DIY Decal Removal on my Tacoma: A Step by Step Guide

h4ngman tacoma · 2025-07-27T04:42:44+00:00

Last year, I helped a friend put a Miller Cat skid plate on his Tacoma. It took us about 30 minutes to do it by ourselves, even though it was an easy one-man job. Probably because of the beer breaks we had in between, haha. We started off by lifting the truck. We then took off the weak cardboard piece with a wrench, put the skid plate in place, and fixed it tightly. That was it. The steps are as straightforward as this, and we only used simple tools. Pictures below are from last year after his installation. Tomorrow, I'm set to help another friend set one up on his Tacoma, the same easy way. I've done it before, and I'm eager to see his truck get that tough bottom cover. The Miller Cat's strong build is great for trail-ready Tacomas, and I know he's really excited to nail this install, because it'd be his first DIY mod too.

TrdMarkey

Member

Jul 4, 2025

Nerve-wracking to tackle on a truck that hasn't been up to a year , but I went for it. I stripped the decals off the rear fenders. Scraped off the decal surface using my fingernail.

Taped around the decal, applied 3M adhesive remover, and let it soak for 2 minutes, before spraying it again after.

One thing to note, is to avoid spreading the 3M over the paint while wiping it off. I used a plastic razor to scrape off some of the adhesive and paper residue. Then, I sprayed 3M onto a rag to wipe away the leftover adhesive.

Sure, there were some light scratches on the clear coat, but Maguires compound worked them out with a bit of effort.

EDIT: Don’t skip applying a couple of wax coats after cleaning the surface.

Thrilled with how it turned out.

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