Any tips on removing cheap wrap film?

Mon May 23, 2016 12:52 pm Author: Richard James Martin

Nearly 7 man hours already and not getting anywhere!!

Any tips on getting this stuff off?

Thanks in advance.

Mon May 23, 2016 1:22 pm Author: DavidRogers

Have seen a guy on a van for a week before...I suggested getting VERY liberal with the solvents and smoking nearby... Ironically was a wrap for the Fire Brigade.

Mon May 23, 2016 1:46 pm Author: James Sahota

This could definitely help

https://signgeer.com/product/mbx-starter-kit-275

Watch on youtube.com

Mon May 23, 2016 2:04 pm Author: Jon Marshall

Good, but you'd go through a lot of wheels removing a wrap.

Mon May 23, 2016 2:29 pm Author: NeilRoss

Jon Marshall wrote:Good, but you'd go through a lot of wheels removing a wrap.

You'd need the same sort of thing but like a drive through car wash! :thumbup2:

Mon May 23, 2016 2:41 pm Author: DRClarke

Whats wrong with a heat gun??

Mon May 23, 2016 3:14 pm Author: John Thomson

wallpaper stripper apply's an even heat......

john

Mon May 23, 2016 3:50 pm Author: Richard James Martin

John Thomson wrote:wallpaper stripper apply's an even heat......

john

tried and tested John?

DRClarke wrote:Whats wrong with a heat gun??

Nothing.....it's the material that's the problem :wink:

James Sahota wrote:This could definitely help

https://signgeer.com/product/mbx-starter-kit-275

Watch on youtube.com

I've always been wary about these, do they really not mark the paint work James?

DavidRogers wrote:Have seen a guy on a van for a week before...I suggested getting VERY liberal with the solvents and smoking nearby... Ironically was a wrap for the Fire Brigade.

it may well come to this David....losing the will to live and our fingers are raw!

Thanks guys :thumbup2:

Mon May 23, 2016 5:22 pm Author: Pane Talev

My best results removing cheap vinyl:

1) kettle with boiling water
2) wallpaper stripper
3) lots and lots of patience.

Mon May 23, 2016 6:07 pm Author: Robert Lambie

Sit an IR heater near to it, spray a light even coat of Vinyl Off on it and leave 15 minutes. it will come right off in seconds if not minutes and in some cases lift adhesive itself.

Keep it well clear of plastic parts of the vehicle and without the constant even heat it simply wont work.

Mon May 23, 2016 7:46 pm Author: David McCarroll

Pay a valeter to do it lol!

On a side note, we got caught out once and luckily enough was able to talk to the customer as we had 35 to strip and redo but what I learned from that situation was that the bonnet was the worst so now we do the bonnet as a test of time that will need to be committed. It's not done is wrong so far.

Mon May 23, 2016 8:12 pm Author: Robert Lambie

If the job is not using your own media, you really should have the customer sign a disclaimer before you lift a finger.
plus, you should be setting an hourly rate, not a fixed price to strip.

Mon May 23, 2016 8:35 pm Author: Pane Talev

Robert Lambie wrote:you should be setting an hourly rate, not a fixed price to strip.

Fully agree!

Mon May 23, 2016 9:09 pm Author: Simon Worrall

1. Telephone your local respray shop. They do this all the time and can do it quicker and better than you can.
2. Deliver the vehicle to the respray shop.
3. Collect and pay for the vehicle
4. Charge the customer whatever you were charged for stripping, plus a handling fee.
5. Now get on with the job you love to do.

Tue May 24, 2016 10:32 am Author: John Thomson

Richard James Martin wrote:
John Thomson wrote:wallpaper stripper apply's an even heat......

john

tried and tested John?

Yes.....it apply's an even head over a 300mm square area

John

Tue May 24, 2016 11:35 am Author: Hugh Potter

I always, without fail, charge an hourly rate to remove old vinyl, whether I put it there or not. I also get the customer to acknowledge (usually vie email in writing) that any damage found underneath the vinyl being removed is not my responsibility - unless of course it's something stupid I do during removal!!

