Door handle sticker?

So my door handles have this protective sticker on the lower portion of the handle assembly. They’re all cracked and kind of gross. Have any of you folks seen this? Got any good remedies? I’ll post pic tomorrow in day. Thanks for

 

I need to see a picture before I give advice. If it’s clear bra, I have great advice to give.

 

Yeah, shifty is on the right track. Post up a pic. Sound like you're referring to a dealer installed clear door cup guard.

 

Yes to photography. Needed more photons.

 

Lucky you, you've got white single stage paint also, which opens your options on removal products. No clearcoat to worry about softening/damaging.

So I'd tell you, I've been thru this before with my fender flares. I'd also tell you, you're dealing with an unusually curved surface which makes this notably harder to do. And regardless which product you use to deal with removal, you'll want to tape that bottom seam so nothing wicks up behind the gap between handle and body, potentially breaking down the foam (I think) seal between the two.

What you choose to do here is up to you. I wouldn't use blades, plastic or otherwise, I'd get a flexible nylon scraper like this. I'd get heat (heat gun or blow dryer on high). I'd get a sticker and tar remover like this.

I'd apply heat to the sticker, moving around the surface of the sticker for 30-60 seconds to soften the adhesive and sticker up. If using an actual heat gun, I'd adjust down to a low setting (150-200° tops) and keep it 6" off the panel, don't sit on any one spot for more than 2-3 seconds, keep it moving.

After that application, I'd try scraping the edge to pull up the sticker. If successful, great, rinse-repeat. If not, I'd try another 2-3 heat applications to see if I could make progress.

If successful, get as much of the plastic silm off (it's OK to leave sticker residue), then I'd spray the sticker/adhesive removal on the residuals, and rub it in with a finger, all over, to help loosen it up. Wipe away with a towel. You may need to repeat a couple of times.

If you don't make any progress with heat, you may try hitting it with the sticker removal stuff, the number of slits in the surface will give the sticker remover an entry point to start working under the sticker.

Again, I'd advise you: Don't let adhesive remover:

• Wick up into that bottom gap
• Drizzle down the body of the car and get behind the door trims
• In general, don't let it dwell on painted surfaces

Those scratch/chip protectors are supposed to be replaced every 3-5 years IIRC. Clearly, that didn't happen with any of our trucks.

 

Wow, thank you. That’s a very helpful explanation, well thought out, good form! I’ll try it soon and report back with outcome.

 

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Hmm, not seen anything like this on my 2005 with 91K on it. Will keep a watch out.



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That's because it was a dealer installed option. Not all trucks have it.

 

Heat gun and plastic razor blade got the stickers off. Now I’ll work on the residue left behind

 

That Turtle product I linked is great.

CRC has a good industrial adhesive remover too.

Either product works better than Goo Gone.

 

Final results. Heat gun and plastic razor got the stickers off. Wd 40 and a rag for the goo, needed more wd anyway. Didn’t use special products as I found wd worked well. Thank shifty