vtx 1300 emblems

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iwannadie · #1 Unread post by **iwannadie** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:10 pm

does anyone know the process of removing the emblems on the gas tank. are the glued on or what? a buddy of mine wants to get his taken off not sure how wed even go about it.

i dont mean the warning stickers but the actual chrome emblems on the sides of the tank.

old-n-slow · Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:31 pm

I believe they are stuck on. Use a hairdryer or heat gun to warm them up.(thoroughly) Then, using a piece of fishing line or some equally strong thread, (dental floss might work well here) run it under the emblem and saw it back and forth to cut the adhesive without damaging the paint.

Then you reguire some thing like mild degreaser to soften the remaining adhesive while you rub it away until gone. Polish the area, and you are done.

iwannadie · #3 Unread post by **iwannadie** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:38 pm

old-n-slow wrote:I believe they are stuck on. Use a hairdryer or heat gun to warm them up.(thoroughly) Then, using a piece of fishing line or some equally strong thread, (dental floss might work well here) run it under the emblem and saw it back and forth to cut the adhesive without damaging the paint.

Then you reguire some thing like mild degreaser to soften the remaining adhesive while you rub it away until gone. Polish the area, and you are done.

sounds pretty much like what ive read else where. excpet most people say not to use a saw motion with the line/floss doing so can mess the paint up?

also do you need to drain the gas tank first? a few places i read said it usually only takes 1-3 minutes worth of heat is that enough to risk heating to gas hot enough to explode or would it be ok?

BuzZz · #4 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:47 pm

Your safer to heat a full gas tank than an empty one. Raw gas(liquid) doesn't explode, gas vapor does. Full tank = no vapor. Just be sure the vent is working and your not useing flame to do this <---- I know your not, but you never know who else might try this and not realize..... hey, it happens.

Also, you need oxygen to make anything burn or explode. Full tank = no oxygen.

You won't be getting the tank hot enough to reach gasoline's auto-ignition piont anyway, you'll burn the paint before things get that hot. Plus the no oxygen thing.......

iwannadie · #5 Unread post by **iwannadie** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:59 pm

cool, my buddy really wants to attempt this tomorrow at my place. didnt want his brand new 05 vtx exploding with me near it ha.

ill make sure the tank if full, at first i was telling him to use up all the gas so we could drain it empty if needed.

i still dont know about doing this, if it was my bike i wouldnt care i just hate being part of something that can ruin someone elses stuff like this. my luck the paint will chip or melt or leave a nasty mark where the embles used to be! but we will see... i have my own bike to worry about lol

old-n-slow · Sat Jun 18, 2005 4:39 am

Actually I would use a hair dryer and do it with an empty tank. Reasons being. Hair dryer does not get nearly as hot as a heat gun and with the tank full of fuel you will have to heat for a much longer period to get the same effect as the fuel in the tank will conduct heat away from the sidewalls. I would think you would not want high heat on the paint for too long a period and you really only need to get the emblem warm, not hot.

SAW IT BACK AND FORTH was a poor choice of words perhaps. apply more pressure to top and then do the same on the bottom and alternate back and forth. Sawing should not hurt the paint however it might if you get things too hot. Warm is the key ----Not HOT.

mysta2 · #7 Unread post by **mysta2** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:31 am

also you can use a mild solvent used for removing bumper stickers (I like "sticker shock") if you don't want to go the hair dryer way. Also with a solvent you're more likily for all the adhesive to come off with the emblem: spray some solvent, put dental floss under a corner to lift it to a point that you can gently pry at it, it will probably go better if you keep spraying the solvent as you go... it only penetrates so far.

also depening on the age of the bike and how much exposure it gets the paint may be darker where the emblem used to be.

also as old-n-slow said, the dental floss shouldn't damage the paint (at worst it might put slight scratches in it that are buff-able) but just to be safe I would as you're doing this pull the floss more away from the tank to cut the adhesive on the emblem side rather than on the tank side... did that make sense?