Until I spotted an old thread on this topic, I never even noticed them but now that I know they are within inches of my head, I can’t stop looking at them.
These stickers are applied with heat and the standard headliner fabric has synthetic fibers so there will be a slight amount of discoloration (lighter) when the sticker is removed. As a perfectionist, I was leery that it would work well enough to be acceptable. Although I planned on ordering new visors, I thought I would try this out anyway- $400 for two new European Version Sun Visors (no stickers) is not “crazy expensive.”
In the end, the slight color difference is so negligible; I can’t imagine NOT getting rid of these stickers. This discoloration is only noticeable when you are looking at the visor straight on. The back of the visor is straight on ONLY is when it’s pulled down. When it’s pushed all the way forward you can’t see any discoloration. When the visor is up and in the “stowed position” you can barely see the discoloration on the front of the visor.
Here’s the process:
Step 1: Pry off the end cap, which conceals a spring steel push connector. You may have to come at it from a few different directions. Don’t put the pry bar too far under the cap or you will get under the visor bracket itself, which holds the entire visor assembly in place. Push one end of this metal connector with a screwdriver and the assembly will come loose.
Step 2: Remove the bracket assembly and visor by rotating the assembly as it comes out of the hole in the roof. Take a good look at the wire connector assembly, which is mounted inside the sun visor bracket assembly before you pull the wires tight. You will need to put the connector assembly back into the visor bracket in the same fashion. This keeps the wire connector assembly from rattling around in the roof panel.
Step 3: Disconnect the plug from the socket. There is a very small metal push-pin that you will need to clear before the plug assembly will come apart. Put a very small screwdriver under the overlapping connector and then pull them apart. This will clear the metal pin and allow the connector to be reused. Very easy to do if you have 3 hands.
Step 4: Enjoy a Gin Martini with your favorite olives before you start the next step.
Step 5: Patience required here. Cover the sticker with Isopropyl Alcohol and let it soak in. Reapply the alcohol 6- 8 times (over 5 minutes) as it soaks into the sticker it will also bleed onto the Fabric. On another thread and it was recommended to use a small towel (the size of the sticker) and keep it wet for 10 minutes while the alcohol had a chance to loosen the adhesive. With either technique you will see alcohol bleeding onto the fabric around the sticker, which is fine. In fact this will aid in releasing the glue on the back of the sticker as well.
Step 6: After 10 minutes or so, if you can grab a corner of the sticker do so and peel it off slowly in a single piece. If not, then dampen the corner of a soft cloth (with alcohol) and gently wipe in a downward motion going from left to right then back again until the sticker is “rolled off.”
Step 7: Refresh your Martini, but go light on the olives this time.
Step 8: More patience required. You will now be left with glue residue and you will see some discoloration, most of which you can remove. Don’t freak out- you can clean off much of the glue and as you do some the discoloration will also disappear. I spent 45 minutes on this clean up step (per visor). The fabric is incredibly resilient so use light pressure and sweep left to right, then at 45 degree angles, then up and down. Keep spraying the area with alcohol as you keep after the residue. I went after it 10+ times and kept the area wet.
Step 9: As the alcohol dries you might see a slight ring at the edge of the alcohol spread. If so, spray the ring and press on that area with a clean absorbent towel. Do this a few times and the ring will disappear.
Tips:
You can use a heat gun (on low) to more quickly cause the alcohol to evaporate or you can use compressed air.
The long narrow sticker on the front of the visor left a thick white layer of glue as compared to the square sticker on the back of the visor although all glue came off during Step 8. Not sure if the stickers are made differently or I did not wait long enough on the front sticker.
You will notice that as you change the angle of view the discoloration changes dramatically. Once I put the visors back in the car it was obvious that the discoloration was barely noticeable.
BEFORE AND AFTER:
If you have read through this thread with some interest, you are doomed. You will never get back in your $100k car and NOT notice those shitty looking stickers.
Mine got bigger every time I got in the car.
Enjoy your “clean” headliner.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks