BGD Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Any hints on how to gently but effectively remove old decals from motorhome side-panel bodywork? They're the original stuck-on type swirl/blob vinyl ones that MH manufacturers add to "sex-up" their vehicles, but over the years and in the sunlight they are have become very faded and in many places the edges have "eroded" away........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Try heating gently with a hair dryer and get an edge lifted then slowly heat and peel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I agree with topcat heat very gently with hair dryer then peel off carefully. We used to remove boat reg no's like this and it does work effectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 A hairdryer to warm them is the way. Once removed you will probably have some adhesive residue which can be cleaned off with either petrol or brake cleaner (aerosol type). It is quite likely there will be a colour difference between the older 'exposed' surface and the 'new' surface under the decals which in my experience you won't be able to correct fully but a little 'T cut' used gently might go some way to reducing the effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigrem Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I used a pad of cloth soaked in hot water to allow peeling off, then I used Coleman Fuel to remove the glue residue. The reason for using Coleman Fuel it saved me buying a gallon of petrol which would not be able to use afterwards, and I already had it for a petrol stove I have. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 What is this dangerous fad in using petrol. White Spirit is so much safer or a proper self adhesive removal fluid. Could always try lemon juice. If you are cleaning up scratches then just use T-cut to remove the adhesive. Petrol, no way as for one it stinks. If you want something more agressive then try acetone (nail polish remover) but only on fibreglass and NOT on painted surfaces. Petrol will also damage painted surfaces (painted alumimium panels) and other plastics. Another way is to stick whay you have peeled of, if it is still sticky, back down over any remaining self adhesive and then peel off as it often removes most of it. I will now await a load of incoming flak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Why would you get any flak Jon, your answer was spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 nsigns - 2012-09-10 5:57 PMI agree with the heat from a hairdryer, but negative on the petrol or brake cleaner. Try using 'meths', anything else will remove the paint aswell! Trust me, I know, I'm a signmaker, we fit & remove van vinyls all the time! Used outdoors and sensibly petrol or brake cleaner will remove the adhesive and not be dangerous like has been mentioned and will most certainly not remove the paint unless you're heavy handed and rub away at it like a demented sanding disc. nsigns as a signmaker I would have thought you would be using proprietary brand adhesive remover not bodging it with meths which leaves a fine film behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Roger, Surely petrol would leave a film behind? Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 nsigns You are going to find that (on internet forums generally, not just this one) it won't matter how much professional experience a forum participant has, or how valid and/or sensible the advice he/she provides is, if someone disagrees with that advice, or believes there's a superior alternatiive, they are going to have their say. BGD now has a choice of options regarding adhesive-residue remover and there's no doubt that some are more aggressive than others. I tend to start with whatever I have to hand, moving up the agression scale. This would mean beginning with methylated spirit, then white spirit, then petrol. My own experience using those liquids has never resulted in damage to vehicle paintwork which, by its very nature, needs to be pretty tough. I've never tried Coleman's Fuel or brake cleaner to remove adhesive-residue (because I've never owned any) and, as Brambles warns, use of acetone carries a real risk of paintwork damage. Whatever fluid is used to remove adhesive residue, it's a racing certainty that (unless the decal that's been taken off was very recently applied) an outline of the decal will remain. As long as there's no intention to replace the original decal, arguments about whether or not an adhesive-residue removing agent will leave a film are largely academic. As RogerC suggested earlier, there will usually be a need to treat (T-cut, polish) the surface where the original decal was positioned to try to disguise the outline and that process will remove any film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 Thanks for ALL replies and advice....Wow; I didn't realise this seemingly innocuous subject would actually initiate a spectacular handbags-at-dawn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 nsigns - 2012-09-10 9:03 PMBGD Lets get one thing straight, members of this forum comes on here for good advice, and is reciprocated with the same. Obviously every now and then you get some idiot who thinks they know best , like this Rogerc! At the end of it all you go with what you think is the best advice. I have been signmaking for more than 10 years, and we've tried everything, but nothing works better than 'meths'. Anyone who thinks that's bodging does'nt know what they are talking about! Hmmmm name calling already and only 9 posts .....my my you do have a short fuse......maybe we have allowed a Troll to join!! Just because you've been making/fitting vinyl graphics doesn't make you the sole expert on the subject.... you have no idea of what I do in business. My comment regarding bodging simply referred to the 'professionals' choice of using 'Rapid Remover'..or something similar, in essence a proprietary brand 'trade' supplied adhesive remover which is made for the job. My suggestion regarding using petrol (wiped on with a cloth which then takes the adhesive with it) or aerosol brake cleaner to remove the adhesive is based on using something people might already have at home and both of which will do the job perfectly well. In conclusion nsigns I bow to you....you're obviously far superior to us mere mortals because you bought a plotter (probably cheap Chinese ebay special) and a few bits of vinyl (which a load of people have done) and call yourself a 'signmaker'...........oh and if you ever get around to printing might I recommend you look at Roland VersaCAMM for solvent printing and Rolls Rollers for laminating or applying large format print to substrates.......both machines are excellent although they probably won't fit in your bedroom workshop.........Oh yes and welcome to the forum :-) Derek....thank's for your comments which in part reflect mine regarding adhesive removal methods though it looks like nsigns might think you're an idiot as well.......:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigrem Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I tried removing the residual glue firstly with white spirit, then meths, neither worked, I then took the advice of the company who were going to fit replacement decals and they told me they use petrol, as I had some Coleman fluid which is a refined form of 2 star I used that. Then used a cleaning shampoo to remove any traces. Perhaps the glue on my vehicle was different to those who managed to use white spirit or