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Question Removal of old graphics

Gino

Premium Subscriber
No, it's based on your hourly rate. If you're on-site, it's probably more than your shop rate. Include travel time, time on the job and your return trip plus any chemicals or miscellaneous stuff you needed to do the job..... and gasoline.

I always tell people... we get paid to letter things, not generally remove it, but it still takes time and money.
 

Kottwitz-Graphics

New Member
Nope, the price is based on the "I don wanna strip crappy old vinyl offa yer vehicle" hourly rate

Yup. Most of my customers balk when I say "$85 an hour, and how ever long it takes", but after they try to take it off, they usually call me.

I know a guy that tells the customer that it would be cheaper to go buy a new truck. He flat out won't strip one.
 

Bigdawg

Just Me
We *strongly* encourage our customers to do it themselves. If not, hourly shop rate x however long it takes, with a disclaimer that we aren't responsible for damage during removal. We've had really old vinyl pull paint up with it.
 

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
It's most likely against the law to base your pricing off the shape of the customer's feet so I'd go with the hourly rate as suggested above
feet-first-1.jpg
 

2B

Active Member
STRONGLY ENCOURAGE a removal waiver is signed BEFORE any removal starts.

agreed, ALL REMOVALS are by the HOUR, and any removal on location costs more than removal at the shop
 
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CSOCSO

I don't hate paint, I just overlay it.
I agree that you get a signed paper!
I had a customer who didn't wanted to pay for glue removal only for the vinyl removal.
Anyway. make sure you charge by the hour and let them know that removing of the glue and final cleaning is included in the price.

We never ever estimate time for the removal.
that particular job was 10 hrs of glue removal alone and used 5 gallons of rapid remover ( costs more than $200)
 

gabagoo

New Member
Just finished getting the vinyl off a fairly new sprinter ambulance. The graphics were 2 big wavy stripes going down the sides. I cringed when I first saw it and my customer who gives me quite a bit of work, although usually brand new vehicles doesn't think I should charge him very much.... ugggg what I realized when I started was that vehicle was done in calendered vinyl which is a little easier to get a grasp on although with the steamer it left gobs of glue which I will attempt to remove tomorrow. My fingers are sore and on my left hand on 3 fingers above the knuckle the skin has come off from grabbing the vinyl and pulling...I did not notice until it was too late, so I have that to contend with tomorrow. Not sure what I will charge but even an hourly rate is not worth this torture!!!
 

SightLine

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IF we printed it and the material is in its serviceable life, in other words not cracking or anything, then we give a flat rate as I know the install, I know that its either Avery or 3M and will remove leaving little to no adhesive. Signed waiver is always good on a removal AND on full wrap installs. If the vinyl is in bad shape or its something some other place installed then its shop rate and if it is too horribly gone, decline. On someone elses material you can always try testing a small spot but that is not always the full picture. Got bit on that just recently. A long time customer (pro tournament fisherman) bought a used boat that had a wrap on it. Test removed a small bit and its 3M. Came off easy and wrap was in decent shape. Turns out the freaking idiot who installed it thinks you are supposed to use Primer 94 with a paint roller. Literally a 2 to 3 inch band of freaking primer along the bottom edge AND just under the rub rail! WTF??? Why on Gods green earth would you put primer up under the freaking rub rail??? its a boat, not a submarine! We do not even use any along the bottom on boats, we just add a strip of edge sealer tape (1/2 strip of clear lam) and they last 2 to 3 year just fine.
 

K Chez

New Member
Hourly and I'll add two to three hours on to what I think it will be time wise and let the customer know that it won't exceed that price. Usually that buffer will allow you get it done in less time and when you bill them for the job and it's under the quote, they are happy about it.
Had a fire department that wanted a pick up stripped of old reflective and re-lettered. They thought the removal price was too high and opted to do it themselves. When I went to letter the truck, they told me it took them two full days to remove it and if there was ever another vehicle that had to be done they would gladly pay three times what I quoted.
 

CSOCSO

I don't hate paint, I just overlay it.
Hourly and I'll add two to three hours on to what I think it will be time wise and let the customer know that it won't exceed that price. Usually that buffer will allow you get it done in less time and when you bill them for the job and it's under the quote, they are happy about it.
Had a fire department that wanted a pick up stripped of old reflective and re-lettered. They thought the removal price was too high and opted to do it themselves. When I went to letter the truck, they told me it took them two full days to remove it and if there was ever another vehicle that had to be done they would gladly pay three times what I quoted.


Yep. something like that happened to me a couple times. One customer told me they will never ever attempt to remove vinyl ever again even if they get paid $75. The other one told me he is more than happy to pay me $100 per hr next time but he won't ever touch vinyl again. lol
 
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