Tue May 24, 2016 11:45 am Author: Jon Marshall

Where so you get Vinyl Off in the UK?

Tue May 24, 2016 3:11 pm Author: Robert Lambie

Jon Marshall wrote:Where so you get Vinyl Off in the UK?

I bought it in from the USA i think. Came in 6 large bottle type containers.

when i said above, keep away from plastics etc i meant the actual "vinyl off" it can mark the plastics badly as it penetrates the surface.

Tue May 24, 2016 3:26 pm Author: Phill Fenton

I recently got sent a catalogue from Signgeer and vinyl off is advertised in this catalogue

https://signgeer.com/product/search?keywords=vinyl+off

Tue May 24, 2016 3:36 pm Author: Robert Lambie

Phill Fenton wrote:I recently got sent a catalogue from Signgeer and vinyl off is advertised in this catalogue

https://signgeer.com/product/search?keywords=vinyl+off

Good to know, i haven't seen it in the UK. Think I bought ours about 7 years ago from the states and still have
some in stock. much bigger bottles than those from Signgeer though.

Tue May 24, 2016 9:07 pm Author: Richard James Martin

Got some vinyl off coming tomorrow, I'm hoping it's the answer to all my woe's!!

Wed May 25, 2016 1:24 am Author: Robert Lambie

Hi Richard

Keep in mind, you need a "constant" even heat on the area that is being stripped.
best case scenario is outside on a warm sunny day. (i know this aids vinyl removal on its own, but still)

Clean the surface free of any dirt, dust, grime or previous chemicals used.
spray light but even coat over the desired area.
leave a minimum of 15 minutes to allow the chemical to penetrate the vinyl.

make sure you mask off ANY plastic areas or similar. particularly black body moulds. they will get discoloured by the vinyl off.

use latex or similar type gloves as your hands will tingle without them after a bit. :lol1:

when used correct it works excellent. but used in wrong environment etc it's no better than picking it off with your fingers. :-?

I stripped one side of a rigid sided truck sat in the sun, sprayed with vinyl off.
15 minutes past, i picked the corner and pulled the entire side of solid cast vinyl off in one go in under 30 seconds. clean as a whistle...
however, the rear and the opposite side sat in the shade, simply did not work and we could not get the keys to turn it.
we did the same with the exact same size truck sat feet away, without the spray, but still in direct sunlight and it did come off, but snapped continually and left loads of adhesive.

remember to make sure the surface is clean or the chemical just doesn't penetrate the media surface. and don't be tempted to start stripping it premature. 15 minutes at least! try an area of about 2ft square first.

best of luck.

Wed May 25, 2016 10:20 am Author: Kevin Flowers

Hi I've previously pointed a space heater in to the rear of the van this warms the panels completely from the inside and allows you to work unheeded. This creates an even heat over the entire panel, even works with ply wood panels in place but takes longer to war the panels. Sure no one needs to be told about any combustible materials or putting to close etc etc

Kev

Wed May 25, 2016 10:24 am Author: NeilRoss

Kevin Flowers wrote:Hi I've previously pointed a space heater in to the rear of the van this warms the panels completely from the inside and allows you to work unheeded. This creates an even heat over the entire panel, even works with ply wood panels in place but takes longer to war the panels. Sure no one needs to be told about any combustible materials or putting to close etc etc

Kev

Would second that Kev. I used to do this in the winter when (paint) lettering vans.

Neil

Wed May 25, 2016 10:48 am Author: Robert Lambie

To an extent I agree with you on that Kev, but the IR heater i mentioned previously allows a more concentrated heat. I imagine this is why some paint shops use them to dry re-sprayed body panels.
Because (by the sounds of this) the vinyl is poor quality and most likely snapping and leaving lots of adhesive, the vinyl off liquid seems to penetrate the media keeping it soft enough not to keep snapping, so comes off in much larger bits. also penetrates the adhesive in same way making that softer, keeping it adhered to the vinyl and removing clean. this is how it has worked for me in the past on large scale projects but as i said, need very specific conditions or it simply does not work in our day to day weather. obviously not the case in most of america where it comes from.... but Scotland? well... :lol1:

Wed May 25, 2016 1:39 pm Author: Jon Marshall

What sort of wrap is it Richard?