meths Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 nsigns - 2012-09-11 7:47 PMYour ignorance is clearly not worth any further dialouge, ha,ha,ha,! What a rude individual you are and for your edification 'dialouge' is spelt 'DIALOGUE'. Your name calling along with your bad grammar and punctuation in previous posts really is quite juvenile, as is your tendency to name calling. Having such a limited grasp of the use of punctuation and the inability to spell coupled with your poor standard of sentence construction must be somewhat worrying for an 'experienced' signwriter......sorry I meant 'vinyl cutter'........now go and play nicely somewhere else, there's a good little boy. Oh and you might like to correct the errors on your web site. It's not very professional to have such glaring errors when advertising services which rely so heavily on spelling and being grammatically correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolly1965 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 You can buy spray cans of sticky stuff remover - usually based on orange oil - I find that it's always worked for me and is harmless to paint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolly1965 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 You get used to this sort of abuse on here - just try mentioning dogs or a-frames... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Apologies if this gets technical, I shal try not to be too technical and summarise, but hard at same time as deciphering my notes. Just had a chat with a colleague who knows all about adhesives used in the autmotive industry for various applications.. Gosh, I never realised there was so much to this. There are basically 7 types of self adhesive or what some prefer to call Pressure Senstive adhesives and these are as follows. 1. Acrylic 2. Bio based acrylate 3.Natural rubber. 4. Butyl rubber. 5. Silicone rubbers 6. Nitriles 7. Styrene block copolymers Depending on solvents used or the final composition of the Self Adhesive ( pressure sensitive ashesive and whether permannet of removable will dictate the solvent used to remove. Some need aggressive solvents auch as the butyl rubber based ashesives. There is also a problem with some materials leaching plasticers into the adhesive and can also leave a deposit after removal. Most cheap vinyl products will use a cheap adhesive and be either acrylic or silicon based adhesive. These are easily removed with meths or white spirit. If it is water based adhesive then white spirit probably will not work. Basically if you do not know what the adhesive is you start with less agressive solvents such as water ( unlikely on exterior decals) , moving onto water loaded with citrus oils which act as a solvent (still unlikely on exterior use permanent decals). Depending on the surface material some solvents are not safe to use so should be tested, but meths and white spirit will work on many but not rubber bases adhesives. Then Acetone or petroleum distillates are required. Yes petrol will work but better to use something like ligher fluid which is cleaner and safer from toxic substances contained in petrol. Sometimes you need repeated application to gently dissolve and soften the adhesive and remove with care. Most customer signage on trade vehicles is made from vinyl and a solvent base acrylic adhesive or silicon based adhesive so meths or alchohols will remove. On more permanent signage such as decals fitted by the vehicle manufacturer or coach builder will be of a more permanent adhesive type and will require more agressive solvents. Cheap grahics and decals used by many caravan manufactures have little thought put into the vinyl type and adhesive used so meths will remove, but the better caravan or large caravan builders use high quaity cast vinyl or even foiled laminated films and permanent adhesives which will last a long time and subsequently petroleum based solvents are required. Example. Headlamp reflectors will use an an adhesive which can be remoevd using meths or citrus oils. Number plate seld adhesive pads wil use an adhesive probably butyl based and require a solvent like naphtha or pertroleum distillates of some kind. T-cut will often remove but it contains various peroleum distillates ( as do many polishes) as wel as ammonia which is also an aggressive solvent) The small amount contained along with the abrasive polishing particles wil successivelly remove the adhesive with out attacking painted or plastic surfaces agressively So there you go chaps, both meths and petrol are correct although a distilled petroeum based solvent is preferred. On chap talking about high quaity decals, and other talking about low cost Vinyl and custom signage where its not a good idea to use permanent long term adhesives. If you want replacement decals then you need to go to a sign making specialists who uses cast vinyl not rolled ( he gave it another name but I cannot read my notes -- think he said "calendered" vinyl which is either poly or mono something a rather ) . Cast vinyl tends not to shrink with aging or heat, but calendered or rolled is stretched into shape when manufactired and then shrinks over time or with heat. Right, thats lt , all you are ghetting as about all I can remember - might be full of errors but equally may contain useful information, and to be honest I really do not care a jot. I have typed it up so might as well post spelling mistakes typos the lot. Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 For more information on vinyl types, GOOGLE-search on "vinyl calendered vs cast" (omitting the quotes). For example http://www.allprint.co.uk/technical-info/choosing-the-right-sign-vinyl.htm Anticipating a follow-up question on the lines of "How to fit replacement decals?" http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=28304&posts=9 http://www.hollographics.com/info/application.html As far as I'm concerned, it's a pity motorhome manufacturers don't offer people ordering new vehicles 'de-decaling' options, where some, or all, of the decals could be omitted on request when the motorhome was being built. If you were paying £65k for a posh car, would you like the manufacturer to decorate it with strangely-shaped pieces of sticky-backed vinyl? But that seems to be what the maker of the latest Marquis County Gloucester believe buyers will be keen on. See photos on following link http://www.marquismotorhomes.co.uk/uploads/2012/Gloucester%20Caravan%20Club.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorset Runner Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 If you fancy using a proprietary product, Lakeland sell 'Sticky Stuff Remover'. I don't know what is in it, but it seems to work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Bruce, all this namby pamby "my method is better than yours" isn't helping at all. By far the best method is a blowtorch and a wire brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WA Michael Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 When we bought our van the makers had made a vast range of mistakes, although they paid for warranty work mileage was involved. So we removed all their logoing with care and a hot air gun on low. This results in lots of people asking why,cue anti ad.. But the older the decals the harder and therefore the more difficult the removal,controlled heat and edge of old credit card,to save gouging paint seems to be the go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Anyone tried WD40? I have it worked for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.