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Vinyl removal

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soloinstaller

New Member
Hey everybody. Today I removed some decals from a trailer and ran into some issues. I showed up with an eraser wheel and some 3m adhesive remover thinking that I'd get through this job super quick. However after testing the eraser wheel in a small area it appeared to create a permanent smudge, which I think was the clear coat being damaged. I didn't have this issue before. The trailer had a nice metallic paint to it. So anyways I took the longer route and used a heat gun to peel the vinyl off.

After that I figured I would go ahead and spray some 3m adhesive remover to get rid of the glue as I had done in the past- but after testing in a small area, this time it stains the paint also permanently. So I just ended up spraying with soap/isopropyl solution and blasting the glue with a heat gun while rubbing hard with a cloth. Ended up taking nearly 5 hours.

Any suggestions on how I can effectively approach this issue next time around?
 
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MrDav3C

New Member
At the first instance of noticing any issues with a customers painted surface when removing graphics, the first thing to do is inform the customer.

Ideally get them to come and see the issues and explain that the painted finish is obviously not up to the expected standard.

Outline the options you will try to remove the graphics and the additional time and therefore costs involved in the graphic removal process as well as how the process can potentially damage the paint further.

This way you have covered yourself for the additional time and mitigated the customer from complaining about it later once the job is complete.

Not sure if there are less harsh chemicals that you can use that would do a better job than isopropyl, but perhaps a plastic type razor blade tool would help, again really hard to know until you try!
 
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Ronda

New Member
I've had excellent results with heat gun, plastic razor blade and rapid remover. I'd clean off vinyl. The remaining glue i use the rapid remover and soak towels hold on it for a short bit, it turns the glue into snot balls for lack of a better word. Then do a final clean with denatured alcohol. I have never damaged paint doing this way.
 
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bcxprint420

Sign & Banner Xpress
You could try a power sprayer that works well when its hot outside and the vehicle or trailer is in the direct sun
 
visual800

visual800

Active Member
trailers are typically just the baked on aluminum color which is usually crap to begin with. Ronda had best suggestion heat gun razors and rapid remover or I really prefer the sun

I remove the decals and then after that remove the adhesive, takes a while but it gets job done
 
Jean Shimp

Jean Shimp

New Member
My first choice is to use a steamer to loosen up the adhesive and peel off the vinyl. It doesn't work 100% of the time but it's worth a try. Home Depot sells them fairly cheaply.
 
gabagoo

gabagoo

New Member
Jean Shimp said:
My first choice is to use a steamer to loosen up the adhesive and peel off the vinyl. It doesn't work 100% of the time but it's worth a try. Home Depot sells them fairly cheaply.
Click to expand...
My Wagner wallpaper steamer is a blessing. It may at times leave more glue residue on certain vinyls but rapid remover takes care of that. If there is a lot of glue and the weather is decent I just spray the heck out of it and then brush all the glue loose with a car wash brush, and hit it with a hose spray gun to remove.
 
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guillermo

New Member
....... I regularly use WD40 to remove the left over glue when removing adhesive, it works perfect for me; let it soak for a couple of minutes or little more and then use a plastic razor, or squeegee; I sand the squeegee to sharpen the edge and have a wider area, more than a regular plastic razor blade.
 
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somcalmetim

New Member
We never use a rubber wheel except as last resort on an old truck that already had bad paint...found the friction always messed with the finish of anything we tried it on...
once we switched to 3M 180 it became less of a problem as it removes so well with just a heat gun. Use mostly varsol for glue but try to avoid removals these days.
 
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Barker03

New Member
We always use a Silverline wallpaper steam stripper an absolute piece of cake for heating a large area. Takes about 10-15 min to warm up and lasts about an hour and a half. Strip off any vinyl then use Autogylm tar and glue with a hard plastic scraper. The steam stripper has a 3-year warranty so if it blows up on you, you can replace it. Think they are fairly cheap too. great piece of kit.
 
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AnonSign

New Member
Next time, try using heat to loosen the decal and peel it off slowly. If there's residue left, test a mild solvent like soapy water or isopropyl alcohol in a small area first.
 
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