Some of the early printed wraps were often liquid laminated or unlaminated but done on aggressive solvent printers. These will still be a nightmare to get off. Worst one we had here was a Range Sport wrapped in white Avery 900 that was 5-6 years old. Literally would not come off in anything bigger than a postage stamp. In the end it had to be coated with a strong 3M vinyl remover and scraped off.

Thu May 26, 2016 10:30 pm Author: Richard James Martin

This is my guy having a go at the bonnet with vinyl off applied. It certainly made a difference to the size of the pieces coming of but its still a big task.

I'm led to believe it was supplied by TNT's graphics supplier to a third party who installed them to my customers vans ( at the time we couldn't apply wraps) the contract has now finished with TNT so they now need to revert to their normal livery......there's another 3 to do!!

It's a very thin orange film with white glue.....

Watch on youtube.com

Fri May 27, 2016 12:42 am Author: Robert Lambie

is this a very old wrap?
It could be the OLD Mactac Macfleet wrap. thats exactly how that would come off!
It is an absolute nightmare to work with and install, but once on its not coming off or popping out the recesses. It is like a condom with super-glue on the rear! :-?

To be honest, it kinda looks like Avery Supreme wrap, vibrant orange with white adhesive side.
however, i would never expect that from that film. just not how it performs...

is it possible its been fitted to a recent painted van? or recent to when it was installed?
this could affect the film/adhesive in many ways...

is there ANY damage to the paint? does it come off clean or even if adhesive left, cleans up easy enough?

you could give a bunch of kids a tenner each and let them rip into it! :wink:

Fri May 27, 2016 8:56 pm Author: Richard James Martin

Robert Lambie wrote:is this a very old wrap?
It could be the OLD Mactac Macfleet wrap. thats exactly how that would come off!
It is an absolute nightmare to work with and install, but once on its not coming off or popping out the recesses. It is like a condom with super-glue on the rear!

To be honest, it kinda looks like Avery Supreme wrap, vibrant orange with white adhesive side.
however, i would never expect that from that film. just not how it performs...

is it possible its been fitted to a recent painted van? or recent to when it was installed?
this could affect the film/adhesive in many ways...

is there ANY damage to the paint? does it come off clean or even if adhesive left, cleans up easy enough?

you could give a bunch of kids a tenner each and let them rip into it!

We don't do a lot of wraps but if we do any colour change work its alway with Avery supreme and this stuff isn't that.....

No damage whatsoever to the paint (all factory), some areas leave glue, some not but I think that depends on how much heat gets applied. The wrap is less than 2 years old.

We're done for now and have declined the other vans.....as have 5 other companies apparently!

Thanks for the vinyl off tip, it definitely helped. :thumbup2:

Tue May 31, 2016 3:37 pm Author: Jon Marshall

The newer TNT liveries are done on 3M 1080 without the air release channels. That looks like maybe Avery 900. Once its been on a few years and degraded its probably effectively about 30 microns and just wont come off in big bits. I certainly wouldn't offer to remove it. Maybe try putting the vinyl-off on and then using a pressure washer to just blast it off?

Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:25 am Author: PETER SUNG

heat and pull....

otherwise i'm pretty sure the MBX is ok on paintwork.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnplRocybbk

If you want a cheaper option I actually have a round rubber wheel disc you insert into a drill, similar to below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzTz-YVcR_A

Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:26 pm Author: Dan Osterbery

Hi All,
can anyone point me in the direction of an IR heater? Where can i find one? I am having a battle with a wrap that has been baked on for 7 years. it is coming off in very small chunks. we have tried steaming and heat etc. I think we need to try th vinyl off and IR light method.

thanks

Dan

Thu Jul 07, 2016 7:22 pm Author: David Mitchell

machine mart . i got one from there for drying panels after spraypainting

Fri Jul 08, 2016 11:49 am Author: Dan Osterbery

Great, thanks David. Will get one and have it shipped over! much appreciated!

Any tips on removing cheap wrap film?

Any tips on removing cheap wrap film?

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