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Stripped, removed, gone
I think I may have earned a stripe today 😉 I’ve been busily renovating/fitting my shop and I decided today was the day to strip the old vinyl from the shop windows. 😮
All in all it took just 3 hours of elbow grease to remove it all and clean the glass properly, but admittedly it felt longer. I’d ditched the original idea of using a vinyl stripping wheel and gone for the scraper+white spirits approach, mainly because I wanted the experience of doing it the hard way. Stripping the vinyl wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined, the lettering came off quite easily, but problems arose with the banded strips that had been applied to the centre of the window. Presumably because it was cold (and raining 🙁 ) the vinyl was very brittle, so every time I drove the scraper in I’d get a nasty surprise to the underside of my finger nails 👿 Other than that my only irritation was school children who thought mocking and taunting me was a requirement of the day 😕
Anyway, it is all off now, and other than a couple of achy arms and a sore knee (kneeling on a pavement does that I’ve discovered) I’m very happy with my first big vinyl strip. All I need now is a couple of 40ft trailers, a 5 berth yacht and a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet window to strip and I’ll feel experienced as the next sign chappie 😉
Oh and a real positive that came out of today, the local pizza shop owner came over for a chat. He wants a sign! Well worth doing the job myself just for that 😀
Cheers, Dewi
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8 Replies
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you wont need much rocking to sleep to night
ps the van was done in a day prints done night before
chris mrsticker
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Well done Dewi
Glad things are working out for your shop
You’ll find that removing vinyl from glass is relatively easy.
When the vinyl is brittle you waste a lot of time picking a new start at each breakage. warming the vinyl with a hair dryer will soften the vinyl and prevent breakage and will also aid in fast removal.
It may even help the adhesion to come away with the vinyl instead of being left on the window.
Whatever you do don’t base this experience on costing for the removal of vinyl from, say, perspex or foamex
You’ll find this a whole lot harder, longer and more tedious
When are you opening the shop
Will you have Champagne ‘n’ all (drink1) (colours)
John
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😆 😆 😆 😆
Doubt it’ll be champagne John, I’m a skin flint really 😉 I might stretch to a large bottle of Iron Brew 😉
I understand what you’re saying about costing up for stripping vinyl. I really need more experience before I can realistically quote ppl for this kind of work. On the subject of heating the vinyl, I did take my heatgun with me, but due to the rain there wasn’t alot I could do 🙁 Most unfair as I’ve not had the opportunity to use it yet. But as you say, glass work seems to be quite easy. The only thing I’ve stripped other than this was the back end of a trailer whilst I was having my tuition. That was quite a bit harder, but there was 3 of us doing it, so I can’t count that as individual experience. If I’m brave, I’ll apply some vinyl to my car, go for a quick rally session and try stripping it once the shop is open 😉
Thank you for your well wishings with the shop. I’m very much looking forward to it, especially since I have orders waiting, it should be great. Remember when you posted ‘What are you waiting for?’ John? That rings through my ears every time I come up against a difficult aspect of the shop fit or something I don’t understand with the software/plotter and I’m hesitating. Now I don’t hesitate, I get on with it 😀
Cheers, Dewi
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well done dewi!! 😆 😆 on getting started to the dreaded jobs that have to be done!! you seem full of confidence, which i admire!
hope everything goes well! 😆 specially as your drinking irn bru 😮 😮
Nik
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Dewi…
Irn Bru will make yer hair stand on end!
I can see you’ve already been at it.
What’s that nasty Irn Bru-like red stuff?
I can’t remember what it was called
but I had some last summer & still can’t sleep.
About removing vinyl from glass…
I always use a straight-edged razor.
(usually I am tempted to slash my wrists)
A hair dryer works better for me than a heat gun.
Also, I have found that if you quote customers
a high price for the removal of old vinyl
they are very agreeable to DIY removal.
Then you just have to deal with the residue!
Love-JILL 😆
How’s about I keep just one of your Mrs.’s eyes?
Then we will both look like we’re winking! 😉 -
I do exactly the same thing – if a customer can save 100 quid by getting a lad from the warehouse to strip some vinyl he’ll usually do it.
I find that those things you use to scrape paint from windows work very well. Like a plastic handle with a stanley blade in it. In fact, they work even better on cold, brittle vinyl or old traditional signwriting on windows.
It sounds as though the stuff you removed was on the outside of the window. Is it just me? I thought most people put vinyl on the inside. (Unless the window is tinted, of course)
Best of luck with the shop Dewi. I know what it’s like starting out – I’m still doing it (3 months in). But it’s brilliant when things get going after all the hard work.
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Dewi I’d go a bit steady with your heat gun they can be a bit too mighty and do damage to the surfaces and even crack windows. Although an indispesable tool I use a hair dryer for warming and stripping vinyl. A tin of good glue remover is also good to have, the glue can take longer than the vinyl to remove. Good luck with your shop
Alan -
Great to hear youre getting the shop sorted – have you had the shop fitter in yet ?
As Alan says, you have to be very gentle with heating glass to aid removal – especially if its large (expensive) shop windows as the local heat expansion in one area creates a lot of stress in the glass and it can all end in tears 😥
I use a professional wallpaper stripper tool which takes the 5″ long snap off type blades (one whole strip in sideways at once). It has a good long handle which helps protect your fingers when it does slip !
You cant use the vinyl removing wheels in the rain anyway (not enough friction) if that makes you feel any better 😉 Have you got yourself some adhesive remover or just using white spirt etc ? I think its worth having some if this stuff as some adhesives are more resistant to the non specialist solvents and it is designed to be safe on most surfaces.
Dont let the pizza guy offer you free dinners in lieu – go for hard cash 😆
Glad to hear things are going well mate, Nigel
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