If getting the decal off is a hassle, go to the nearest 3M auto parts
store that sells body repair supplies and get a  3M Roloc
Pinstripe  removal tool.  It's a 1/4" shank that chucks up in your
electric drill and you'll get a choice of a 4" diameter model or a
6".  The removal tool is a set of floppy plastic discs that get
pretty stiff when they spin at full drill speed.  They  basically
burnish off trhe decal/ pinstriping/ bumper stickers/ window
decals.  Alsdo great for removing contact cement from surfaces.  Just
keep the unit moving so one section doesn;t get too warm.  This is
one of the greatest tools I've ever used.  Last one iI bought was
around $14.  Replacement plastic discs are less than that if you
already have the Roloc chuck from another project.  Srry, but I do
not have a part number within reach.

DM&FS

At 04:03 PM 4/6/2009, David Beierl wrote:
>At 01:44 AM 4/6/2009, neil N wrote:
>>Loren. If you've got a Dremel, I wonder if there's an attachment
>>similar to the "rubber disk" that would work?
>
>Disclosure:  I absolutely love the Dremel tool.  I have two, and when
>most of my tools got shipped off to Maine and I was flirting with
>mental hospitals I made sure that they both stayed.  So don't think
>I'm sneering at it down below, just being realistic.  It's made for
>very small work, and it's an expensive tool to run if you don't think
>in quarter-inches.  And the manufacturer has a tendency to bite off
>more than the tool can realistically chew.  In particular it and its
>attachments are not rigid enough for some things they want it to
>do.  That said...
>
>
>Something the size of a Westfalia decal would be an enormous job for
>a Dremel, and it wouldn't do it well because it spins too fast.  For
>that sort of thing a half inch by quarter inch would be more in scale
>to the tool.
>
>For appearance work of any size at all, Dremel burs, stones, sanding
>drums, polishing wheels etc are all so small that it's very difficult
>to produce a fair surface without waves and dips -- even polishing,
>which after centuries of uncertainty has been proved to be
>essentially very delicate grinding.  With the speed and small
>area/radius contact patch all these will dig like crazy given the
>slightest excuse.  Their sharpening attachment might be ok for
>lawnmower blades -- in a pinch.  But it's really too small for that
>except in a pinch and I certainly wouldn't use it for anything else I
>cared about because there's no way to get a fair edge.  NOTE: I've
>never used their chain-saw attachment, but it probably works just
>fine, since the stone doesn't traverse the edge but merely profiles
>it to its own shape.
>
>Some of my thoughts about Dremel stuff, on the scale that I use them,
>i.e. not tiny delicate modelmaking but general household/shop/automotive.:
>
>For relative economy in use -- sanding disks, sanding drums, thin
>non-reinforced cutting wheels, diamond points if not from Dremel.  If
>used very lightly and kept moving, the cutting wheels can be used on
>edge (strictly against instructions) for surface removal.
>
>For flagrant expense in use -- small grinding points/stones, saws
>except maybe in balsa, steel burs, probably others.
>
>For no reason to exist -- "heavy duty" nonreinforced cutoff
>wheels.  They're not much stronger than the thin ones, i.e. not at
>all; and cut half as fast and much hotter because the kerf is twice
>as wide.  When they do burst the fragments are heavier.
>
>For utter scariness -- saws and planer attachment.  Router attachment
>is as scary as any router, i.e. about half as scary as saws and
>planer.  Circle cutter different kind of scary, you think the tool
>will come apart from vibration.
>
>For (comparatively) large work -- planer attachment.  Hard to make a
>straight line, but will take an eighth-inch off the bottom of a door
>amazingly quickly.  Sabre-saw ("jig-saw") attachment.  Sanding
>drums.  Router attachment.
>
>For Vanagons -- Above everything, cutoff wheels, both
>kinds.  Right-angle attachment and/or flex shaft to get the cutoff
>wheel to where you need it securely/safely.  Large carbide burs/bits
>and diamond points.  Haven't tried it, but the sabre-saw attachment
>might be wonderful for small sheetmetal cuts and such.
>
>For safety -- thin non-reinforced cutoff wheels. If they grab in the
>cut they just shatter, and the pieces are too light to bother you or
>go far.  Right-angle attachment.  Flex shaft.
>
>For irritation -- thin non-reinforced cutoff wheels. Set the tool
>down and turn around, turn back and the disk will be busted.
>
>For piece of crap -- plunge router attachment.  Not nearly stiff enough.
>
>For marginal -- "imitation Roto-Zip" attachment. Tool isn't stiff
>enough so the bit wanders and vibrates.  Lots Worse if you use it
>with the circle-cutter jig.  Router attachment, marginal stiffness --
>but it's darn useful for putting quick 1/8" roundovers on edges of
>plywood and such, and way easier to handle than even a small
>router.  Ditto for router table.  Steel bits only, no bearing on pilot.
>
>For futility -- using Roto-Zip drill bits that cost a quarter of the
>Dremel ones.  They don't cut, just burn.  Must be opposite-hand
>rotation or black magic -- they don't look a lot different.   But
>anyway, if you need to do Roto-Zip work more than one or two holes a
>year get a Roto-Zip.
>
>Need to have -- variable speed tool, carbide burs, diamond points
>(note that diamond dissolves in hot steel), thin non-reinforced
>cutoff wheels, reinforced cutoff wheels, sanding drums, stones and
>dressing stick for truing before first use and subsequently.  You can
>tell when a stone is getting close to true because the tool will
>speed up!  Truing can be frustrating because of resonances between
>tool and stone and dressing stick, tool not stiff enough
>really.  Brass and steel brushes, note they're limited to half-speed
>(15,000 rpm).  Cratex-type rubber abrasive points and wheels,
>half-speed or less.  Polishing wheel and points, rouge.
>
>Really really want to have -- right-angle attachment -- sounds like
>it's tearing itself apart but it isn't, and gives much better/safer
>angle for many things.  Flex-shaft.
>
>Really nice -- sabre-saw attachment -- capable and easy to handle,
>uses standard blades; 1/16" tile degrouting bit in flex-shaft (solid
>carbide, costs twelve bucks, don't drop the shaft or the bit will
>snap :-(  ).  Probably good in their degrouting attachment, too.
>
>David