I was able to get the old decals off by cutting into the bubbles with a razor blade and heat it with a hair dryer . . . Pulling the label up from the middle to the outside. Or, from the top of the label with my fingernail.
Awesome idea and result. I have an '06 and there are one gagillion bubbles on each side. looks like the elephant man. I thought that a clear coat was applied on top of the decals instead of under them, therby trapping the gas vapours below. Now, when the old bubble decals come off; did you spray a clear to seal the rest of the tank? Then put the decals on top of the new clear? Thanks.
Not to hijack your thread here, McMann. But, to answer the question, you don't have to clear coat the tanks under decals or clear coat over the decals. It is unclear whether or not clear under or over makes any difference. My tanks were covered with two layers of 3M decal material where the normal stock decals are located. No problems now for a year or so of wear. The decals on the actual gas tank below are replacements. The "K" on the little faring part is original.
I got my 3M carbon fiber decal idea from your original post . . . I am not as creative as you. I noticed the 3M decal material was very thick and sticky . . . It was not necessary to remove any old label sticky residue. As you mentioned, it is not clear-coated under the label and is not necessary. I cleaned the surface with alcohol before applying the new decal. I did not remove the front black label . . . It was not bubbled . . . I put the new CF label over the black to match my new CB tank decal. After removing my label:
Thank you gents. Great info. A project for April when the weather is warmer and the beer wouldn't freeze in my hands! Thanks !
Orangecicle, I went your route and put on replacement black decals. Unfortunately, after 12 months, the new decals are bubbling badly. Just like the original. I wonder why yours are holding up ok. Any ideas? Thanks!
I am getting some bumps under my carbon fiber decals . . . The texture of the CF does help from noticing etc. Bottom line, it would be best to have decal material that can breath . . . Small perforations in the decal. Plastic material on plastic gas tanks probably won't last long unless they can breath.
Yep. Does anyone know of perforated tank decals for the 950? Simply putting new stick-on graphics won't work. They ALL bubble eventually. My new ones are now worse than original...
I am going to use perf'd Dinoc on my safari tanks. Hopefully the perforations will help with the bubbling.
I used a different product, SimCarbon 3D Carbon Fiber Vinyl film. It has air channels on the back to allow any outgassing to escape without bubbling. I got a 12" by 60" roll from amazon for 17 bucks. It has a semi-flat finish, and actual texture,( the 3D bit of it's name), and it really looks like carbon fiber. I haven't had any bubbling after 6 months, and It looks far better than the shiny black OEM stuff.
I just found this thread after reviewing many of them about KTM's bubbled decals. The SimCarbon film used by AdvRonski is now only $9.99 from Amazon, and I just placed my order for a roll. Thanks for the lead!
+1. Positioning the patterns carefully, a single roll was enough for two sets of tank decals. Easy/cheap enough to keep redoing if it does end up bubbling. Douf
I got a roll a wide ago not sure if its the same as what you guus are using but it is not real carbon fiber. Its just an imitation on plastic. Is this stuff real carbon fiber?
All of the sheet material will be imitation, assuming it has any flexibility to it. There is some texture to this stuff however and it does look pretty convincing. 'Real' carbon fiber typically fades over time. My 950 has a selection of Carbon Performance cf parts on it; it's obvious which pieces are the oldest merely from a visual comparison. Some of vinyl sheet manufacturers are claiming that the sheets resist fading better than the real thing. More importantly in the case of the 950 and its outgasing tanks, a quick Google search suggests that the (imitation) CF sheets are being produced in a breathable form to make the application easier (mainly when doing car wraps). The Simcarbon seemed pretty easy to work with, compared to other graphics kits, so hopefully it will remain bubble free in the long term. Douf
Thx...my experience with the sheet material has been not so good. I found it wears off. Granted I put some on the clutch cover and the frame where my boot rubbs off. On the tanks I expect them to last longer. Did you remove the bubbled up stock stickers ? As far as I know there is a tough lauer of clear coat on the stickers.
Wear-wise, the fake CF sheets ought to be about as durable as the OEM decal, which is a vinyl sheet without any clear over it. As others have described, it can be picked/ripped off with your fingers, while using a hairdryer to soften up the decal/adhesive. Also, as previously noted (Orangecicle IIRC), 3M's adhesive remover works well to clear off the residual adhesive. It's available in aerosol form from Advance Autoparts for around $9. A small terry towel seems to be the most efficient implement for this step. Douf
Well, my OEM decals definitely had clear coat over them. I found it peeled off cleanly with the larger piece, but I had to score the edges of the smaller pieces with an xacto knife to get a clean break. After this year's riding season, I have no bubbles and no wear on these SimCarbon 3D decals.
Interesting. I didn't bother removing the smaller pieces and I think you're right in terms of the clear over those. Which model year is your 950? IIRC it's a silver bike, so an early model year? I was working with a 05.5. Good to hear that the decals are still holding up. Douf