Difficulty Adhering after Rapid Remover

[Gino]

If you hafta quote the job, if the glass is facing south, add quite a bit on top, whether it's 2 years old or 15 years old. That is probably the biggest factor in removing vinyl from anything.

 

[d fleming]

I've seen our window cleaner use a 6in blade and clean a 4x8 window in about 10 minutes. It's a skill, and once you master it, it's a huge time saver.

The crew helping me was my friend whose family has been in high rise window cleaning business since 1946 and two of his guys. I joined them the second day to speed things up. I did more in 4 hours with a 4" blade on 12" handle than they did all of the the previous day. Sometimes a 6" blade can be too much and wear you out while a 4" takes more strokes it's not as tough when it comes to tough film removal jobs. Now for their normal window cleaning day the 6" kicks but and they are very fast at their job but the old sign guy showed them a few tricks. They loved the rapid remover over the way they were trying to remove adhesive which was pretty much blade, soap, water and a little commercial glass cleaner. Had the windows cleaned and polished after film removal in about an hour and a half. Now if the glass company can get the panes that were discovered cracked replaced I can finish this one up and go to bike week!

 

[Baz]

After using soap to clean off the Rapid Remover give it a swipe with alcohol.
If you don't have any ... Look both ways and if the coast is clear, give the glass a good spit and wipe that down !

 

[Jeremiah]

Not about glass. I bought out a small sign shop last fall. There were about 6 3 ft x 10 ft slightly used banners included. I thought that I could use 2 out by the street. Cleaning off the old adhesive was a bear. Alcohol did not do a good job. I was determined to get them clean. Even then there was slight residue. I eventually tossed them in the trash.

 

[De.signs Nanaimo]

I have been using Rapid Remove for 20 years, wouldn't be without it. I use it on glass all the time, of course as mentioned already when cleaned properly adhesion is fine. One thing I will point out is to avoid Windex, most regular glass cleaners contain silicone to avoid streaks, this can contribute to vinyl failing over time. I use this great concentrate, a 3-M product for auto body shops , I have a small home based shop, and the $45 can has lasted me 7 years, and is still half full as a small amount about a 1/4 cup or so makes a gallon of window cleaner. I just get it at the local auto parts supply shop.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company...n-Up-Glass-Cleaner/?N=5002385+3293193628&rt=d

They even have removing decals and adhesive as one of it's uses.

 

[okeesignguy]

So, I have been doing several vinyl removals lately and using Rapid Remover, which works great. I can get the vinyl off the glass and we're good to go there.

Here is where I am running into an issue: Once I have completed the removal, I have had to apply a new vinyl on the glass. I have dried off the glass, cleaned with glass cleaner, and tried to use the hinge method with masking tape but the tape won't stick.

I have even gone back over a week later to see if tape will stick to the glass but no luck. Is there anything I can use after using rapid remover that will allow adhesion to occur?

I can always just go with the wet method and override this issue (as I have been doing lately) but I figured I'd ask as I know I will have a bunch of these coming up soon.

Thank you!

Two words......SOFT SCRUB.....or even Bar Keepers Friend or Bon Ami....have used this method for many years...

 

[OPENSignsInc.]

I got no problem applying vinyl, but id love to only ever have to remove from glass for the rest of my life. I use a regular Razer blade scraper that has a long handle (harbor freight central forge style - even has storage for more blades in the handle) with orange peel adhesive remover followed by denatured alcohol. Lately however, I've been using Dirt-Off concentrate (especially for perforated material) with a window squeegee as a last step before applying.

 

[Jester1167]

Best scraper money can buy the Triumph 6" scraper. It will power through vinyl easier than the 4" hardware store version.

Also, I learned from a window guy, never pull the scrapper backward on the window. When you scrape forwards the dirt and grit get pushed above the blade. When you leave the blade in contact as you pull back the grit will slide against the glass and scratch it.

Whenever I use a citrus-based cleaner, whether it's rapid remover or something else, I always clean 2 more times. If there are a lot of windows I might use soap and water with a window squeegee because it's cheap and it will have time to dry around the seals. The last step is always 91% isopropyl alcohol. If there are just one or two windows I would probably do Alcohol twice and change rags for the final wipe. On an older vehicle, I might use prep sol then an alcohol wipe.

Sometimes it has more to do with what the window cleaner used to clean. There are additives that make the windows easier to clean and stay clean longer. My guess is there is some kind of silicone additive similar to rain-x. I have had problems with brand new windows and have heard glass installers talk about running new windows through a bath before they bring them to the job site. They said it limits fingerprints and makes them easier to clean...