This shouldn't be a question for a traditional board, but we've all seen them... Vinyl graphics on rods. Is there a way to get old ones off without destroying the paint beneath? I could scrape or sand them but that'd do more harm than good. Tried heating and peeling, but that just left a gooey mess . Any tricks I'm not aware of?
Good detail shop guys seem to know or have the stuff to take those things off without making a mess. I'd imagine Goo Gone or some other sticky stuff remover would take the residue of though.
An eraser wheel works well on old stuck on graphics that are hard and won't peel. Easy to control by pressure and speed. Regarding the goo, a local vinyl graphics shop had a spray product to remove adhesive. It was like those natural orange products that was safe, but worked great on the adhesive.
I'm with crminal, you need an eraser wheel. Any good auto paint type shop will sell them. Put it in a drill, it spins and kinda grinds the decals off and won't hurt the paint at all as long as you're careful. A friend of mine had stickers all over his car and needed them off, spent like 3 hours with a razor blade and picking and only got a few square inches done, and chipped up his paint. I got an eraser wheel and cleaned the whole car off in like an hour and didn't mark up the paint one bit. They're magic.
I work as a professional in the graphics industry and I never have good luck with an eraser wheel, especially if they have been on for some time and baked by the sun. We use a product called rapid remover. Heat the decal up but not too much. Even if it leaves all the residue, the rapid remover will get it off in no time. I have applied/stripped hundreds of cars and it works every time.
I have always had great driveway results on 80s vehicles with large full length graphics of the day using a comfortable chair,hairdryer on high, a dull putty knife and 3M Adhesive remover. Work slow with the heat and get it good and hot. Lift about a half inch at a time, working top down with the heat and front to back with the lift. The heat will transfer as you move to the next area, so it gets rythmic once you get going. Lift a half inch or so at a time. Then rub with the adhesive remover.Not fast, but inexpensive and satisfying once done.
Tried to remove some faded graphics off my 31 foot Winnebago, everything I used was slow and time consuming, worked it it for days and got little done, then I got a eraser wheel with a high rpm buffing type drill and had it off in two hours!
It depends on the paint job underneath - the material the vinyl graphics are actually made of - how long & where they have been applied. If you have not done anything yet - call around to local reputable paint & body shops to schedule an estimate to do the work - take the vehicle to a few places - see what they recommend. Can't really give specific advice without seeing the actual vehicle. Jim
As was mentioned above, be very careful using a strip off wheel/eraser wheel. Can take paint off in a hurry.
I have used a hand held clothes steamer on window tint and I couldnt believe how great it worked. (Look up a video)......Not sure how well it would work on vinyl graphics but saw some video on that as well after you asked .....I bought a handheld clothes steamer for around 20 bucks, well worth it. I had previously taken tint off with only a razor blade and window cleaner, that was a nightmare, but the steamer was a breeze compared to that, just had to get corner started and steam slowly as I went, It came off in sheets, then cleaned the minimal residue with window cleaner and a simple little scrubby pad. May need to get a little creative if there is any sticky residue left on the paint but I wouldnt think that would be a biggie??? .........I have used wax and degreaser also come to think of it, to get sticky stuff off paint, also used spray brake or carb cleaner to get road tar off, have also used other automotive paint solvents for different stuff but be careful not to ruin your paint using any of this stuff as it would be easy to do.
I realize it's not the right time of year to be telling you this, but in my 20 something years of experience doing this stuff, I have found the best thing is to park it out in the sun and warm up the whole panel. Heat guns work OK, but you have to be real careful not to get too much heat in one spot, and its real easy to burn your fingertips if you're not careful. I wouldn't use anything harder or sharper than your fingernails. Assuming its a reasonable quality vinyl and it hasn't been 'baked' by the sun, it should peel off OK. Once you have a corner picked up, you should be able to peel it in reasonably large pieces - you will find varying the angle at which you peel will have an effect on how often the vinyl tears, and also how much glue residue you leave behind. Once its all off, I generally clean the residue with Isopropyl alcohol (or rubbing alcohol), but some vinyls respond better to other 'solvents'. If the paint is 2-pack, and milder solvents aren't working, you can usually get away with using universal thinners, but don't leave it on there wet for too long, and always test it on an inconspicuous area first. The main thing you need is patience! Unfortunately, sometimes the vinyl can be really 'cooked' on if its been there and exposed to the elements for a long time, in which case you may need to use a more mechanical means, such as an eraser or 'caramel' wheel, but once again, patience is required or you will be springing for a repaint! Bear
Thank you all for your input. Unfortunately this vinyl baked in the Phoenix sun for literally decades. I've tried everything. Tomorrow I'm just gonna grind the sonofabitch down to bare metal, prime and paint. I know how to do that and it'll take less time. Jeebus! what a hassle.
At one time 3M made a product called Woodgrain Stripe Remover in a spray can along with an adhesive remover . The first product would soften and wrinkle the old vinyl so you could just peel it off and the second would loosen the glue from the surface . I don't know if they're still available , but they worked quite well .
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