HELP! Hardcore stripe removal

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

We bought a 1987 GMC motor home that has been lovingly cared for and had incredibly low miles. We knew the seller. Problem is, being a 1987, the original striping graphics, which were applied over textured fiberglass panels, are deteriorated beyond belief. I basically have billions of little segments to remove from a textured surface that will be impossible to achieve much with any sort of scraping. Anybody ever tackled something like this and have useful advice for a bro? When I get it off, I'm going to hand paint in new graphics that will make this RV look much more current. It's the getting there 'm stumped over.

 

[Si Allen]

How about some close up pics in order to get a better idea of what you are up against?

 

[omgsideburns]

vinyl eraser and a repaint?

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

In looking at it more closely this morning, I think my only option is to sand off the small amount of dried flaking around the edges of the larger "segments" that exist, and then Scotchbrite the entire area and finally paint on top of it. This might give me an interesting textured look, so why fight it? All traces of gloss are gone from these stripes and yet they are still holding on with very minimal flaking. Any cons you can think of as far as using 1 Shot on top of dried out striping?

 

[letterman7]

Other than the oils in the paint and thinners re-activating some of the adhesive and possibly causing a failure.. no. I'd rent a hot pressure-washer setup and blast the stuff off. Why take a chance?

 

[Kyle Blue]

I agree with omgsideburns, get the eraser you attach to a drill and go at it.

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

I agree with omgsideburns, get the eraser you attach to a drill and go at it.

Guess I should have posted a pic. I've got 4 different horizontal rows covering 27 feet of camper length. I think I'd burn thru a case of vinyl erasers on this. Gonna just scotchbrite it over and paint on top. Only has to last 2 years til I'll be ready to upgrade. Thanks.

 

[BobM]

I've had good luck with a $50 walpaper steamer from Home Depot. Time consuming for sure, but effective. Remove the glue with Rapid Remover.

 

[John Butto]

New guitar and camper, "rocky mountain high".

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

New guitar and camper, "rocky mountain high".

Right on bro. My wife says my toy budget is nearing critical mass.

 

[GAC05]

Arlo,
I don't know if this stuff will work on graphics that old but I am in the middle of re-branding a fleet of 14 fully wrapped fuel tankers that have been used hard 24/7.
Some of the vinyl has been on 6yrs+
I got a sample quart of this:
http://www.crystaltek.us.com/crystaltek-vinyl-off.htm
Without it the vinyl on the top horizontal surfaces had started to crack and was coming off in little chips and slivers.
The vinyl-off softens the dried up vinyl into the consistency of balloon, making it fairly easy to pull a whole 48" wide panel off in just a few pieces.
We also tested it on an older high cube truck that had cut graphics on it - it started to remove the paint from the areas that had been touched up.

Might be worth a shot - a little goes a long way and seems to be pretty mild on the user.

wayne k
guam usa