Decal Bubbles

[Norse]

Last year, a portion of the decals on my top tube started to bubble. I am constantly trying to smooth them out (my shorts sometimes catch or rub on them) but to no avail. The bike is well past warranty and the LBO says nothing can be done without making it look worse. It's a carbon, with clear coat, so if I try to scrape off the bubbled part, I will also scrape off the clear coat. I have thought about wrapping a piece of packing tape around it just so my shorts won't snag, but I am afraid that will look ugly.

Any ideas?

[Pax]

I worked for Vetter Fairing Corp. once upon a time as a graphics installer. When we had bubbles in graphics we would use a needle and poke a tiny hole in the corner of the bubble, then use a a piece of soft plastic to smooth the air out of the bubbles. That might help.

[alpinerabbit]

Except if the glue underneath the decal has degraded, they won't stick anymore. Worth a try though.

[Norse]

Thanks, I will give that a try. It can't make it any worse!

[kermit]

I know a blow dryer can be used to remove unwanted decals. It may work to get it off then have the clear coat touched up.

[tantrumbean]

I know a blow dryer can be used to remove unwanted decals. It may work to get it off then have the clear coat touched up.

+ 1, and then you should be able to get some new decals of ebay or somewhere like that.