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Q: How do I remove decals from a helmet?
A: Here is how I remove decals: (make sure your hands are clean and dry before you begin- do not try to wear any type of plastic gloves)
1. Use a blow dryer to warm each decal or stripe. Take care not to "cook"
the decal if you want to ever use it again.
2. Using something sharp like a pocket knife, lift up a corner of the decal or stripe. Gently pull the decal from the loosened corner towards your body, keeping your fingers as close to the helmet as possible. AVOID grasping the decal by one corner and pulling it off. This will stretch the decal. Hint- keep your fingers moving under the decal. Place your decal on a discarded sheet of decal backing paper. I use the backing paper from Avery address labels a lot. Do not put your decals on wax paper. It does not work. Also, always use the side of the backing paper that already had stickers or decals
on it.
3. If there is any residue under the decal, use your thumb to ball it up. This usually removes all the residue and nothing more is needed.
4. If you still need to clean the helmet, squirt about a quarter-sized circle of GooGone on a lint-free cloth and "polish" the entire helmet.
5. I find it useful to then wipe the helmet with a dry spot of the cloth.
Now you should be ready to apply new decals. Of course, if you do not care about saving your old ones, you can discard the steps pertaining to that. The first time you do this, it may take you 15 minutes. I have found that it is not something worth rushing through, though. Even if you don't want to
save the old decals, I think it is less work to do it this way.
One other thing- while you are removing the decals or stripes, the adhesive should stay with the decal. If it starts to pull away, you can try to replace the decal and re-heat it, but I have not had good luck with that. The adhesive tends to bunch under the vinyl and you get lumps. You can save the decal and try to remove all the adhesive if you have a way to put another type of adhesive back on. but I usually discard those decals and stripes that lose some or all of their adhesive during removal.
Q. How do I remove glue and polish a shell?
1. First off, the manufacturer plays a big role in this. Riddell glue is MUCH easier to deal with than Schutt glue, in my opinion.
2. If you follow the instruction for removing the decals, you should only have a minimum amount of glue to deal with.
3. GooGone is your best friend. Wal-Mart sells it in the cleaning supplies. Home Depot sells it in the paint section.
4. Try rubbing with your thumb to ball up any excess glue. Then use a small amount of GooGone on a lint free cloth and polish the entire helmet. Flip the cloth over and wipe of the excess GooGone with the dry side of the cloth.
5. You should have a helmet which is clean and ready to go once this dries (couple of minutes). At this point, you may want to get with Tom Stella about getting a urethane coating on the shell.
Furniture polish, Old English, and stuff like that will give you a polished "sheen" to your helmets, but it is not permanent. Sometimes with Riddells, simply buffing the shell with a soft, lint free cloth will brighten them up
and remove finger prints.
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