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Water Stains on Stripes


tekheavy

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I've been reading through many posts on this topic but have not found a definitive answer on how to clean the water spots/stains on the stripes on the Shelbys. I tried the vinegar thing to no avail. I really do not want to have the stripes replaced or painted on. There has to be some product out there or home remedy that actually works. Has anyone actually cleaned the stains off their stripes, and if so, please post the product or method you used.

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Have you tried a vinyl cleaner / protector such as Protect-All or 303? I use that and it seems to remove all water stains.

 

I also use the Mr. Clean AutoDry car wash system - http://www.mrclean.com/sites/en_US/mrclean...s/autodry.shtml - that way, I little if any spots to begin with!

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I really do not want to have the stripes replaced or painted on.

 

 

Tek, I am presuming your stripe staining problems date from the original purchase?

 

If so, like a lot of others, I feel your pain; mine were similarly marred. I have to guess that if Ford/Shelby had an adequate cleaning solution (pun intended), they'd have implemented it.

 

I bit the bullet and had the tape stripes replaced under warranty. Yes, it's a hassle - in fact, my original replacement was not properly done and the dealer had to re-do it. Be prepared to lose your SGT for all or the better part of the work week. Make sure you tell the dealer that you won't settle for anything less in quality than the original installation.

 

I also have to tell you that both the Ford Warranty folks in Detroit and SAI personnel in Las Vegas were extremely supportive and helpful throughout the process as was, ultimately, the dealership.

 

Consider it - I think you'll be happy you did it.

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I actually just picked the car up about a week ago. I got a pretty good deal on the car and figured I would be able to clean the water spots myself. Guess I was wrong. I have been reading a lot of horror stories about people who have had their stripes re-done and that has kind of led me away from that route, as my stripes and hood scoop/rivets are on real nice. Theres got to be a product out there to clean this things without going thru the hassle of having them replaced. Just a matter of finding it.

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I actually just got a reply from a company that installs aftermarket stripes on cars and they said try brake cleaner. So maybe I'll try that tonight and report back on the results.

 

There is no way in heck that I would use that stuff on vinyl - but there are many things I don't know....

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I got some stains on my stripes too....pretty recently. My car is my DD with 5700 miles. The wait time for the 'Y' in Shelby on the trunk is enough to deter me from getting the stripes re-done at the dealership. Hopefully there is a sure-fire solution for cleaning them. They aren't that thick. I got some goop on my stripe when I was trying to glue the Y back on one time and I scratched through the stripe with my fingernail. I would NOT use brake cleaner on them!

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I just purchased 3M vinyl hood stripes from Baltimorestreetmods.com and the stripe care instructions call for orange cleaner. I bought some at the dollar store and used it on a wet paper towel and it worked fine. I did not have any tough stains but it did not hurt the vinyl.

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Yeah, I tried the brake cleaner on an inconspicuous location of the stripes. Oh yeah, it definetly took the stains off.....along with part of the luster of the stripe. Would not recommend the brake cleaner route. Especially after reading the active ingredients in it. There some nasty stuff in there. Probably work better as a flame thrower.

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Brake cleaner on stripes??? Chances are your stains are thru the stripe not on the surface. The only way to get rid of the stain is to get rid of the stripes. The problem is the quality of the stripes on there now. I personally like 3M stripes. If you can find a good shop (not the one that said to use brake cleaner) ask for 3M stripes. They cost more but can withstand the elements really well.

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Tek, I been going through a living hell with my stripes. I finally got the approval to get my stripes replaced, they had the car almost two weeks and when it came home it was full of air bubbles and needs to be redone. So now I have to get the dealership to fix the car again which they say they will fix but they wont give up another stripe kit and the sub that did it dose not want to pay so the fight goes on. Short is make sure that the sub the dealer knows is good. Lots of these guys use subs two, they come to there paint shops and do the stripe kinda like window tint. All I can say is find a grafx shop. I wish I would not have relied on the dealership to be honest with you I wish I would have kept the stains. Oh ,ford racing tells me that the new stripes used on the 08 models are a better grade of vinyl sounds like they should have painted them on instead!! GOOD LUCK :banghead:

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I feel your pain. Its the old "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. I'll probably just keep these stripes on till I find the right cleaning implement. Who knows, it might be cheaper for Ford or Shelby to come out with an effect cleaner rather than warranty the stripes. I can wish.....can't I?

