[ferocity02]

I took a gamble on some cheap eBay smoked vinyl "eyelid" ambergone decals for my headlights. Long story short, they fit extremely poorly and looked like absolute garbage. I peeled them off and it left a thin layer or clear adhesive on the headlight.

I've tried rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, plastic polishing compound, and Goo Gone and none of these will even remotely start getting it off. Any tips on what else I could use that won't damage the lens? Acetone might work but is likely to damage the plastic. I'd prefer to not have to remove the headlights and sand them down and restore them. There's gotta be something out there that will work.

Thanks.

[tmdals0213]

a compound used with an orange pad might help. compound like meguairs ultimate compound with a griots garage yoyo orange and red applicator pad, all found at autogeek.net

you can use orange for compounds and red for waxes and sealants. hope that helps.

[shadow191]

Have you tried heating it up and rubbing it off? The heat will soften the adhesive and you can start working it off. I've done that before with vinyl. The adhesive is pretty tough and relatively water resistant so it's hard for stuff like rubbing alcohol to get through it. I've used goof off and it did work, but it required a lot of soaking and a lot of effort. I wouldn't use acetone on headlights, it will mess up plastic.

Originally Posted by ferocity02

I took a gamble on some cheap eBay smoked vinyl "eyelid" ambergone decals for my headlights. Long story short, they fit extremely poorly and looked like absolute garbage. I peeled them off and it left a thin layer or clear adhesive on the headlight.

I've tried rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, plastic polishing compound, and Goo Gone and none of these will even remotely start getting it off. Any tips on what else I could use that won't damage the lens? Acetone might work but is likely to damage the plastic. I'd prefer to not have to remove the headlights and sand them down and restore them. There's gotta be something out there that will work.

Thanks.

[hjiang]

What was the % of the alcohol you tried? normally if its about 99%, put some on a cloth and some elbow grease should remove it... but if you aren't careful you'll have to polish it again. Other than that, heat gun is probably your best friend in terms of lightly heating and removing it with any of those products you listed.

[ferocity02]

I think it was 90%.

I got some painted plastic amber covers from Bimmian so they will cover the glue that the vinyl left over if I can't get it off.

[Detailed Image]

We normally have success with heat and/or 3M adhesive remover.