vinyl removal tools? any good?

[Graham Shand]

I got one a few years back, used it once, they do work, removing vinyl, problem is they also remove paint, as they do heat up rather quickly, I would not use it on anything with a value of more than ten quid.

[Martin Pearson]

I have never bought one because like you Ewan I would be worried about damaging the paintwork, I just stick to the methods that I know work & don’t damage the paint even if they do take a bit longer.
Is this a vehicle that you have applied graphics to yourself or was the work done by another company. One thing to remember when removing graphics is never give the customer any sort of guarantee that the paintwork won’t be damaged. Generally speaking there shouldn’t be any problems but if the vehicle has had a respray or had damage areas repaired you don’t know how sound the paintwork is.

[Chris Wool]

Used one a few times but only as a last resort when the vinyl is just breaking up regardless of temp

[Ewan Chrystal]

Its my own van, the lease is up so its getting handed back. The vinyl has been on for approx 3 years.
Would you recommend slightly heating the vinyl to aid removal?

[Ewan Chrystal]

As a side note, its mactac 9800 that’s on it

[Chris Wool]

Wall paper steamer and it should be on the floor in 20mins

[Robert Lambie]

heat gun, warm the panels and strip the vinyl.
any residue use tar and glue remover.
if no T&G remover, soak in white spirits for 15 minutes and remove adhesive with an old squeegee.
if you have never done this ide advise you try it for future ref on customers cars etc. as its something you can offer as a service.

[Ewan Chrystal]

Great advice thanks.
You’re all about to scream NOOOOOOO!!!!! But anytime I’ve done it before its been cold with a scraper blade. Not damaged anything so far 😳

I actually use a product for window cleaning (my other business) called oilflo. Its one of the best ‘sticky stuff’ removers I’ve ever used. Availible from most window cleaning suppliers

[Alex Meikle]

quote Ewan Chrystal:

Great advice thanks.
You’re all about to scream NOOOOOOO!!!!! But anytime I’ve done it before its been cold with a scraper blade. Not damaged anything so far 😳

I actually use a product for window cleaning (my other business) called oilflo. Its one of the best ‘sticky stuff’ removers I’ve ever used. Availible from most window cleaning suppliers

No don’t use a scraper blade use this lil chizler http://www.signgeer.com/aqshop/catalogue.php?id=354
Much better and doesn’t damage the paint

[Martin Pearson]

Funny enough I do use a scrapper on occasions & they work pretty well as long as you are careful. I have one of those window type scrappers & the blade in it is so old & blunt that it would struggle to cut butter. Enough just to get a lift on the edge of the vinyl & doesn’t mark the paint as long as the blade is blunt enough.
Most of the time I use the lil chizler that Alex has mentioned though, worth buying a few of these to keep in your fitting box.

Heat same as Chris, steam wallpaper stripper to heat vinyl, hold the plate in one hand work a section then when you move on to the next section use your other hand to remove the vinyl.
If it’s really cold then I will sometimes put an electric heater in the back of the van to warm the panels from the inside before I start.

[David Rogers]

The best thing to remove vinyl is an apprentice…

[Peter Dee]

I have an MBX from JAG signs. In all honesty, it works very well in some instances but not in others.
I took off lots of small lettering from a white van in minutes with it with minimal cleanup afterwards. Like using a heat gun keep it moving and watch the pressure. When I was doing a bonnet the customer came out screaming at me to stop – he honestly thought I was using an angle grinder!
Don’t use it on soft paints though and like red, dark blue and black.
I did my own red van on a back door which had been painted 5 years prior and it caused burn lines all over the place which then had to be resprayed.
In fact I would only use the MBX now on commercial vehicle original factory white paint. Otherwise like Martin & Ewan I use heat, an old scraper blade to pick up a corner and peel. Always charge by the hour for this work – never a fixed price. If they think you’re taking too long get them to try and do better!

[Ewan Chrystal]

Cheers guys, Will get a load of the those lil chizlers for my kit

[Martin Pearson]

You won’t need a lot of them Ewan as they last years, not like squeegees that wear down, plus you really don’t want to be doing a lot of vinyl removal jobs if you can help it lol.
I bought 2 of them a few years ago when they first got mentioned on the forum & I still have & use both of them.

[Ewan Chrystal]

Thanks ^^^^

[Sean.Cully]

David

The very last thing I would use is an apprentice!

Patience and time is all you need for a good vinyl removal.
Their is no secret machine or chemical you can use.

SC

[Tony James]

Sean,

fully agree with you, but there is a chemical called Vinyl Film Remover, i got it from Solar – http://www.solarsignsupplies.com/sign-vinyl-remover/

Works well on vinyls, but doesnt do reflectives!

Tony

[Michiel]

I cleared a complete shop window while it was freezing outside a few weeks ago.
Was covered with a very old frosted glass foil.
Beause of the outside temperature I didn’t want to apply too much heat, so I used the shopkeepers hairdryer at half power.
Surprisingly the stuff came down really easy!