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MBX vinyl zapper

petepaz

petepaz

New Member
got a zapper two weeks ago and got to try it out this past weekend
this thing is awesome!
i had 4 trucks i had to remove hood lettering approx 15" x 48" and some small stuff on the sides. normally removing this manually it could have taken me three hours (old vinyl cracking and faded) with the zapper i had the old vinyl removed and new vinyl applied in 3.5 hours.
it does make a mess but a lot easier to deal with then all the scraping, picking and adhesive remover chemicals.
highly recommend if you have a lot of removal jobs
 
ChicagoGraphics

ChicagoGraphics

New Member
I tryed one of those when they first came out not sure if I done it wrong but I ened up with a bigger mess then what is was worth. It seemed like it melted the vinyl & glue on even more while trying to remove it.
 
SIGNTIME

SIGNTIME

New Member
where did you get yours from and how much if you dont mind me asking last time i looked in cowboys'r'us they were like 450
 
letterman7

letterman7

New Member
You can get the same thing in any on-line automotive jobber. I think I paid $325 four or five years ago and they haven't changed much. The replacement wheels are about $30 a pop. I love it despite the mess it makes. A hose takes care of that!
 
T

tattoo.dan

New Member
Yeah I have one and it is awesome! I hate removing vinyl, this makes it a lot more tolerable....makes a dust mess and eats thru the wheels, but saves a ton of time!
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
We've had one for a long time and we love it.

:thread A little off track, many here said a good steamer would work even better. Got one a few months ago and it was terrible or we don't know how to use it right. The steamer left all the glue behind and a big mess and we still had to remove all the glue. The unit cost about $ 110, so I don't think we got a cheap one, cause everyone here said they cost around $50 or $60.
 
M

mudmedia

New Member
Gino who did you buy your zapper from? Looking for one to try it out.

We have a steamer and I do not think it worked any better than a big torch would.
 
Gene@mpls

Gene@mpls

New Member
We bought some of the MBX wheels a year ago and they were much harder
compound and did not work well. I called all the suppliers bought a *bunch*
of the old ones that do work. Not sure what they are selling now. Gene
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
mudmedia said:
Gino who did you buy your zapper from? Looking for one to try it out.

We have a steamer and I do not think it worked any better than a big torch would.
Click to expand...

Got ours [MBX]from a local vendor. Cost was about $425 with three wheels. When you buy three wheels at a time, it's usually a nice bargain.

Also, don't remove vinyl on anything but metal. It will literally eat/melt plastic and other replacement parts away in nothing flat. We ruined the rear bumper on a cruiser when using it the first time. :frustrated:
 
M

mudmedia

New Member
I am sure if I looked into their website longer than 2 minutes I could of read up on it but what makes this a better setup than lets say a drill with a 3m eraser wheel adapter on it?
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Covers a bigger area. I think they're like 3" wide where the 3M wheels are about 3/4" and really only good for stripes and small areas. We took off an area of three layers of old vinyl.... about 8 years old in an area of about 22" x 52" in about 15 or 20 minutes. Cleaned it up in about another 10 or so minutes and it sparkled when it was clean. The steamer didn't do jack in an hour's time.
 
Patentagosse

Patentagosse

New Member
'Just an advise for those who could consider an air-powered unit: not only will you need a big compressor to supply enough air for uninterrupted work but you'll also need to wear gloves because the thing will turns freaking cold on long runs.

I prefer, by far, the electric one. Also easier on the ears...
 
Patentagosse

Patentagosse

New Member
Working right in front of you with a more stable movement is better than the ol' 3M disk mounted on your drill, forcing you to hold your tool pretty tight to avoid injuries. Better working ergonomy + the wheel has tread so it helps to keep it a li'l cooler.
 
Graphic Destruction

Graphic Destruction

New Member
Another vote for the MBX. Simply awesome tool for removing vinyl from metal.

Make sure you put the replacement cost of the wheels into your pricing. They are about $30 each and last for about 2-3 typical vans/trucks.
 
TheSnowman

TheSnowman

New Member
I have the MBX but I've never used it on a vehicle, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable doing so until I'd perfected the technique. I did a 3M wheel from an auto parts store in a drill for on a vehicle and those work great too. For any sign substrate though...vinyl zapper is awesome. Yes, it's a mess, but easier than working with your hands and fingers trying to get it off of there.
 
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