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Hello,
Removed all Inga's tape in the last five months, but got off to a bad start at first. Had the same unsightly issue with cracked tape and those split cracked window scrapers. Ordered and installed a set of the scrapers from Dave Barton and the tape seemed to look even worse.
The first section under the passengers side rear window of the ol 245 was the how not to remove tape. Made the mistake of trying to use a thin metal blade, then a hard plastic scraper with a hair dryer. The hair dryer was from a BB posting on this subject. Had to quit, it was taking way too long, burning up the wifes good hair dryer up was going to be the cause of marital discourse, and both the metal blade and hard plastic scraper dug into the paint. The paint gets really soft after too much heat and very easy to gouge or scratch. Tried a couple of solvents with almost no luck. Lesson learned was no hard plastic scraper, no metal, or wimpy heat source.
What worked like a champ was using a regular heat gun, (hold on not as bad as it sounds) and here is the key, a set of orange plastic Harbor Freight scrapers. (Never should have opened that store so dang close the house). The part link that got this job going smoothly is: Harbor Freight Non Marring Scaper Set. (Should take you right to the link, still working on HTML skills as a disclaimer).
The trick is to heat the adhesive under the tape moving the heat gun back and forth. You will see the edge starting to come loose or jab it with the edge of the scraper, and when it gives scrape the area loose. Wear good leather gloves, hot plastic tape scraps and hot surfaces. Easy to get a burn if not careful. Don't stay in one place with the heat and watch the heat near the glass, aim it down and away from the window. You get a pace fairly quickly. The scrapers were the key to getting this project moving with zero damage. You do have to change scrapers due to a minor issue, the edge rounds off from the heat after a while. Just set it aside and use another size, there are four widths in the set. Take a regular flat file and reshape the tip as needed. Keeping the tips sharp make a big difference. Keep the tip back when heating up an area, keeps it from getting soft and dulling the edge too quickly. The varied width of the scrapers help to get into the curved areas, such as under the window and the narrow strip on top. Did not have a single damaged area using this method. That first section was not good at all due to paint damage and scratches (used body filler several places). There is a minor paint shade difference, (Inga is silver) under the tape.
Took a good half hour per section and there additional time was needed to pull off and reinstall the mirrors and window scrapers. There will still be some glue and tape residue left behind. Use a soft cloth and dab of paint thinner to remove the residue. Had to wax the car after all this was done. Would post a picture, but Inga is still in the garage in the final stages of the $1.25K upgrade (went a bit over budget don't tell the wife) covered in dust and dryer lint right now. Think you will like the tape free look however. No plans to put a painted fake tape stripe under the windows in the planned paint job in the next couple of years, did consider the faux flat back paint idea. Have to get the paint job past my darling co-chair of finances.
Did find hidden badly rusted place where the rear window was allowing water into the rear section of the car hidden under the tape. The paint was just starting to bubble. That just got coated with Por 15 the other day.
Hope this helps,
Paul
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