Some of us have been fortunate enough to find a nice new, or used car with vinyl pinstripes. A little heat and they come right off.

What about the rest of us who are stuck with some god awful color scheme, or something that looks like the pinstriper was on LSD?

Well I was one of those people with painted pinstripes. And I removed them today, you can't even tell they were there.

Depending on how long the pinstripes were on, you MIGHT be left with lines, which are the contrast of faded paint, and unfaded paint (the stuff hidden by the pinstripes).

My g/f removed her pinstripes on a BLACK car, and has a few lines, but she's happier with lines, than the teal & purple acid trip pinstriping job someone did to her car...


To do this, it'll cost you about $30 +/-.
Less if you have some stuff on hand.

You will need:
1 rag to wipe the stuff off
1 rag to wipe off the old pinstripes
EASY OFF oven cleaner. (I used the lemon scented stuff)
Stuff to wash your car (soap, water etc..)
Swirl mark remover (I used Meguires #9)
Wax (I used Meguires as well)

Spray the oven cleaner directly onto the pinstriping. Avoid getting it on plastic, rubber etc...

Let it sit about 2 minutes, then start rubbing. You will go back and forth on the car. Some spots will be stubborn, others will come off really easy. After you wipe a spot, use your clean rag to wipe the old pinstriping paint off so it doesn't harden in another spot.

Keep doing this over and over again. Then, look VERY close, any leftover spots, spray again, leave it on about 2 more minutes and go back to it. Keep doing this until its all gone.

After you have EVERY last stripe and dot off your car, wash it. Give it a real good wash.

Dry the car.

Use the swirl mark remover (I'm sure buffing compound will work just as well, but don't use a lot of pressure) on all areas where your pinstripes were.

Wipe the swirl mark remover off.

Now, apply a nice coat of wax to the areas where your pinstripes were. I don't know if this is even necessary.. but I did it because my g/f complained that if I didn't my paint might go to hell.. and well.. its better to be safe than sorry.

Total time from oven cleaner to swirl mark remover - about 2-3 hours (depending on your pinstripe design, and thickness of the stripes etc..)

Total time for the waxing.. I don't know.. ask my g/f, I was busy installing speakers in her car lol.

Well, she says a couple of hours....

I'm sure it could have been faster, I saw her taking lots of breaks! That lazy woman!!

I'm kidding, I love her

But anyways, I hope this helps someone...




I know it's JUST a Cavalier, and I'm sorry if I hurt your ego.

or you could save yourself TONS of trouble and use a rubber wheel attached to an air hose and take it off the way body shops do... thats how mine were taken off

more importantly....the way i just said will only cost you 20 dollars as opposed to your 30



i walked in to a Chevrolet dealership's body shop and paid a guy 20 bucks to do mine

^ exactley, i work at a body shop, the rubber wheel would be so much easier.


Moms&Dads talk to your kids,before its too late,tell them to stay away from aluminum wings.

Well crap.

I had no idea.... if I knew I would have done that with my air compressor..


Is there any risk of the wheel burning the paint?




I know it's JUST a Cavalier, and I'm sorry if I hurt your ego.

not if you know what your doing

The Other Matt wrote:or you could save yourself TONS of trouble and use a rubber wheel attached to an air hose and take it off the way body shops do... thats how mine were taken off

How is an air hose and a rubber wheel going to remove something that's painted on and not harm the rest of the paint? The way we did it with the oven cleaner wasn't time consuming in the slightest and the main tool used was $3.48. To me the oven cleaner method works just fine

^^^^ The rubber wheel wont hurt the rest of the paint unless you dont know what you are doing, thats why he took it to a dealership to have it done. Its not just an air hose and a rubber wheel either, the rubber wheel hooks onto an air tool, similar to a dremel, and then you hook the air hose to that. Its called an eraser wheel, and its made for this kind of stuff.

He wasn't saying your method was wrong, he was just letting everyone know there is an easier and cheaper way to do it.

95CaviRider wrote:
He wasn't saying your method was wrong, he was just letting everyone know there is an easier and cheaper way to do it.

I understand that and the informative input.. but I find that the oven cleaner method would be way easier and cheaper then all that stuff. To each his own though.