MBX Vinyl Zappers

[Marcella Ross]

😮 oh dear, that’s a bit sickening. I hadn’t heard of anyone who used one of these until now. It’s not likely to be top of list of things to buy now!

Sell it on Ebay 😉

[George Elsmore]

i have one and use it quite often but only on small fiddly stuff saves hours

just my 10 bobs worth 😕

[Andy Gorman]

What type of vinyl were you trying to remove? If it was Diamond Grade or similar, then I’m not surprised it didn’t work. Do the manufacturers state which materials it is capable of removing?

[Neill Hague]

just bought one & it arrived yesterday, we got it to remove some cast vinyl which has been stuck to some painted aluminium panels for years.

Will let you know if its any good.

A test we did on an old shop front sign we had laying about didnt go to well.
It removed the vinyl no problem but also took most of the paint underneath with it too!!

cheers

Neill

[Richard Urquhart]

hi all the wheel type thing is available from 3M it is much smaller but made from the same materials

we called them caramel wheels and used them to remove the mess after removing double sided tape when removing a door moulding in the body shop
this work the same way as the above tool

I have found with lots of experience these can be put to good use but they don’t need to be used at high speed and don’t use on non factory painted vehicles or you will burn the paint, the cost for these wheels are only around £8.00 and do the same job
3M™ Stripe Off Wheel 07499, 4 in x 5/8 in,

Solid wheel designed for removal of vinyl striping tapes, decals, graphics and double sided molding tapes. Use on tools with 4,000 RPM . M.O.S. – optimum speed is 2,000 RPM plus or minus 200.

[Glen Mathers]

I thought these were supposed to be the bees knees and was thinking of investing in one, i don’t think i’ll bother now 🙁

Glen

[David McDonald]

Don’t be too put off these MBX’s. We have one and used for the right job they are very very good. If you have to remove vinyl from the flatter areas of vans (and the van has sound original paintwork) then they are very good and quick. We tend to not try to use right up to panel recesses and revert to heat gun and peeling on these bits but the MBX removes 95%. Its like everything else there is a slight learning curve in using it – ie. don’t dwell in the same spot too long or it can cause very faint yellowing of white paintwork – just keep a nice smooth steady speed down the panels and everything is fine.

Cheers
Macky

[Glen Mathers]

Good advice Macky. I think MBX should send a few of these out for a panel of "uksignboard" testers to test.
The biggest and best sign board site should have a panel of testers for all the major suppiers to send all the new stuff to and give them a good going over, also it would promote their products too. 😀 😀 😀

[George Elsmore]

reflecting on the first post and reading properly "bad workmen always blame their tools"

nuff said

[John Childs]

quote George Elsmore:

reflecting on the first post and reading properly “bad workmen always blame their tools”

nuff said

I’m not sure I agree with you there George.

I’ve not used one of these things myself, but I’ve stood and watched somebody try to strip a Telewest van with one. It was a laugh a minute when they had told the end user they could do it quicker and cheaper than we we could. It was no quicker than doing it the old fashioned way with a heat gun, but cost them a fortune in discs.

I am of the opinion that they might be good for removing lots of small text, but that they are pointless on large areas.

[George Elsmore]

quote George Elsmore:

i have one and use it quite often but only on small fiddly stuff saves hours

just my 10 bobs worth 😕

😕

i agree with Big Andy as well if you think there is going to be a quick way of shifting class 1 reflective off an old ambulance then no tool will do it!!

now only 5 bobs worth 😀

[Neil Davey]

I think Ravey that you use this as a lesson learned. NEVER offer to remove reflective vinyl. I speak from experience after having said yes to remove a huge reflective graphic that I’d applied to a vehicle some years earlier. He was a good customer but i made a big mistake on that one.

I agree with Richard and his caramel wheels, we call them Fudge wheels but they are no good on reflective materials. They are great when used in conjunction with your trusty hot air gun on small areas but test on the surface first as you risk paint removal or scorching.

If, in the future you ever apply reflective vinyl that you may need to remove at a later date apply a layer of standard vinyl underneath first.

As for the MBX I’d be open to using one, just seems a little expensive for what it is!

Cheers Neil

[Dave Askew]

The job was to remove a 6" florescent stripe from each side (I had already removed the refective) but it just seemed to smear it around.
A lesson learned indeed!

And as for –

quote George Elsmore:

reflecting on the first post and reading properly “bad workmen always blame their tools”

nuff said

I do hope that wasn’t a personal snipe, i’m sure that the moderators of this forum will agree that there is no need for that kind of comment.

[Andy Gorman]

So it seems that these things are OK for removing small text but that’s about it? Fluorescent can be quite thick, I seem to recall. Did you use it to remove the reflective? If so, how well did it work on that?

Someone better invent a decent vinyl remover soon. I bloody hate removing vinyl.

[Marcella Ross]

quote Andy Gorman:

Someone better invent a decent vinyl remover soon. I bloody hate removing vinyl.

what is there not to like about peeling really old vinyl that shatters into small fragments leaving glue behind. Taking hours to remove a line of text with numb fingers burning yourself on your heat gun, slicing your finger with your scapel???????????? 😉

[John Childs]

Amateurs!

It’s just a question of using the right tool for the job.

[Garrie]

quote John Childs:

Amateurs!

It’s just a question of using the right tool for the job.

:lol1: :lol1: quality

[Gavin MacMillan]

quote :

I am of the opinion that they might be good for removing lots of small text, but that they are pointless on large areas

This is exactly the case in my opinion. We bought one to hire out to a customer to strip about 150 panels. It would have cost a fortune for us to go out and they had staff to keep busy. I’ve used it myself since but only when theres lots of small text, it’s a waste of time on bigger stuff

Gavin

[Gwaredd Steele]

I have one of these machines & have stripped over 300 vans with it & have had no problems at all. Fantastic machine.

Like every tool, it has pros & cons. It’s great for removing small to medium sized text, as already said, but it’s far quicker to use a heat gun for really big text & stripes.

As for the ambulance job, I would have tried peeling it off using the heatgun first. If it’s the impossible to remove stuff that Marcella described, then the MBX is the only way. Yes, it will use a good few eraser heads, but it’s much better than the Stanley scraper & respray method!

I have come across the smearing vinyl problem you describe too. It’s not a problem with the machine, just some horrible vinyl I’m afraid. When I was trying to get the stuff off, it was with some other vinyl on the same vans & the other vinyl came off fine, but this black stuff just smeared everywhere. I got round the problem by removing as much of it as possible with the MBX, then wiping over the rest with Comma engine de-greaser, left it for 5 mins, then scraped the glue/smear mix off with a soft applicator, then as the de-greaser is water based, rinsed the van off. T-cut if absolutely necessary.

It can vary from van to van. Some can take half an hour to strip, others can take a day. I charge a minimum of £45 per hour to strip vinyl (more if it’s reflective * likely customer return etc) & it’s amazing how many customers suddenly say they’ll strip it themselves…until the next time when they say never again! To overcome this, I offer them the use of the MBX at £30 per day + £20 for every eraser head used & a ‘break it you bought it’ policy. They usually press far too hard & go through a fair few heads, so even by doing nothing, you end up making a few bob!

Don’t let a bad first experience put you off. Stick with it, learn its foibles & you will grow to love it, I’m sure!

Cheers,

Gwaredd.