DIY: Removing the airbag warning stickers from your sun visors

[Personne]

In my experience, adhesives can be made from - and therefore be reactive to - alcool or petroleum-based solvants. BUT "plastic" and "vinyl" can be a generic term for a lot of different yet similar materials, which may or may not be reactive also. YOMMV.

Therefore, other products can be tried to work out the gum residue. If "rubbing" alcool (in whatever concentration) is giving you a tough time, try kerosene, acetone or methyl-hydrate. Try it on a small unconspicuous area of the visor and see if it attacks the "plastic". Let it sit for a while and only when you are positively, absolutely sure it is safe, soak a Qtip and try to lift-off a nail-size chunk first. Use a diswashing scrub pad on stubborn areas, never steel wool.

Once the best part is gone, you can finish it off with a less aggressive product to avoid exagerated discoloring. I am thinking that the OEM stickers are affixed using a heat-activated glue and this would explain why they are so tough to get rid of.

I'm currently awaiting my very first TDI and I will post the results of my own experiments within a few days of its arrival

[gliguy2887]

anybody else do this?...i was taking the driver side sun visor off and the step that says "slightly tug until you have access to the clip", yea...def pulled too hard and the wire/band thing broke. the visor assmbly is good its the part that goes into the head liner that broke. anybody know what measures will need to be taken to resolve this problem? thanks for any help.

[gliguy2887]

[Orient Express]

yea...def pulled too hard and the wire/band thing broke. the visor assmbly is good its the part that goes into the head liner that broke. anybody know what measures will need to be taken to resolve this problem? thanks for any help.

If you could post a picture of what you think you broke, that would help. The flat ribbon cable from the sunvisor can be pulled out of the connector that is in the headliner, and that is what you might have done.

[gliguy2887]

i'll get some pics up asap but i'm pretty sure i'm screwed on this one. now i have another problem too though...the cable and clip part that stays with the car on the passenger side some how went up into the headliner. it is in there too i tried using a wire hanger to get it out with no success. anybody know how hard it is to take the headliner down enough to get access to this? never again will i do this "little" project. haha visors look good though

[furahi]

Just did this on my 11 JSW, it looks great and was very easy.
Only difference with the instruction shere was the passenger side visor had a different kind of connector than the driver's side (the driver's side has what is shown here). On the passenger side the cable connects directly to the visor, instead of having a cable coming from the visor where the connector goes. Anyway, slightly more difficult to pull out, but I did it and had no problems

[FalkPhotoDesign]

Im doing this right now.
Nice DIY.

[Squirrel Nuts]

I've had my car since about March 2010. Is it too late to do this? I don't want there to be a big difference because of the fading due to the sun.

[Dilutedx]

I did this the other day using 91% Isopropyl. Took me about 30 minutes total, left the visors in the car. Went over them with Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber spray after.

[Squirrel Nuts]

I've had my car since about March 2010. Is it too late to do this? I don't want there to be a big difference because of the fading due to the sun.

Bump!

[GB724]

It depends on how much you used your visors last summer. Only real way to tell is to try it.

[Squirrel Nuts]

It depends on how much you used your visors last summer. Only real way to tell is to try it.

I guess I'll take the plunge. I'll do it sometime this week.

[Squirrel Nuts]

Maybe someone can help me really quick. I'm finding it hard to muster the balls to pull out the cable after hearing how people have ripped out the connector. How hard do you have to pull and how much pulling can it take?

[Dilutedx]

Maybe someone can help me really quick. I'm finding it hard to muster the balls to pull out the cable after hearing how people have ripped out the connector. How hard do you have to pull and how much pulling can it take?

What % Isopropyl are you using? If you have 91%+ just leave them in the car. It really wasn't that bad when I did it the other night. Just start the car put on some tunes and about 30 minutes later you'll be done.

[Squirrel Nuts]

What % Isopropyl are you using? If you have 91%+ just leave them in the car. It really wasn't that bad when I did it the other night. Just start the car put on some tunes and about 30 minutes later you'll be done.

Using 91%. Tried finding 99% but no luck. I rather take em out just because I'm doing them tonight and I have some other stuff like lights to change in the car so I was gonna let it sit a nice amount of time while I did the other stuff.

[Dilutedx]

Flip the visors forward towards the windshield and the towel you use will just sit on top of it. Then while it's soaking do your other stuff.

[Squirrel Nuts]

Flip the visors forward towards the windshield and the towel you use will just sit on top of it. Then while it's soaking do your other stuff.

now that sounds like a good idea

[rollout50]

Flip the visors forward towards the windshield and the towel you use will just sit on top of it. Then while it's soaking do your other stuff.

I was afraid to do this because I didn't know if the alcohol would stain the headliner when the visor was up towards the windshield (probably not, but I'm paranoid). So I just soaked some paper towels with 90% and held them to the visor with the paper towel roll. Took about 5 minutes for driver's side, 7 minutes for the passenger side.

[fredf]

I was afraid to do this because I didn't know if the alcohol would stain the headliner when the visor was up towards the windshield (probably not, but I'm paranoid). So I just soaked some paper towels with 90% and held them to the visor with the paper towel roll. Took about 5 minutes for driver's side, 7 minutes for the passenger side.

Agreed. No one is more of a wimp than me when it comes to doing stuff on my car. Turn the visors up, place soaked paper towel on the decal and (if you use 90%+ IPA) let it sit for maybe 5 minutes they will put off very nicely (just pull slowly to keep it in a single piece). I laid a towel on my dash to catch the dripping IPA because I soaked the paper towel too much.

The IPA will not stain or hurt anything.

It really is easy.

[NotLowEnough]

Just used this to remove the airbag decals on my E46 visors. There's still a bit of sticker residue, but that's because the M-Sport package on my car comes with Alacantra visors. Going to let an alcohol rag soak into it again tomorrow and see if it all comes off. There wasn't any discoloration, either. I used 91%.

Great writeup!

[ph03n1x]

What's the minimum concentration should I use? I can't find anything but 70%. Oh and can anyone put up times to let it soak for x% of concentration?

[Squirrel Nuts]

What's the minimum concentration should I use? I can't find anything but 70%. Oh and can anyone put up times to let it soak for x% of concentration?

It's gonna be a bitch with 70%. You'll have to let it soak 40+ minutes for it to be a breeze. I used 91% and let it soak for 15 minutes. It peeled off easier than I ever thought it could. I would try to find something above 90%.

[snobrdrdan]

I would try to find something above 90%.

From where specifically?

CVS?
Rite Aid?

[Dilutedx]

From where specifically?

CVS?
Rite Aid?

I bought my 91% at Wal-mart. I think I saw it at Target tonight too.

[snobrdrdan]

Cool! thanks

[rcopp]

So I did the same thing as gliguy, and the drivers side ribbon cable ripped. Is there a way to fix it? I don't know how it happened because I did it the exact same way as on the passengers side, but either way I feel really stupid for doing it.

[snobrdrdan]

So I did the same thing as gliguy, and the drivers side ribbon cable ripped. Is there a way to fix it? I don't know how it happened because I did it the exact same way as on the passengers side, but either way I feel really stupid for doing it.

Just did this on the CC today....except it's harder than on the GTI because they taped the harness down to the headliner or something

Didn't rip that cable, but instead the wiring for the harness got cut on the metal bracket that the visor hooks into....awesome stuff here

Tried repairing the wires, but it's too short....gotta get a new visor


Side note: Removing the vanity light (pulls down easily) and reaching up there thru that hole helped located the harness though

[ghause]

I really don't see why you are not just putting a soaked paper towel on the sticker and flipping the visor up. Gravity is your friend.

[iPinch]

[snobrdrdan]

I really don't see why you are not just putting a soaked paper towel on the sticker and flipping the visor up. Gravity is your friend.

Tried it....no luck since I was in a rush though

Figured it would've been easier to take them out of the car....that proved wrong

[JohnQQQ]

After removing the visor stickers, I tried using goo gone gel to get rid of some of the residue. It didn't work, and now I have what appears to be stains where I used it... how would I get rid of the stains? Would removing them and scrubbing them down with dawn and a brush work?

[JonathanT]

Just did this to my Golf TDI the other day and loved how it turned out, although I just left the sun visors on the car.

[snobrdrdan]

After removing the visor stickers, I tried using goo gone gel to get rid of some of the residue. It didn't work, and now I have what appears to be stains where I used it... how would I get rid of the stains? Would removing them and scrubbing them down with dawn and a brush work?

There will always be a faint outline of where the sticker was, unfortunately

Just use some vinyl conditioner or Armor All to cover it up

Don't scrub it...you'll stretch the vinyl

[JohnQQQ]

There will always be a faint outline of where the sticker was, unfortunately

Just use some vinyl conditioner or Armor All to cover it up

Don't scrub it...you'll stretch the vinyl

No I know that there will be an outline from the sticker, I mean the stains from the goo gone gel

[ArtieMacKinlay]

Anyone got a confirmation on how well the silkscreen decals come off the canadian visors?