loopy from the fumes and have wasted more time and money with the stuff...

ainkiller:

3M Adhesive works fine. Not the spray stuff, but the bulk 3M Adhesive remover. And you should be wearing gloves anytime you're using any sort of body solvents and that will solve the dry, cracking skin issues. Respirators are recommended as well.

OP, so what I'm seeing is the plastic grille inserts have discolored? Specific question, but has there ever been any paint work done on your vehicle? Sometimes when we install clear bras, if a car has recently had paint work the alcohol/water solution can cause plastics to discolor like this. But usually we'll just take 70% isopropyl alcohol and spray it on and rub it away with a soft cloth. Hopefully that will work. If not, I don't think using goof off or goo gone or any other acetone or solvent will work, and if anything you'll just discolor the plastic more. The next easiest option will be to paint the grille inserts.

 

[manofsteele2003]

Always try WD40 first as it's less potent then others then move on to goo gone but try in a small area to make sure the plastic is not affected.

Back to your problem. If you can take the black plastic part of the grill out you can try using a heat gun to bring back the black. I have used it numerous times to bring back oxidized plastic to like new. It's amazing how well it works but you gotta be careful not to leave it in one area too long or too close or else you might melt it.

 

[Kenny Powers]

3M Adhesive works fine. Not the spray stuff, but the bulk 3M Adhesive remover. And you should be wearing gloves anytime you're using any sort of body solvents and that will solve the dry, cracking skin issues. Respirators are recommended as well.

OP, so what I'm seeing is the plastic grille inserts have discolored? Specific question, but has there ever been any paint work done on your vehicle? Sometimes when we install clear bras, if a car has recently had paint work the alcohol/water solution can cause plastics to discolor like this. But usually we'll just take 70% isopropyl alcohol and spray it on and rub it away with a soft cloth. Hopefully that will work. If not, I don't think using goof off or goo gone or any other acetone or solvent will work, and if anything you'll just discolor the plastic more. The next easiest option will be to paint the grille inserts.

Hey guys. Yes, there is a clear bra- but never any paint work.