what is the best method to remove the old vinyl?

[Ian Bingham]

some times the angle you pull it off helps a little

Ian

[Lynn Normington]

best way is get customer to do it unless you are charging for it 🙄 never removed a wrap, but I imagine it’s the same as any vinyl patience and a bit of heat, lots of glue and tar remover .

Lynn

[Stephen Ingham]

hi, thanks for the replies…

patience, plenty of adhesive remover and sore fingers….

cheers
stephen

[Lynn Normington]

long finger nails help 🙄 cause I can’t be trusted with a razor blade on paint 🙄

Lynn

[Phill Fenton]

A wall paper stripper works best. These produce steam which allows you to heat the vinyl surface and metal panel to a high temperature without any risk of burning the paint.

I find if you can get the metal nice and hot (not just the vinyl) it helps to keep the glue on the vinyl when you peel it away. Cold metal allied to warm vinyl tends to keep the glue on the metal. If there is a secret – it is to get the background hotter than the vinyl

[David Rowland]

a kettle with water helps

[Lynn Normington]

is that for the coffee Dave 🙄

Lynn

[Dave Parkin]

Removing vinyl is an art, the best way I find is leave in the sunshine for bout an hour, get a window scraper with stanley blade in, very carefully get under a corner of the letter just enough to get hold of it and peel off, the vinyl will take the glue with, then just a t-cut over and ready to rock…..if your struggling for sunshine (usually the case) a hairdryer is much better than a heat gun, heat a few letters at a time (not too hot) its a balancing act.
Final tip, dont use your thumbnails to get started, the next day they feel like someone jumped on em with footy boots.
Good look mr.
DP.

[Jill Marie Welsh]

Get thee a Lil Chizler.
And some Rapid Remover.
And a hair dryer.
Heat the vinyl, scrape it with the Chizler, then remove the glue with the RR.
Be sure to have plenty of paper towels on hand too.
And charge your shop’s hourly rate for this service.
Love….Jill

[Rick Cousins]

Hi

It’s a pain of a job sometimes. Reading thru the tips so far, I’d agree with most. Careful with blades or knives as they can scratch paint, especially metallics which are usually coated with clear lacquer which can be softer than paint – you don’t want to pay for a respray.

Definitely the temperature is pretty critical,. We find 2 things are good at adhesive removal – try meths first, failing that we use a chemical from Winzer Wurth called saBesto Silicone Remover; this usually softens the adhesive and then use the meths and keep turning the rag otherwise you just get a gluey mess spreading all over!

One last tip is to explain to the customer that you’ve got to charge your normal hourly rate, it can take a long time so you don’t know how much it will come to and he/she could save money by doing it him(her)self. Be prepared though to have to clean up after they’ve done it if you are applying new graphics as they rarely do as good a job as you would.

Have patience and good luck 😉

[Cheryl Smith]

the best way to remove vinyl is to get someone else to do it.

[Ian Higgins]

Same as Phill, cheap B&Q wallpaper stripper.. unbelievably good, especially on diamond grade reflective, hardly any glue residue left at all

Cheers

ian

[James Martin]

My method is closest to Jills.

I use a pink chizler and have a go at a corner.
If it isn’t lifting easy I heat the vinyl so it is un-brittle, but not to soft as it stretches to much.
I peel, and heat if I have to, to keep it coming off smooth.
If it breaks you have to start again.
The first couple of letters is usually slow but then u can speed up as u get a feel for the job at hand.
When the vinyl is off its isopropic or tar and glue.

[Chris-Hooper]

My method is:

cup of coffee
Heat gun
Panel wipe
IPA
a well ventilated room

[Shane Drew]

Heat the surface with a heat gun in the small area your working in, a Pink chisler and orange adhesive remover

google Orange Peel or Citrus Adhesive Remover locally for a similar product. Its all I use, safe on the hands, smells OK and makes removal a breeze

This product, is a natural citrus based solvent, developed for the removal of oil and water based adhesives, wax, tar, oil, chewing gum and ink graffiti. May be used on automotive, boat, glass, acrylics, metal, masonry, cloth/vinyl fabrics and many other surfaces. This pleasant smelling BIO-DEGRADABLE FORMULA CONTAINS NO TOXIC PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, NO CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS, NO ALCOHOL, NO ETHYLENE, NO CAUSTICS, NO ACIDS OR POLLUTION-CAUSING INGREDIENTS. Do NOT use on styrene plastics. When using on sealed masonry surfaces; test on an inconspicuous area to make certain it will not remove seal.

[Jon Marshall]

I don’t find those citrus cleaners anywhere near strong enough.

[Shane Drew]

don’t buy them from a store like woolworths or walmart… you need to buy them from an industrial supplier in bulk.

The retail stores are watered down from experience. Our sign suppliers stock one here that just melts the glue in minutes.

Soak the stuff on the glue, give it 5 mimutes, soak it again, then rub with a rough cloth, and bingo… all gone… 😉

[Brian Little]

hi ….removing vinyl is one of the nightmares in this trade. That and husband and wife customers 😀 of course if we lived in Victorian times …to hell with putting children up chimneys …thats so crul …nope the equivelent would be to get them to remove lettering . 😀 Its a hit or miss really i usually heat the metal up in front of the lettering im removing ..moving along all the time ..heat it to much and the clue tends to stay on it all depends at time which vinyl has been used

[Arslan mostefa kara]

Hi

to remove the vinyl I always use a heat gun and remove slowly and use alcohol remove by hand until will dissolve it work for me
I hope that will help

Arslan

[Peter Mindham]

Steamer for sure. Alcohol for the operative, steam for the van.Works everytime

Peter

[Karl Williams]

quote Cheryl Smith:

the best way to remove vinyl is to get someone else to do it.

Absolutely! 😉

[John Childs]

Use the right tool for the job. Heat the vinyl and the van together.

[Karl Williams]

You’re a card you are Mr. Childs. 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

[Cheryl Smith]

quote Shane Drew:

Heat the surface with a heat gun in the small area your working in, a Pink chisler and orange adhesive remover

google Orange Peel or Citrus Adhesive Remover locally for a similar product. Its all I use, safe on the hands, smells OK and makes removal a breeze

This product, is a natural citrus based solvent, developed for the removal of oil and water based adhesives, wax, tar, oil, chewing gum and ink graffiti. May be used on automotive, boat, glass, acrylics, metal, masonry, cloth/vinyl fabrics and many other surfaces. This pleasant smelling BIO-DEGRADABLE FORMULA CONTAINS NO TOXIC PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, NO CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS, NO ALCOHOL, NO ETHYLENE, NO CAUSTICS, NO ACIDS OR POLLUTION-CAUSING INGREDIENTS. Do NOT use on styrene plastics. When using on sealed masonry surfaces; test on an inconspicuous area to make certain it will not remove seal.

Blimey….a way to be eco friendly in the sign trade…..sounds too good to be true. Is it good on the skin as well?

[Jon Marshall]

quote Shane Drew:

don’t buy them from a store like woolworths or walmart… you need to buy them from an industrial supplier in bulk.

I do. I have the Wurth version. Doesn’t seem to be as good as a Tar and Glue remover.

[Jill Marie Welsh]

I believe Rapid Remover is also citrus-based.
Doesn’t mix well with vodka tho.
Love….Jill

[Shane Drew]

Cheryl, good on the hands, but you smell like an orange at the end of the day 😉