tomtheelder2020
Well-Known Member
I know this isn't the best forum for this question but, paraphrasing Don Rumsfeld, you go to work with the forum you have.
My 2002 Camry, inherited from in-laws, has what was once a clear film over both outside mirrors. I presume this was intended to be removed when the car was new but it is still there. Using a heat gun I can soften the adhesive enough to scrape the film off with a fingernail but the film is so degraded that it won't pull off in strips - only where my fingernail scrapes. That is a slow process but doable. My real problem is at the edge of the film where the adhesive seems to have hardened into an impenetrable substance. Considerable rubbing with goo-gone soaked paper towel took off some of it but only after considerable effort. I thought about attacking it with acetone but the paint is likely to have a clearcoat that wouldn't last long. Anyone have another approach to cleaning this off?
My 2002 Camry, inherited from in-laws, has what was once a clear film over both outside mirrors. I presume this was intended to be removed when the car was new but it is still there. Using a heat gun I can soften the adhesive enough to scrape the film off with a fingernail but the film is so degraded that it won't pull off in strips - only where my fingernail scrapes. That is a slow process but doable. My real problem is at the edge of the film where the adhesive seems to have hardened into an impenetrable substance. Considerable rubbing with goo-gone soaked paper towel took off some of it but only after considerable effort. I thought about attacking it with acetone but the paint is likely to have a clearcoat that wouldn't last long. Anyone have another approach to cleaning this off?