Electric Vinyl Removers

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Has anybody had any experience using Electric Vinyl Removers. They seem to work really good on car wraps on you tube. But is there any first hand users out there. We make alot of signs using reflectives. Like 3M 3430. Does it work for these types of material. Please let me know what your thoughts are.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Thanks I didn't see the comments. Probably not going to work then for metal blanks that have already been sheeted or messed up.

 

[ProWraps]

they suck. unless your removing a pinstripe, they are worthless and take forever.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

I am doing a fleet of vehicles with old chrome decals to be removed.
Each truck door takes about a half hour. I am using the plastic razor blades with a little bit of heat. The trick is changing them almost every 2-3 minutes to keep a sharp edge to save a lot of time.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

So plastic razor blades and a heat gun is the best bet?

 

[Speedsterbeast]

I have not tried the electric remover tool, but I have used that style eraser on a drill and it only made a mess with bits of eraser stuck to everything.
The chrome vinyl has proven a real p.i.t.a. to remove.
I found the plastic blade and a heat gun works the best. Too much heat though and off comes the paint.
Also to remove the glue residue left over use wax & grease remover (from any auto body supply shop)
just be sure to clean the surface with iso. alcohol before trying to apply anything over it.

 

[gabagoo]

I have the vinyl zapper and I use it when all else fails. I will say that it works great on reflective and I have never had a sanding issue on the paint.

You could try using a steamer. I bought a Wagner steamer from Home Depot years ago and the nice thing about it is that the heat, although hot is not as painful on your fingers as a heat gun. It can strip vinyls off pretty good but leaves just about all the glue so you will need plenty of agent orange to remove that as well.

 

[skyhigh]

I have the vinyl zapper also. I have not had trouble with reflective removal. On the down side, its not the tool for larger graphics (unless its a last resort)....wraps NO.

I bought a couple when doing a fleet of vans. It was great for the doors, and well worth the money. We didn't use it once on the box.

One note.... The wheels don't seem to last 1/4 as long as they did when I first got the tool. I feel ripped-off every time I use the tool, at $25 a pop for an eraser wheel.

Edit: Just checked fellers for the eraser wheels .....$46.99 each....$95.97 for 3
INSANE.

 

[petesign]

Grimco has the wheels for $29.95 each. I am sure you could beat that too.

 

[Mike F]

Word is that wallpaper steamers work great... http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86567

 

[SightLine]

Another one we have employed a good bit is one of the semi-new oscillating tools. Personally have a Dremel Multimax but there are plenty of others out there. Using the scraper blades on one can make quick work of some vinyl removal.

Clear warning though...... you must be very careful and you can very very easily gouge and scratch the paint deep. You will also leave a lot of very fine scratches. Only thing we have used this on is removing reflective that is going to be replaced - in other words any fine scratches will be covered with new vinyl. In some testing though - a bit of rubbing compund does get the fine scratches out.

Not saying anyone should but it might come in handy for a nightmare removal. We re-work a lot of used ambulances which is what we have used it on many times now.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Has anyone used them on Metal blanks. We make alot of traffic signs. Sometimes you mess one up and the EG or the EGP gets stuck and it is a major hassle to take off. Do these work for that purpose. I need a way to get all the EG and EGP off as well as the adhesive.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Has anyone used them on Metal blanks. We make alot of traffic signs. Sometimes you mess one up and the EG or the EGP gets stuck and it is a major hassle to take off. Do these work for that purpose. I need a way to get all the EG and EGP off as well as the adhesive.

For that job, you can get an assortment wire of wheels that fit the Zapper. They work great for that particular purpose. I believe they are available from many auto body supply houses or on-line. I get them from SnapOn Tools. I bought the "Crud Thug" pneumatic version of the Zapper and it came with 3 erasers and 6 wire wheels of 2 or 3 different configurations. Wire cone wheels on a small high speed hand grinder works well to in some cases.