Hello Rejex,

Been using your phenomenal product more than a decade on cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even house windows. I apply to motorcycle helmets including the shield and the few bugs that do stick wash away with clear water easily. My question is that I now wish to apply a quality American Flag decal to my helmets but fear they will not adhere well. Is there a way to temporarily remove the Rejex coating on the helmet before applying the decal without risk of damaging the helmet surface? I was wondering possibly denatured alcohol or mineral spirits??

-- Robert Patrick

This question (or variations of this theme) is very common with RejeX®. Will paint stick? If not, how do I remove RejeX? I took my car to the dealer to have paint protection film applied, but it won't stick to my newly RejeXed car. I tried to apply number decals on out team's race car, but they just fell off. There are a few reasons where you might actually need to remove RejeX. In answering Robert's questions, hopefully this guidance will help the whole community understand what to expect and what you can do to remove RejeX. Hopefully, this will save some of you a little time and effort.

I now wish to apply a quality American Flag decal to my helmets but fear they will not adhere well.

There is cause for concern; certainly decals, vinyl graphics, paint protective films and similar items will have no way near their usual adhesion when applied to a surface that is protected by RejeX. Below are some photos from sailing vessel Second Star, which was treated with RejeX prior to competing at Key West Race Week in 2017. For that regatta, boats are required to have the regatta stickers applied to the bow.

This first photo is from the first upwind leg of the regatta, and you can see that the vinyl sticker, which was probably something like 18” x 18” and REALLY sticky, is already peeling up from this RejeXed sailboat!

By the end of the race, the both port and starboard bow stickers are basically gone.

Is there a way to temporarily remove the Rejex coating on the helmet before applying the decal without risk of damaging the helmet surface?

Unfortunately, the same physical characteristics that make RejeX basically impervious to common contaminants such as bug splats, the uric acid in bird droppings, tree sap, brake dust, etc., also make it basically impervious to any common cleaner that you’d want to use on your vehicle. The rule of thumb is this: If the chemical is strong enough to remove RejeX, it will also strip your paint. So don’t go there. 

Fortunately, even though RejeX is super-tough, the coating is also very thin. So it can be removed physically with any abrasive. So for example, repainting a RejeXed car, boat or airplane is never an issue because the painter will rough up the area (usually with a light sanding of fine grit sandpaper or a compound) so that they paint will adhere better, which also instantly removes the RejeX film. In your particular case, since you’re stripping RejeX from a helmet, I would look for the finest “polish” type of product you can find. Generally, that category of product are called things like “hand glaze” or “finishing polish”. Just go over it lightly with that, and it will strip the RejeX.

I was wondering possibly denatured alcohol or mineral spirits??

Nope. Not a chance. RejeX, when properly cured is rated for 50+ detergent wash cycles. So it’s just not practical to remove the product chemically. Fortunately the mechanical means mentioned above it quick and easy in most situations.