So I just met with a client yesterday regarding his 35-foot trailer (for his race car) and he wants to have the vinyl graphics/decals removed. I've never done anything of this caliber especially with the amount of vinyl that's on this trailer. The vinyl is generally fairly larger and not anything as thin as pin-striping. There were a few ways I was thinking of going at it: Heat gun and plastic blades One of 3M's Remover/Cleaners and plastic blades 3M Stripe Off Wheel Scotch-Brite Large Area Stripe Removal Disc So, are there any other ways of attacking this? I'd be eager to hear what you all have to recommend. :worship2:
I find using a heat gun best and then gently peel away. Use a tar and glue remover to remove any traces of left behind
Adhesive. I have used a 3M stripe off wheel in the past on these old school decals: The arbor on the decal removal wheel was a 5/16" and my air drill has a 1/4" chuck. So I had to use my 18v cordless Dewalt, good thing I have 3 batteries. A battery would last about 5 mins max with the pressure I was applying to remove the stripes. They where too dried out for a heat gun. After a few wipedowns with 3M adhesive remover, I had to do a few wool polishing steps to remove the adhesive "staining."
Thanks for the input guys. I guess I'll have to try the heat gun and the stripe off wheel to see what works for me.
That Toyota looks pissa with out those stripes. I'm sorry I should have explained myself better when I asked what is behind the stickers that you might use a heatgun on...Besides adhesive I was thinking about a paint job or some other material that might get ruined by a heatgun. Denzil, Brother I wish I could be more help...:shrug:
Hehe, no worries... I'll be finding out how this thing goes later today as I do a test panel/spot for the client. I'm hoping it turns out well, hehe.
yes you do have to be careful and not use to much heat otherwise potentail is there to cause some damage with the heatgun. Use the lowest setting and keep the gun moving at all times just enough to soften the adhesive's to allow you to peel back the vinyl/graphics Have actually seen where someone has debadged their car and used to much heat and blistered the paint around where the emblem was due to using to much heat, not moving the gun side to side and probably having the end of the gun to close to the surface. Just use a bit of common sense:thumb: hope that helps
If the vinyl is fairly new then use a heat gun and peel it off by hand. If it is older and dry stick with the scotch brite wheel. I would use a corded drill for that also otherwise you will need a lot of batteries. Another word of advice is have some heavy duty clay on stand-by if it is older vinyl, it beats picking at small chunks of vinyl any day.
I had a crack at the trailer today and the vinyls weren't all that bad really. They were taking its toll on my plastic razor blades but I'll be picking up the wheel most likely tomorrow to quicken up the process. I was thinking I could just put it on the rotary instead of using a power drill. On a similar note, the client was happy with the results of the test spot.
Glad to see you could get them off. I remove decals on semis and semi trailers daily (semi body shop). I just use a heat gun and move it fast. Usually stickers come right up (just pull up slow and keep heating where its pulling up) Sometimes if your careful you can cut lines in it so its a lot easier to pull. And just don't apply to much heat, it will warp the thin metal/aluminum. Its a process with a 40 ft trailer, lol. And then when you get those "reflector" stickers, yeah not fun! Then I just use the degreaser that we wipe cars done before we paint to get the glue off. Put it in a spray bottle and soak the glue with it and let it sit. Then a plastic razor blade or "putty blade"!
Yeah, I still need to pick up a good quality heat gun, probably one that has a variable heat setting, and that stipe off wheel. I'll have to find out which will be the most efficient method of tackling this beast, hehe.
