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Removing wide red reflective stripes
- Thread starter RiXaX
- Start date
Black Star
Not A New Member
Don't forget the blisters.Blood, sweat and tears!
SignosaurusRex
Active Member
I presume that they are standard reflective engineer grade and most likely not with removable adhesive and old.
Your best route for this, considering the size, is most likely a heated pressure washer. Residual adhesive removal will require a considerable amount of "Adhesive
Remover", rags and sweat.
Another option is a good variable speed decal/vinyl eraser. These require a bit of experimenting with to determine the best speed and pressure needed fo
optimal performance.
A "topical" method usually doesn't work very well with old reflective (IMHP)
There are a few other methods and most everyone has their own preferred way of going about it. Anyone new to a job like that should do a little research before
going into attack mode.
Either way you go, it will be a bit labor intensive.
Your best route for this, considering the size, is most likely a heated pressure washer. Residual adhesive removal will require a considerable amount of "Adhesive
Remover", rags and sweat.
Another option is a good variable speed decal/vinyl eraser. These require a bit of experimenting with to determine the best speed and pressure needed fo
optimal performance.
A "topical" method usually doesn't work very well with old reflective (IMHP)
There are a few other methods and most everyone has their own preferred way of going about it. Anyone new to a job like that should do a little research before
going into attack mode.
Either way you go, it will be a bit labor intensive.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Just tell them to throw the fire truck away and get a new one...
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
That's what they do down here.
yesterday we removed the stripes from one side, doing it the labor intensive way. Heat guns and scrapers, an inch at a time. Makes you learn how long a truck really is. I tried the pressure washer idea, but 3000 lbs isn't quite enough. I used a heat bar, guns, and once we removed the clear laminate it became do able.
Geneva Olson
Expert Storyteller
did you try goo gone to soften the adhesive some?
I don't know if the wheel that we have is 3m, but it works well on small stuff
removing the adhesive is easy, I prefer Rapid Remover.
We have scrapers that we made from 1/4" plexi scraps. We heat rolled the handle end and ground and flame polished the cutting tip. They work real well.
d fleming
New Member
Nice.
signsbydebbie
New Member
We use the vinyl Zapper flap style eraser wheel mounted on a Harbor Freight car buffer that looks like a large angle grinder. It is variable speed and goes slow enough to work very well. We also have an air version from Snap-On that I found at a pawn shop. The flapper wheel works better when vinyl is cold and use very low rpm to roll up the vinyl, slower the better. If if heats and starts to smear, move elsewhere for a time. This is the only way to remove vinyl with any age to it. I like Orange Peel for glue cleanup and neutralize it with SprayWay and my hand. Yes we do fire trucks/ambulances.
Mr. Signboy
New Member
I use a heated pressure washer and it works great. You still have to clean glue off after but it’s not bad, if you spray adhesive remover and let it sit, the pressure washer takes it off easily. The only problem is that the pressure washer works too well. If your vehicle has any chips in paint or anything like that the pressure washer will murder it. But if you’re careful, it’s the only way to go.