Removing decals: lots of em' - Page 2

Night Wolf · #16 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 05:20 PM

I would leave them on, they look good.

If you take them off, you'll probably see where they were as it would mess the paint up and/or fade it... like old cop cars with the decals removed.

Check out Vans By Drew in St. Pete... he is a really good guy and does conversion vans, I went to him because he was able to order me the new gasket and handle for my aftermarket sunroof in my Isuzu... he helped me when nobody else was willing to, and barely chraged me more then his cost too.

Destroyer · #17 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night Wolf

I would leave them on, they look good.

If you take them off, you'll probably see where they were as it would mess the paint up and/or fade it... like old cop cars with the decals removed.

Check out Vans By Drew in St. Pete... he is a really good guy and does conversion vans, I went to him because he was able to order me the new gasket and handle for my aftermarket sunroof in my Isuzu... he helped me when nobody else was willing to, and barely chraged me more then his cost too.

Hmm, maybe he can hook me up with different graphics too. Thanks Rick. I dont think I'll see where they (decals) were once removed. This van was covered (not garaged but still under a roof) and not used much by its previous owner. I buffed the hood and clayed/waxed the van when I got it and the paint isn't faded at all.

Destroyer · #18 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gothicaleigh

You need a vinyl eraser and a jug of RapidRemover.

Get a few plastic razor blades too (will help scrape off the vinyl without harming the paint).

Is this thing called a vinyl eraser?. Cant find it anywhere. Know where to get one?.

gothicaleigh · #19 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Is this thing called a vinyl eraser?. Cant find it anywhere. Know where to get one?.

Here's a link to that one and a few other vinyl removal tools:
http://www.signwarehouse.com/shop/me...ory_Code=TT-VR

At $385 for the electric and air versions of the vinyl eraser, you may just want to pay a graphics or bodyshop who already has the equipment to remove them for you.

dkozloski · #20 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 06:51 PM

I removed the signage from the sides of a 7500 gallon aircraft refueling tank truck using a hair dryer. Park the thing in the sun and get it good and hot. Use the hair dryer to get it started with your fingernails or a plastic picnic knife and slowly pull. It comes right off in sheets. Try several different angles as you pull out from the surface. Your technique will be pretty refined by the time you get to the second side. Once you get started don't stop. Sometimes getting it restarted is more difficult than the original try. It's like the sticky stuff cures or something. This is not rocket science. A couple of hours of your time and you're home free.

Red_October_7000 · #21 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 07:09 PM

The thing is they might not be vinyl but rather a sort of plastic/metal material that is used for vehicle signage. This stuff is super-thin and almost impossible to remove. The way I found to do it is to use a razor blade and, believe it or not, WD-40. This will let you take it off in bigger-than-toenail-clipping-sized pieces as opposed to toenail-clipping-sized pieces, sometimes in strips even. A quality slam scraper helps, those little stamped metal ones are decent for a small decal but on a vehicle that size will self-destruct before the first door is done.

I'd still leave them on until I found something better; it WILL show no matter what. Trust me, at CAP all our vans have decals on them (of the afforementioned metal-backed plastic) and I'm rather familiar with the application and removal thereof.

stockup · #22 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 10:40 PM

You need to use a heatgun that is hotter than a hair dryer. They are not terribly expensive and can be bought at Sears for about 70 bucks. After you heat them up and pel them off, use WD-40 to remove and remaining adhesive. Will be a lot of work. Personally, I would leave it, sell it like it is, trade it for what you want before going through all that trouble

Dan

Levand16 · #23 (**permalink**) 07-04-07, 10:46 PM

No matter what you use set aside a good week or more! It will take alot of time to do it right. Like someone wrote earlier you might see a color difference on the paint once removed.

don't use WD-40 or anything else with silicone, if you do end up repainting the van in the future you will have problems!

Good luck and have fun!

malcolm · #24 (**permalink**) 07-05-07, 10:43 AM

google "3m decal remover" lot's of ways to get it done.

93DevilleUSMC · #25 (**permalink**) 07-05-07, 08:02 PM

Good luck with it!

OffThaHorseCEO · #26 (**permalink**) 07-05-07, 08:27 PM

are those impala style wheels? or impala wheels

Destroyer · #27 (**permalink**) 07-05-07, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OffThaHorseCEO

are those impala style wheels? or impala wheels

They are Impala SS replica's, they were on my '91 Fleetwood prior to this.

Destroyer · #28 (**permalink**) 07-05-07, 10:33 PM

Thanks for all the help!. This weekend or next I'll attempt to do the hood first before I go messing the sides up.

gothicaleigh · #29 (**permalink**) 07-07-07, 04:21 PM

Find someone with that Vinyl Zapper/eraser I posted. We can strip a wrapped van in less than an hour with no damage to the paint. It's pricy, but it works.

nikon · #30 (**permalink**) 07-07-07, 10:34 PM

^^ I've used something very similar to what you posted....only the one I used was all smooth and had a chuck that would go into a dye grinder....5-10$ at a paint supply store....it was basically just a big round rubber eraser...and yea they do work great.....your gonna need a couple of em to do that whole van though.

similar to this

http://www.signwarehouse.com/TT-VR-p-HT-STPRPL.html