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Letting off steam
Wow, have I had a frustrating couple of days.
Job in this week for a repeat customer, good guy.
He has just purchased a Landrover Defender for his wife and want’s it wrapped for her birthday this weekend. They had fallen in love with the new wrap from the Yanni-dude. Pink Tutu, Pearlescent. New from Avery.
OK with that exept that the vehicle was already wrapped in Avery Supreme colour flow.
Because of the time factor it was agreed that the customer would remove the wrap over the weekend.I didn’t have a problem with that, it being Avery, shouldn’t leave much “gluage”. I had looked at the wrap when they brought it in last week and had to admit that it looked like a well-done wrap.
Anyhoo, he brought it in yesterday having removed all of the vinyl but there was still “a bit of glue”.
OMG!!!Whoever had wrapped it before had used Primer 94, literally everywhere!
Now, I have it in my arsenal but I rarely use it.
Perhaps a rusty spot on an old van that I’m concerned about, or under a front bumper maybe, or under a sill.
No – these guys literally slavered it on with a one inch paint brush.
Not only that but on the edge and inside EVERY panel. I’m not kidding. Around the whole vehicle, even the door handles, inside the petrol flap, the wings where they meet the bonnet – absolutely everywhere. They even coated the door handles in it before they wrapped them.I’ve spent the best part of two days removing it, now I have one day to complete the wrap.
Sorry for the negative nature of this post but I wondered if any of you guys have had a similar experience with this bl**dy stuff. Aught to have a licence to use it!!
Timmo
PS I will post pictures of the wrap when it’s done, it really is a very nice colour – if you like pink that is.
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30 Replies
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nothing worse mate. 😏 i stripped some digital prints off a van. it was just a part wrap and nothing OTT. but they had used primer or something in the deep channels on the side of the van. the rest was easy, but the time it took to clean the channels was unreal. after about an hour and not making much progress i had to call my customer. lucky for me he accepted billing him for a few hours extra, so i cracked on.
what did you use to get rid of it?
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My go to is Autoglym, Tar Spot and Glue remover. I had to scrub some though!
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Hi Tim
Sounds like a bit of a nightmare, mate. 😬
I have had similar, not masses of it, but enough to waste your day! 🤣I am the same, I have the 3M primer in my toolbox.
I use the primer mainly for furniture-type wrapping and difficult to stick to surfaces, but not wrapping vehicles.What I have seen and heard, is people using it in recesses because they either don’t know how to wrap/stretch the vinyl into recesses properly, or they are using the wrong material for the job, and the primer helps keep it stuck. Either way, it is a cowboy move!
I forget if I used any chemicals other than Isopropynol and Tar and Glue remover.
However, one of the best things for removing stubborn-caked adhesive is a simple “toffee wheel”.
I have several types of toffee wheels in my box, from the tractor tyre type, stepped rubber, and thin rubber discs, to the standard Caramac coloured 15mm smooth type shown in the picture.you can get these on eBay, amazon etc but I buy them from a local spray paint supplier in my industrial estate or even Halfords if you are stuck. I am sure it was Halfords that bought the tractor tyre type. but I prefer the standard smooth one.
Anyway, the standard smooth one in a cordless is best for this, in my opinion.
Don’t spin it at high speed, just keep it flat on the wheel and rock it back and forth. it should take it clean off.
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Thanks Rob. I’ll have a look at those.
I tend to use that Autoglym stuff and those orange plastic razor blades, the ones that have the same hardness as a finger nail.
Photos below.
Did you add those photos to my first post BTW? Yes. That’s the stuff. It is really quite a nice colour. I do like Pearlescents though. I’ll post some photos when it’s done.
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Yes, we added the photos. Myself or Chris does this occasionally with website links, images and photos like this if they help enhance a post.
I use Tar and Glue remover. we source it from a local auto and janitorial supply company.
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I’ve also found WD40 to be invaluable in the past too. Particularly for silicone residue, usually left when you are wrapping a trailer.
You could do a whole post on this topic Rob!
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I have never tried WD40, good tip!
Yes, you are right, a whole post leading off in multiple directions all based on this one topic. 👍
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Why would you even consider Primer for Avery supreme, never mind these areas??? Crazy!
