Stripe Removal & More
8/27/2022
I picked up where I left off the day before and continued removing the factory stripe decals. The process was pretty straightforward: use an eraser wheel to remove the bulk of the decal, then polish the remaining residue. What was left behind was mostly a thin line of dirt along the upper edge where the decal had been collecting grime for the last 23 years.
A few cycles of eraser wheel, buffing, and polishing eventually got everything cleaned up. There is still a slight amount of ghosting if you catch it in the right light, but after more than two decades, that was expected.
While cleaning things up, I decided to tackle one mystery left by a previous owner. There was some sort of adhesive residue on the side of the truck that clearly wasn't original. The eraser wheel immediately gummed up, so I tried a little heat and a plastic scraper. Unfortunately, I got a little too aggressive and managed to leave a small gouge in the paint.
Lesson learned.
After switching to WD-40 and a much gentler approach, I was able to remove the remainder without causing any further damage. The passenger side turned out great, proving that sometimes the second attempt benefits from the mistakes of the first.
With the exterior already in pieces, I figured I might as well keep going.
The third brake light looked faded and neglected, and I still had a can of VHT Nite-Shades left over from a previous project. After removing it, wet sanding, cleaning, and applying a couple coats of tint, I buffed and polished the lens before reinstalling it.
The results came out better than expected.
In fact, they came out so well that I immediately decided to do the taillights too.
I've never been a fan of completely blacked-out taillights, so I masked off the reverse lights and lower reflectors before spraying. After another round of polishing and reinstallation, I wasn't completely sold on the look at first. A few hours later, though, it started growing on me. Leaving some of the factory lighting visible also seemed like a good way to avoid attracting unwanted attention from law enforcement.
By this point the temperature was climbing toward triple digits, so I retreated indoors and shifted my attention to the interior.
Fortunately, the cabin was in pretty good shape overall. It didn't need a deep cleaning so much as a thorough wipe-down and vacuum.
The sun visors, however, told a different story.
The warning labels had been removed at some point, but the adhesive remained. After soaking the area with rubbing alcohol and scrubbing with a nylon brush, most of the residue came off cleanly. One side showed some minor discoloration where the fabric had been disturbed, but the visible surfaces looked dramatically better. Good enough for me.
Next up were the running boards.
Removal was uneventful right up until the final bolt, when a sudden Texas downpour arrived with impeccable timing. I ended up sprinting to the garage carrying tools while getting completely soaked in the process.
Once the rain moved through, I finished removing both running boards and cleaned the areas hidden underneath. There was some paint wear where the plastic had rubbed against the body over the years, but overall the truck looked much cleaner without them installed.
My dad was probably right when he suggested removing the fender flares too, but that sounded like a project for another day.
I also spent a little time trying to improve the appearance of the wheels before realizing I was wasting my effort. They cleaned up slightly, but not enough to justify the amount of scrubbing required. With replacement wheels already on my mind, I decided to save my energy.
By the end of the day, the truck was looking noticeably cleaner, simpler, and a little more modern. I still wanted to polish the entire vehicle to deal with years of fine scratches, but with temperatures approaching 100 degrees, that project would have to wait.
For now, all that was left to do was wait for the next round of parts to arrive.