Changing Cutting Strip on Graphtec or Vinyl Express

[akuarela]

Hi, I'm totally baffled by the replacement Teflon strips that Graphtec and Sign Warehouse (Vinyl Express) sell. They are totally flat, which has nothing to do with what the original plotters have (Q-100 similar to Graphtec F8600 & Q-54 similar to Graphtec F8000). The plotters have a thick piece of nylon looking plastic with a channel shape to them, so I'm not removing them at all until I can get to the bottom of this.
Any ideas, I've tried unsuccessfully calling Sign Warehouse and couldn't get a hold of anyone in Graphtec.
Anyone know where I can get the "real" replacement, with shape and all, not just a crappy, expensive strip of adhesive Teflon?
Thanks!

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

What they are selling is correct.
The Graphtec setup has a black teflon strip from the factory.
The channel portion of the strip is used when perf cutting, but the teflon part is used for contour cutting (Condition 3 vs. Condition 1).
To replace the strip, you just get a small flat blade at one edge and pry it upward, then peel it off and give the underneath a clean.
Replace with a fresh strip and most likely re-calibrate your blade pressures as users generally crank is up when the strip is worn.

 

[RG]

I replaced the teflon strip on my FC-7000 a couple of years ago, but I didn't use the factory strip. I took the old strip off and cleaned the channel good. Then, I put down a strip of cast vinyl. On top of that I put a strip of power tape that I cut with scissors. The non-adhesive side of power tape is about as close to teflon as you can get. I used the 2 pieces in order to get the thickness the same as the factory strip. This worked just fine. I didn't even have to make any adjustments for knife pressure.

 

[ikarasu]

I just replaced mine yesterday. You can buy anew strip for $25... so I don't see why some people use DG Vinyl or other work arounds. Maybe if you do light cutting... But we cut a lot of Reflective DG, and it needs pretty durable / consistant strip, or it turns out like crap.

Anyways... As others mentioned. You're thinking of the channel - What you want to pull up is the little strip that looks like the one they sent you. Take a knife and push it under the corner a bit, right where you see the blade landing. It should lift it up - It's paper thin... And comes off easily.

Spend the hour or so to remove all the glue... make sure it's perfectly flat with no residue underneath, or you will get uneven cuts. It's really simple to do, just take your time.