Looking for some advice on removing a 3M wrapping vinyl?

[Robert Lambie]

Who has provided you with the information that states the vinyl that has been used, is actually the vinyl that has been used?
I am not doubting your word, just that someone telling you this, does not mean that it is fact.

is this a complex wrap in as much as there are demanding recesses or just general vehicle curves?

[Mark Piddington]

quote Robert Lambie:

Who has provided you with the information that states the vinyl that has been used, is actually the vinyl that has been used?
I am not doubting your word, just that someone telling you this, does not mean that it is fact.

is this a complex wrap in as much as there are demanding recesses or just general vehicle curves?

Hi rob,

The vehicle the pictures from is the rear of a Ducato so no complex curves, the company that wrapped the vehicle mainly use 3m and you can tell from the adhesive that its a 3m product.
The other vehicle where the laminate is coming away from the wrap is a sprinter so a more challenge vehicle however the laminate is coming away on the flat panels as well as the recessed areas.

[Mark Piddington]

Here’s the adhesive pattern on it rob, is that a 3m glue pattern? It sure smells like a 3m product

[Mark Piddington]

[David Hammond]

What are you using now to remove the wrap?

[Mark Piddington]

quote David Hammond:

What are you using now to remove the wrap?

I’m using image perfect vinyl remover pro now, the laminate just peeled straight off of the media so I’ve just soaked it in remover and I’m battling through it! Nightmare job, the Avery wrap I installed removed easily. I’m wondering if the previous company used the wrong laminate maybe.

[Pane Talev]

I’ve never used these vinyl removers.
From what I’m reading looks like the “remover” is not penetrating well enough to get to the main vinyl.

But why dont you try heat gun, wall paper remover?

[David Hammond]

Ditch the chemicals, get a wallpaper steamer on it, it’ll get the heat into the panel, far easier to remove :thumbsup:

[Simon Worrall]

If this is indeed one of the 3m wrap range, I have always found them quite easy to remove, never seen this happen the way you describe.
This is what cheap vinyls do.

[Mark Piddington]

quote Pane Talev:

I’ve never used these vinyl removers.
From what I’m reading looks like the “remover” is not penetrating well enough to get to the main vinyl.

But why dont you try heat gun, wall paper remover?

That’s what I started off using! We started off warming the panels as usual and started removing and the laminate started separating as per the pictures attached leaving the wrap media stuck to the van, because the wrap media is a thin vinyl it then just removes a small piece at a time before it breaks, I’m just heading back to the van now to carry on soaking it with remover which seems to be slowly working, the other identical van wrapped by ourselves and a truck we also wrapped removed effortlessly.
Bit of a strange one

[Mark Piddington]

We have also found a section of wrap on another part of the same van where water has crept behind the laminate leaving a bubble of water between the laminate and print media! I’ve never seen an issue like this before! Is there a way to attach videos here?
The part of wrap where we have found this issue is staying on the van so we have been asked by the customer to try and fix the issue!

[Colin Crabb]

So the laminate hasn’t adhered to the printed vinyl?
I’ve only ever seen this years ago, with dark colours printed with a 1st generation latex printer – the overlaminate didn’t seem to adhere, and could be peeled off. Never seen it since.

As for removing… +1 to wallpaper steamer and lots of time 🙁 tried the chemical solutions once, didn’t work for me, made more mess than help.

[Mark Piddington]

quote Colin Crabb:

So the laminate hasn’t adhered to the printed vinyl?
I’ve only ever seen this years ago, with dark colours printed with a 1st generation latex printer – the overlaminate didn’t seem to adhere, and could be peeled off. Never seen it since.

As for removing… +1 to wallpaper steamer and lots of time 🙁 tried the chemical solutions once, didn’t work for me, made more mess than help.

We’ve managed to remove most of it now with vinyl remover! Worked a treat when left to soak for a good while. I think it’s an issue with the print tbh, I know it’s been printed on a latex but I’m unsure what model.

Seems strange

[Robert Lambie]

Mark, as you say, It does look like 3M’s adhesive but it doesn’t mean it’s their "wrapping film". It could simply be a 3M cast which would explain why the film is thin and very difficult to remove. The laminate only has "ink" to adhere too, which explains why that’s coming away easier than the base film gripping strongly to the painted body surface.

This is common…
We were asked to strip 10 colour change wrapped vans that were going to be sold but asked to also wrap the 10 new ones that are replacing them.
I know the wrapping company that did the originals and they do do a lot of wraps. However, these ten vans of theirs we were to strip were done using Avery 800 Cast. These were just colour changes with cut vinyl on top but were not easy to strip and we spent much longer trying to remove the vinyl than we had quoted. Worse still, its a narrower roll of vinyl, so there were vertical joins in the middle of van panels.
There is no reason for doing this other the wrapping company saving themselves money on the vinyl as its a fraction of the cost of Avery Supreme. However, the application process is harder and slower and when it comes to removal, well, you know how difficult it can be! :rollseyes: