Vehicle Wrap (vinyl) removal

[paulrobie]

Good Morning all... I searched through the board but have been unable to find anything regarding vinyl vehicle wrap removal and wondered if anybody has dealt with this in the past. My bus has 30 feet on each side PLUS about 8 inches lining the bottom of the roof line.

Peeling it off is an option... but a slow one as the stuff peels off in bits and pieces. Just looking for a better way, possibly a chemical remover type product someone has used in the past... Thanks!

[brando4905]

Paul,

When I got my bus it had cracked up graphics down both sides. I tried using all the decal/adhesive removers that I could get locally, didn't work too well. Then I moved on to the heat gun, took awhile but eventually got it all off.

Brandon

[paulrobie]

Paul,

When I got my bus it had cracked up graphics down both sides. I tried using all the decal/adhesive removers that I could get locally, didn't work too well. Then I moved on to the heat gun, took awhile but eventually got it all off.

Brandon

In searching the net, looks like the heat gun may be the way to go but I have found locally a gel type paint stripper that I may give a shot. Not sure what it might do to the finish of the bus below the signboard.

[papatony]

Don' use any kind of acid

[robertglines1]

heat gun    best not to damage paint below       is easy to recolor and a pain to try to fix blotches     ck with your local    decal maker               

[bevans6]

I have successfully used a product from 3M called woodgrain and stripe remover.  Two part spray, one removes the vinyl, the second removes the adhesive.  There is some info that they may have been obsoleted.  But they work great.


http://www.shop3m.com/60455030654.html
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?66666UuZjcFSLXTtlXTcOxT2EVuQEcuZgVs6EVs6E666666--

Brian

[rv_safetyman]

Not an expert here, but it strikes me that we need to sort out whether this is a decal or a wrap.  They are close relatives, but their characteristics are different.

If it is a decal, especially one that have been on for a long time,  I don't have a good process.  Some say heat, but my decals were very old and I went the physical route (sanding).

Modern Vinyl wrap, like that used on race cars, is made to be removed quickly with a heat gun.  Many race cars change their "skins" frequently to emphasize sponsors or highlight a "cause".

Jim

[wal1809]

Ditto on the heat gun

[paulrobie]

Not an expert here, but it strikes me that we need to sort out whether this is a decal or a wrap.  They are close relatives, but their characteristics are different.

If it is a decal, especially one that have been on for a long time,  I don't have a good process.  Some say heat, but my decals were very old and I went the physical route (sanding).

Modern Vinyl wrap, like that used on race cars, is made to be removed quickly with a heat gun.  Many race cars change their "skins" frequently to emphasize sponsors or highlight a "cause".

Jim

It's cast vinyl, the same material they use to make decals and it looks like it's a few years old, (PO is no help as buses were wrapped when he bought company a year ago).

I guess the biggest question I had was if anybody has used a chemical paint stripper on their bus and what are the pros and cons. I am, at this point not sure if I will paint the whole bus, part of the bus or something in between. I may want to shine up the stuff that I can but don't want to "have" to because I etched the metal or something...

[Pete359EX]

I'm using Dads Easy Strip now on my Prevost. Gel type, adheres to surface. I've found so far only use on a cool surface, as it dries out before its done activating. Don't get on your hands! Doesn't hurt the stainless underneath. I've found the aluminum to be more porous and requiring multiple applications. Heat gun is the best for the vinyl, and Goo Be Gone, for the residue.

Fred

[belfert]

Can you inquire at a local transit operation?  Transit buses are often wrapped.  I don't think our transit buses locally stay wrapped for more than a few months to maybe a year so they are probably easier to remove than wraps that have been on for years.

A parent in our Scout troop has a sign shop.  He wrapped our Scout trailer with some sort of vinyl seven or eight years ago.  It needs to be replaced now due to wear and he said it is going to be a major pain to remove the old vinyl.  I'm not sure if this is the same type of vinyl used to wrap buses and other vehicles.  This guy wrapped his pickup truck and you would think he got a new truck.  You can't tell the truck was originally white.

[Busted Knuckle]

Wraps are way cool looking and an awesome way to change the look in a hurry.
But................ everything comes with one of those doesn't it?
I'm told if just changing from one wrap to another it's not that big of deal.
But when a wrap is being removed altogether it's a MAJOR PIA.
A while back we were looking at upgrading a couple buses in our fleet & Setra had a couple S417's that had just come back off lease from a college that had been wrapped and we looked at them and were seriously thinking of buying one of them. We told them the wrap would have to be removed before we considered them. Well they started trying to remove it and it tuned out to be a real major PIA for them and two weeks after they started they were still sitting in their shop half peeled.
Well about that time we ran into some major difficulties with our own S417s and decided that buying another bus was not our best option at that time. But I heard that once the wrap was "mostly" removed they had to put them in the body shop and completely strip the entire body and repaint those two buses.

So I'd get out the heat gun and have fun, while saving up for that paint job.
  BK 

[luvrbus]

I remove decals with the 3M rubber pad on a drill made for that purpose cost about 12 bucks just be careful not to spin to fast it will burn the paint

good luck

[chart1]

I used a heat gun to remove the decals then used the adhesive remover to remove the glue. If you are planning on repainting behind decal you can take a razor blade and cut the decal into 1" strips length wise and it will peel off much better.

[buswarrior]

There will be a company somewhere in the neighbourhood that specializes in doing highway trailers.

"de-identify" is the key word used to describe the process.

happy coaching!
buswarrior