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I feel your pain. Its the old "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. I'll probably just keep these stripes on till I find the right cleaning implement. Who knows, it might be cheaper for Ford or Shelby to come out with an effect cleaner rather than warranty the stripes. I can wish.....can't I?

 

Yes, you can. I'll wish WITH you.

My stripes are getting rough.

I'm taking it in to a detail shop in a few weeks, I'll let you all know what happens... maybe there's some other wisdom I can pick up from a pro. Not that there aren't some pros on this forum already, but hey, another opinion can't hurt, right?

 

Yeah, I know. :talkhand:

 

 

 

Jer

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Checking out the web found a company called graphic express and they give a list of installers maybe you can find someone close to were you live good luck. :superhero:

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I have not found any cleaners that work, and yes the stripes are under warranty. I would recommend before you have them replaced do your homework, check for graphic installers not paint shops unless they have a in house installer not a sub that comes to there shop. All I can say is good luck and keep it dry. :banghead: One of the big problem is Ford dose not give enough time to get a good shop to do the repair so its hard to get someone good to do it, that's why i say do your homework the dealership is only looking at there bottom line. I was stupid and thought that they new what they are doing but they don't my dealership is a nightmare!!!! :censored:

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I was lucky enought to have my Stripes sent to me Via SAI, However they where not under warranty, Just a FreeBie but i have tohave them installed out of my own pocket. I noticed them at 10K miles inder a year but once I finally got any response from a good ford dealer, it was over 12K miles and a year old. So the paint and stripe warranty was up, but they also sent me a set of Shelby letters for the Trunk. I think I am going to have the strpies deleted and keep the new one' in the Box. wish the rest of you the best of luck.

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Someone on the GTH side thinks they have found a way to recover the stripes check here stripe cleaner.

 

I read that article this weekend and found it very interesting. I have searched and searched for

"Sever shower door,tile,tub & Boat cleaner restorer" but have come up with nothing. Anyone know

or guess a manufacturer ? I'd love to give it a shot ...

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I read that article this weekend and found it very interesting. I have searched and searched for

"Sever shower door,tile,tub & Boat cleaner restorer" but have come up with nothing. Anyone know

or guess a manufacturer ? I'd love to give it a shot ...

 

 

Ask the author?

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I've been reading through many posts on this topic but have not found a definitive answer on how to clean the water spots/stains on the stripes on the Shelbys. I tried the vinegar thing to no avail. I really do not want to have the stripes replaced or painted on. There has to be some product out there or home remedy that actually works. Has anyone actually cleaned the stains off their stripes, and if so, please post the product or method you used.

 

 

On the nasty water spots I've used "Stoner Invisible Glass" Cleaner. This worked well on bird stains as well. I've seen the Ford dealer using Glass cleaner to remove spots.

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On the nasty water spots I've used "Stoner Invisible Glass" Cleaner. This worked well on bird stains as well. I've seen the Ford dealer using Glass cleaner to remove spots.

 

 

I have to try that because just today, after i washed my car, a bird took a shit on my hood. I cleaned it off rather quickly but it left a spot on the stripe that i wasn't able to get off. I really wanted to shoot that lil' feathered bastard !!

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  • 1 year later...
I've been reading through many posts on this topic but have not found a definitive answer on how to clean the water spots/stains on the stripes on the Shelbys. I tried the vinegar thing to no avail. I really do not want to have the stripes replaced or painted on. There has to be some product out there or home remedy that actually works. Has anyone actually cleaned the stains off their stripes, and if so, please post the product or method you used.

 

 

So, did you get this straight Tek? :lurk:

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  • 3 weeks later...

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