I.D. Tag

[bitten 134]

I am about to start prep work on the fenders of a 310-8. This is where the I.D. Tag is adhered to. What is the best way to go about trying to save this or can it be replaced. The numbers are hard to see and I doubt that I will ever get rid of the tractor but would like to have it the way it was supposed to be.

Any help would be appreciated,

P.J.

[Jim_M 178]

Maybe TD can make you a reprodution decal.

[saguaro 0]

If it's riveted you can drill them out. Use a smaller bit than the rivet shaft, the rivet head will spin off, when done you can rivet it back on. Or you can use tape and a razor. Blue masking tape works well. I like taking the plate off, looks better to be.

Hope that helps

[saguaro 0]

Ok I'm thinking of the ID tag :banghead:

[Duff 206]

I am about to start prep work on the fenders of a 310-8. This is where the I.D. Tag is adhered to. What is the best way to go about trying to save this or can it be replaced. The numbers are hard to see and I doubt that I will ever get rid of the tractor but would like to have it the way it was supposed to be.

Any help would be appreciated,

P.J.

PJ, when I rebuilt my 312-8 last winter I taped off the ID tag and just sanded/primed up to it. I retaped and overlapped the finish paint about 1/32" onto the ID tag to "seal" the edges. Seemed to work pretty well. From my very limited experience, the glue that holds those tags on is pretty formidable stuff so I didn't try to peel it off to save it - I had tried that on my mower deck and, well, let's just say it came off in pieces.

Perhaps TD will offer a line of reproduction ID tags at some point?

Duff :USA:

[BPjunk 184]

PJ,

What I have done in the past is use a heat gun (or propane torch) on the bottom side of the fender to loosen up the adhesive. This takes some time to remove the decal this way but it can be reaplyed when done with new glue of course.

Wild Bill in Richmond, Va.

[linen beige 14]

PJ,

What I have done in the past is use a heat gun (or propane torch) on the bottom side of the fender to loosen up the adhesive. This takes some time to remove the decal this way but it can be reaplyed when done with new glue of course.

Wild Bill in Richmond, Va.

Spot on!

And like you say, the trick is to apply the heat from the back side so that the metal gets hot without burning the tag.

Auto trim adhesive works great for putting them back on.

[bitten 134]

I was thinking heat gun but wanted to hear it from someone that may have tried it. I have never done this before and just want to do a nice job.

Defiantly a lot more work than I thought it was going to be, but believe that it will be well worth the effort when done. Just hope to get it done before it gets to cold out in the shop( damn need to get heat out there)

Thanks everyone for the info.

P.J.

[linen beige 14]

Like Bill said, this takes time. In other words, apply the heat slowly. If you work too fast you can heat the metal up enough to actually scorch the decal.

While I'm thinking about this, has anyone tried using acetone to loosen the adhesive on these decals? I don't want to ruin a salvagable decal in an experiment, and don't know if the acetone would attack the decal material or remove the print before it would loosen the glue. :banghead:

[wh500special 2,090]

has anyone tried using acetone to loosen the adhesive on these decals?

As you fear Jim, Acetone WILL remove the printing long before the decal comes off!

use it sparingly elsewhere since it can remove some paints and can have health effects arising from repeated or prolonged exposure.

Steve

[linen beige 14]

As you fear Jim, Acetone WILL remove the printing long before the decal comes off!

use it sparingly elsewhere since it can remove some paints and can have health effects arising from repeated or prolonged exposure.

Steve

Thanks Steve,

You give me another idea. I guess the trick would be to find something to attack the paint beneath the decal that wouldn't attack the decal. They are, after all, stuck to the paint, not the metal.

I have worked a couple off with a razor blade, but that is tedious to say the least, and the decal does get a few wrinkles that are hard to roll back out without distorting the shape/size.

[wh500special 2,090]

I think heat is probably the best/only option since the decals are some type of plastic film (probably polyethylene) and will be impermeable to just about anything. I've never tried to peel off an ID decal, but have removed the long hood decals in one piece before using a torch on the backside of the hood so I know heat works. You can then cleanup the residual adhesive with acetone or mineral spirits.

I guess you could probably put the assembly in an oven too and warm it to 140-150 degrees F and just peel it off then. I know the "warm" function on my kitchen oven is hotter than that though. 140 is approximately the temperature where your skin senses "burning" instead of just hot, so a 140 degree fender wouldn't be too tough to handle with a pair of gloves.

Seems that most newer tractors I have that use an ID decal instead of a stamped plate are all sun bleached anyway and aren't legible anymore, so losing one here and there isn't a tragedy to me.

I have seen the decals reapplied with spray adhesive too. And, I've also seen clear laminating film used as well. Superglue (cyanoacrylate) would work too, but you'd never get them off again in 20 years when it's time to re-restore.

Steve

[linen beige 14]

Superglue (cyanoacrylate) would work too, but you'd never get them off again in 20 years when it's time to re-restore.

Steve

I have decades of experience working with C/As in the model building hobby. It has incredible tensile strength, but virtually no shear strength. Meaning it can be next to impossible to pull a part straight off, but twisting action or driving it sideways is fairly easy. Most are fairly brittle too. This means that on something like a metal fender just tapping it with a hammer against a backing dolly crushes and breaks up the glue.