i am struggling getting old vinyl off vehicles and trailers. i have heated and tried scraping(comes off in little pieces) i have tried the erasers you put on a drill and that takes even longer and they are not cheap. i have even bought a fluid that says it is suppose to soften the vinyl and then you can pull it off....but it soften the paint on the vehicle. I have a customer that has bread truck with Full wraps and want to strip and re wrap but i cant get the vinyl off.
is there anyways to get vinyl off a vehicle that is not the methods i have describe. Please help!!!!
Posted by Bill Lynch (Member # 3815) on :
The one thing I've never tried but I will on the next project that I am forced into will be a wallpaper steamer. You can rent one at HD or a rental center.
Posted by Kevin W. Betz (Member # 4133) on :
Can you clean the Old Wrap and apply a New Wrap ?
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
For me, an inexpensive wallpaper steamer does best.
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
The only time I have real trouble taking off vinyl is when It is put on a very fresh paint job. RV's are also very bad. Sometimes I can get a single edge razor blade to get in between the vinyl and the adhesive. But you have to really be careful. Or, I cut the vinly in 2 inch strips and pull. But once again , you have to cut very carefully as to not get into the paint.
Posted by Don Hulsey (Member # 128) on :
I'm with Glenn...cheapie wallpaper steamer. Nothing makes it simple, but the steamer is the best thing I have found to make it better.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
I've just remembered something I heard recently... a wallpaper steamer didn't work for me on one tough job which was a digital print stuck to the roof of a van.
The 'solution' was to thoroughly wet the vinyl with water -perhaps mixed with a detergent - and then completely cover it with a plastic sheeting, garbage bag or similar plastic covering, and leave it for a few hours to really sweat.
Apparently it'll lift off comparitively easily after that...
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
On thee utter hand,,,,,,It kinda makes me smile when I hear about vinyl going bad. I predited a few years back about a glut of vehicles needing vinyl removal. I think as time goes on, it's gonna get worst-ter. People will be leaving that stuff on a heck of of lot longer than they anticipated. Gonna cost quite a bit to remove it.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
I don't mind it a bit. It's an easy $75 per hour. Pay 2 high school students $10 per hour each to do it for me. I go do something else. They're happy and I'm happy.
Posted by Don Hulsey (Member # 128) on :
See...I told ya Glenn has the right idea.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
can you imagine.removing a total vehicle wrap after 5-6 years in the sun?????
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
I'm not convinced that would be possible - total easy removal I mean... the horizontal panels would be the worst/hardest.
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
Dave Drane had a special tool and it worked great. He got it at the Las Vegas Sign convention.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
Deb, what is the tool?
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
It's the caramel-wheel wide stripper, like an angle grinder sort of...
Posted by Gary Boros (Member # 8487) on :
I sometimes will use a vinyl "zapper" wheel to remove graphics from vehicles, though I don't think it's the tool to use to do large trucks or wrap removal. I would suggest you look for a Transtar Stripe Removal & GP Abrasive Disc Tool Kit and/or just buy the Transtar Stripe Removal Wheels and use them in any regular drill. They are half the price of the MBX Zapper wheels and are essentially the same thing and work very well. If you are thinking about buying the tool in the kit, just be advised that it only comes in a pneumatic version and not an electric version. You should try your local auto parts dealer or Amazon for buying the wheels. Here is where I usually get my wheels from:
I have read someone else's suggestion that the Vapor Blitz II Steamer would be capable of stripping one side of a semi in about an hour so I looked into it and spoke to the owner of the company. It appears to be a high quality product that would work well but the cost is high at about $1995. If it works and you'd be using it enough it would be worth it though.
Just for grins, and revenge of sorts...if your surface is -really- flat, you can use one of those old hand planers with a sharp blade. Pretty cool sound effects are a bonus. Did it on an old rail car; the metal was a bit wavy, it worked on the high spots.