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What is also crazy Rob is that these guys know how to wrap.
I’ve seen plenty of jobs from people who don’t know how to, this had none of the hallmarks of an amateur job. All the cuts were bang-on, all the corners done properly. It was just a shock when it was actually removed and the Primer 94 was revealed everywhere. Just don’t get it.
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Metamark ‘blue’ adhesive removal works very well (but avoid soft plastics1 it works a little too well at times).
Feel for you on this, removing glue is the worst, we have 3 large windows coming up that we’ll no doubt have to remove glue sludge.
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For windows and glue, a brand new 4” stainless scraper blade and scrape away with loads of soapy water, off in a flash!
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do you mean a wallpaper scraper or a razor blade?
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Like this, new stainless blade as if the blade gets a nick that’s what will scratch the glass.
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handy! i havent used one of those before. i have few smaller blade scrapers.
thanks buddy.
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Absolutely right Craig.
With soapy water the bits of glue that come off just ball up and go hard. Not a sticky mess.-
ohh never tried soapy water!
We do have a selection of window scrapers, the favourite being an Olfa scraper.
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Thanks for this tip people, we took soapy water to site and, POW! works very nicely, no sticky mess from adhesive gunk. Cheers!
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think i am missing the obvious but how does soapy water break down vinyls adhesive?
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It doesn’t really Mark. You know when you remove vinyl and it leaves most of the glue?
If you use a glue remover it just turns into a horrible sticky mess.
If you use a brand new blade and soapy water, not only does it scrape off easily but the bits of glue lose all of their adhesion and kind of ball up. You can literally sweep it up with a dustpan and brush. Brilliant!
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thanks tim i must try that one! 👍
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I’m intrigued. So you’re just used basic soap and water to remove glue from windows, along with a scraper? Sounds a lot less messy than glue remover. How would this fair with solvent based glue do you know? Thanks
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I can’t add anymore regards removal but I’m curious as to how you’re handling this with the customer.
Are they paying for the additional, unanticipated time spent on the prep, and of course the knock on effect if you’ve other work booked in.
I learnt my lesson many years ago that I either refuse to remove signage I didn’t install, or charge per hour. They’re welcome to do it themselves, but scenarios like this still occur.
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Not charging extra David.
We would normally but this is a reall good repeat customer so we are gonna take the hit, there was a good mark-up in the job.
Won’t be bitten again though. Normally we charge by the hour for removal but I really didn’t foresee a problem with him removing the wrap itself, as I said, it looked like a really professional job.
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@Craig Thompson
I have those blade scrapers in my box. A short and a long one.
Great tools to have, and come in handy!However, they are lethal! 😬
I have masking tape over the edges of the blade as they didn’t come with any guards on them.
Nothing worse than rummaging in your fitting box and losing the skin off your knuckles. 😏 I have that T-shirt too! -
Here are the pictures of the finished job.
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That was NOT what I was expecting! 🤔
It looks great Tim. Very smart mate! 👍
I do not know what I was expecting, as I was following the post, I think “in my head”, I had a typical Landrover (don’t ask me why).
I also had the pale blue paintwork with the primer all over it and I think I had already thought, with the pink wrap, this is might look tacky, but it does not!
I think the pink coverage is just right to feminise it but minimal enough for it not to look like something Kate Price drives.Anyway, it looks great! 😎
Thanks for taking the time to post the finished job, Tim. Great work, as always mate. -
Thanks Rob. I’ll admit. I was dubious myself when he first came in with the idea. Happy with the end result though.
Merry Christmas!
Tim
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that looks really cool. 😎 👍
was there anything you found worked best on the primer tim?-
I used the Autoglym Tar and Glue remover in the end.
I also used several of those sponges with the hard plastic on one side.
Not generally recommended. However, the customer was aware of the whole process. The car will need a good machine detailing if and when the wrap comes off but that was the compromise with getting it done in time. It did slightly “mist” the edges but the 3m primer had already caused some damage in that respect so it was the best option.
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Looks great Tim 👍
i am defo trying your tip with the soapy water on glass. i will report back! 😃
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