I recently ripped off the pre-printed backgrounds off the side # plates on my YZ250. They were very difficult to remove, and now I'm left with a bunch of nasty clear goo stuck to the plastic. I've tried Decal Works graphics adhesive remover, carb cleaner, Goof Off, and engine degreaser. All any of these did was make the stuff gooier and harder to remove... Anyone have any secret remedy to this prob?? Really annoying....

The right way to remove stickers from plastic surfaces is...  Pull them off very slowly while heating with a heat gun, just hot enough so the plastic isn't damaged.  That way, most of the time 98% of the glue comes off with the sticker.  The remaining 2% can then be removed with another tacky piece of sticker by pressing it onto the remaining glue and yanking it off while heating.

Since you already pulled off the stickers, you are stuck.  If you let the glue get dirty it will be very difficult to remove, so you could try heating the glue in sections, affixing a piece of strong packing tape, and then pulling it off.  (Basically accomplishing close to the same results as pulling the original stickers off while heated.)  BTW, be careful around the gas tank, like drain out the gas before heating unless you like to live dangerously.

Most traditional solvents strong enough to take off the glue, are also going to weaken, discolor, or melt the plastics.  Laquer thinner is an excellent solvent for removal of adhesives, but it WILL melt most plastics, and has a very low flash point, so it should definately be used carefully and outdoors.

Can't guarantee anything, but a company called Kapco makes a solvent for removing decals from signage and fleet vehicles called Oil Flo.  I'm pretty sure it would work on the plastic, but you will have to spot test it first to be sure.
www.kapco.com
Oil Flo

eucoliptus (spelling) oil ,works best but im not sure if you guys would get it over in the US it's from an aussie tree! nail polish remover works aswell

Nail polish remover is just glorified acetone.

Acetone is used in the production of plastics, and therefore will melt most plastics.  If it doesn't discolor the plastic, then it will probably weaken it, maybe enough that it cracks and eventually falls off on the track.

Soak a rag in petrol rub it into the glue it will break down the adhesive then when it goes gooey rub it off with a dry rag.
Best doing small areas at a time.
Read this in an MX mag years ago and been using it ever since, it's cheap and works a treat.
Once the plastic is dry you can put on new backings without any problems.

WD-40 works pretty good to help soften the goo.

furniture polish is legendary at getting it off.

I used to use WD40 for this but the problem is that it leaves the surface greasy and nothing will stick until it has all been moved.
Petrol evaporates, leaves the surface clean and ready to be recovered.

ClutchSmoke said:

well that glorified stuff has worked for me and , ive lost no plastics on tracks or enduros. but hey each to their own.....thats why this is a forum... i recomend my first option for best results

Its a really sucky job, i hate doing it, and its so messy. I used mineral spirits, actetone, wd40. I tried all kinds of products and none of them work very good. I will try the heat gun next like someone mentioned.

I used this with success.  Goo Gone

http://www.magicamer...oducts_gg.shtml

Let it sit on for a couple of minutes, work it, the repeat process.

oldschool mx said:

Yep, good old petrol/gas is the go, it works great, and you've always got some close at hand considering your bike runs on the stuff! There's no hassle of running to the shops to get some.