Anyone remove sideart without destroying cabinet coating? (TRON)

scamp

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Anyone remove sideart without destroying cabinet coating? (TRON)

I am wondering if it is possible to remove the side art from my Tron without needing to refinish the sides of the cabinet. (and how to do it!)

I'm thinking of replacing the side art, which is messed up, but the finish on the cabinet is not bad at all (a few touchups around the trim maybe)...

So is it possible? Many of the restorations I've seen on the web entail stripping off the finish on the sides of the cabinet and then repainting, then adding the new stickers...

Thanks!
 
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if the sides of your tron are original the side art should come off with no harm to the cab. Basically use a heat gun to make the art easier to pull off. It will most likely come off in sections. Depending on what the game has seen in it's life time the art may come off easily or be a pain and pull off in a hundred tiny pieces.
 
Thanks for the response. I guess I'll try the heat gun...I was hoping for a chemical..I really want to avoid messing up the original finish since for the most part it's pretty good....
 
acetone to remove the sticky adhesive afterwards.

DO NOT GET ACETONE ON ANYTHING THAT IS PAINTED THAT YOU DON'T WANT PAINT REMOVED FROM.

that said, as long as the hard black vinyl/laminate is still there it should clean up like new.
 
I had fairly good luck with one of those scary-looking heated "razor blade on a stick" things from Harbor Freight. Careful though...I loaned it to friend to take of his TRON's art and he ended up with a stitched-up pinky. It's essentially a cheap soldering pen with a razor blade attachment at the end.

The trick (I learned) was to take your time, and work from the bottom up, then use Goof-Off or Goo-Gone to clean up any leftover glue. I had a couple small gouges I had to putty where I got a little impatient (or where a scratch was). A fresh coat of gloss black after sanding (use a block...hand sanding will leave an uneven surface) and it looked great.

A heat gun is probably an easier way to go, but you still need to scrape it off - if you go this route, use something that won't gouge the wood, like a plastic scraper.
 
I don't think the Tron is a painted finish...seems like some sort of laminate sort of finish...

Would citristrip work or is that dangerous...Ideally I remove the old sticker and place a new one in its place...so if I can avoid damaging the rest of the finish around it, it would be ideal!

thanks to all!
 
When a heat gun gets it off without any chemicals why not just do that? what's more important, keeping the side finish good or shortcuts?
 
When a heat gun gets it off without any chemicals why not just do that? what's more important, keeping the side finish good or shortcuts?


First...I love the pic! :)
The only reason I asked was because I've never used the heat gun and am afraid I may melt the laminate or whatever the coating is....That is my main fear...I'm not worried about elbow grease or the time it takes....And I realize chemicals may do the same thing, which is again why I asked...thx
 
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