Removing woodgrain tailgate insert

The fake woodgrain on my tailgate is nice except for the area around the tag, which is a separate piece. I want to peel that off and leave the rest. I realize that there will be some of that gross tan paint in some areas (thanks for that information, guys) but I still want to take it off. I want to take as much as possible off in large pieces instead of little flakes, if possible. How to do? just bought a decent heat gun and x-acto knife. I was thinking of trimming around the edge of the applique to make sure it is separated and then carefully heat it and peel off. I think I should start near the center under the tag area and work outward. Advice? Bear in mind it's kind of cold here now. Thanks.

Trim what you want to remove, heat it a little and pull it off.

The stuff is pretty generic and normally comes right off in giant sheets. Took me an hour or two to strip an entire wagon. I did have an entire quarter panel that went against the norm. It was damaged in an accident at some point. They repaired it cheaply and the sticker they used had one hell of a strong bond.

Cool. I found an old clothing steamer that I used when I used to travel on business It puts out one heck of a lot of steam. Maybe that would work and be more gentle. I'll try both. Thanks.

I just used a regular old heat gun. Most of it came off without heat.

A hair dryer should work as well.

Mineral spirits should remove any goop that's left without damaging the paint

Wojtek wrote:

Mineral spirits should remove any goop that's left without damaging the paint

Good call. I forgot all about that.