Peeling issue on tanker trailer within 6 months

[ple]

Not sure how it works where you're at, but is the water being delivered to pools or taken away ?? Around here, most people just hook a pump up and syphon the water out and let it run down the road. However, if you're in a more residential area, I'm sure if water must be replaced a company must take it away before putting fresh water in.

Sooo..... is this water USED pool water ??

No, just new he says.

 

[gabagoo]

I'm with Gino on this one....It looks like someone was trying to remove the vinyl... I have never in 30 years seen vinyl just peel off like your pic shows....

 

[ple]

with seeing how clean that is after sitting outside for 6 months I have a very hard time believing that has not been washed.

We had a lot of snow over Christmas, so that may have cleaned some dirt off. He only used the trailer for about a month after I put the lettering on. I looked around the neighborhood where it is parked for the winter and do not see any factories that may discharge chemicals or fuel into the air. Their other trailer is parked right next to this one. I'm wondering if there wasn't some apple juice acid on the top that may have run down the sides. It's really strange that the lettering on the back wasn't effected.

 

[ple]

Those letters are peeling top down, and only on a section of the trailer was affected....... meaning something was sprayed, spilled, cleaned, ETC...
if the trailer has been sitting, how come the material is torn off?
I don't want to call the owner a "liar", but maybe he is misinformed as to what the employees are doing to the tankers

if it was a surface issue, then ALL AREAS would be lifting

we use a combo of steps, especially if a surface has a risk of an additive being on it
1) LA's Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner
2) Rapid Remover
3) 99% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol House Mix
4) Install vinyl

That is a similar cleaning method to what I use. I may have to climb up on the top and look at that area. I did think that maybe there was something applied to the sides because of the acid from the apple juice ( which the previous owner hauled in the tank ). Something like a wax, petroleum based protectant or sealer like Rain X. Something that could have washed down from the top where I didn't hand clean it.

 

[Gino]

I just saw the second picture. That is not anything to do with vinyl failure or application error. The way you could see you on a ladder taking pictures is the same way these places clean their trucks..... with a power washer pointing downward. That is a good example if p!ss-poor maintenance and customer fibbing. If vinyl does not adhere well, it will curl and peel back, not crunch up and looked stretched. I think you need to have some serious wrods with your customer. Somewhere along the way, that vinyl has been persuaded to leave the surface unwillingly. Someone goofed.

Besides..... look at how clean the tractors are, the wheels are sparkling and it all looks that way from possibly one snowfall ?? I don't think so.

I think he had the new guy clean it and didn't show him how it's done..... or perhaps like you said, something was on the surface that alcohol didn't remove, but from the top only ?? Nah.

 

[Johnny Best]

Yes, black has been hard to find. I have waited up to six months for a roll on order. How long ago did you use the A9?

3 or 4 months ago

 

[ple]

Thank you for the replies everyone, I appreciate everyone's input on this situation. A lot of good information from everyone. The customer is a good guy and straight shooter. I will have to ask some more questions about the previous ownership and see if the new owner can ask him about any treatment that may have been put on the tank. Or if someone else may have washed it for him without his knowledge ( driver, employee ).I can see this happening if a chemical, like "brightener" was sprayed and ran down from the top, but there are no streaks like the acid washes at the truck stops would leave on the letters. Thank you again for your time on this problem. I really appreciate your knowledge and experience.

 

[Gino]

Please let us know the outcome, as it will serve others who have had similar situations.

 

[ple]

Hello everyone, I spoke with the customer this morning about the lettering peeling on the tanker trailer. He said the trailer had set in Gary Indiana for four years before he bought it. I wondered if some form of pollution may have contaminated the trailer with something that my cleaners didn't cut through. He said it was parked under a canopy during that time. He said he only rinsed the trailer off a few times after the lettering was applied and then parked it once his delivery season was over. He did wash it when he first got it and just used Dawn Dish Soap. I still cannot figure out how it would peel like that in six months

I will be removing the lettering soon, but hesitant about applying new lettering again. What vinyl material would be best to use on stainless steel tankers?

Thank you for your time on this issue.

P

 

[JBurton]

I'm leaning toward ice sliding down. It's just odd that it does appear peeled and not battered/shrunk/chipped like you'd see when the vinyl slowly fails and gets wind whipped. All the failure points are on an upward facing edge, not necessarily the top of the letters.

 

[ple]

No, it's not used water. We discussed that and the owner said it's drinkable water.

 

[weyandsign]

Any cast vinyl should work great on the tank. I still think someone blasted it with a pressure washer, but you may never find out what really happened.

 

[ple]

3M says it won't warranty this vinyl on stainless steel. Not sure why? I did this customer's last trailer 8 years ago. It's stainless and has held up very good.

 

[Gino]

Ya know, if it's coming off THAT easy in just a short time..... AND it's not being used at the moment, you would have had to have noticed it not sticking all that well when installing it. Besides, it hasn't affected the rear end, either. You're never gonna find out the truth.

Put a paint stencil on it and paint the words on.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

use a sharpie!

 

[ple]

Update on trailer lettering peeling within six months......I have the trailer now so I can remove the vinyl. I have more pictures, but all of the peeling is from the top and into the sides. As I remove the vinyl, I have to use heat because it's coming off hard. ( sticking very well. ) The customer says the trailer used to haul apple juice until it was wrecked. It sat for 4 years under a roof or awning before he bought it. Also, He said the other day that he and his wife washed it with Turtle Wax Car Wash before bringing it to me for lettering. I didn't know they used a Turtle Wax Car Wash. There are many types of Turtle Wax Car Wash and I tried to read online what is in their car wash soap. I found a couple or their washes that listed some type of silicone and others mentioned Wash and Wax. He said it was their CAR WASH, not CAR WASH and WAX. I didn't use a silicon and wax remover because I didn't know they used a Turtle Wax product.

I tried to contact 3M via email to show them the pictures and haven't received a response after two attempts.

I also read somewhere that some tankers have a clear sealant on them to protect them from contaminants. But the vinyl material and masking tape was sticking very well when I applied the lettering, and it was very hard to get the material off that wasn't peeling. Usually, if there is wax silicon, or some type of petroleum product on the surface, the tape will not stick at all and the vinyl doesn't stick as well. This was put on outside in 80+ degree temp. It was sticking very well.

So, I still do not know for sure what caused the peeling in less than six months. We did have rain/sleet/ice/snow within a 3 day period just before Christmas.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Not much you can do other than clean it real good and try it again. Maybe it was 3/4 full of water when you did it and the empty top part developed condensation under it.

 

[Gino]

You first said they had used dishwashing soap. Turtle wax soap is like putting rainX on your windshield. It protects it from all kindsa things like bird guano, dead bug bodies and road dirt. However, it repels most anything and vinyl is one thing it will repel. When we wash vehicles, regardless of what the customer says, we rinse them down with water and then give it an alcohol bath. They're responsible for dirt and grime, but any kinda wax or protective coating needs to be completely removed. This seems to be a 50/50 deal. They didn't tell you correctly what they used and you didn't treat it properly.

 

[weyandsign]

You might want to clean it with mineral spirits and windex before putting the new vinyl on.

 

[Gino]

No to windex. Windex leaves a film behind, also not good for most vinyls. Wipe it down with mineral spirits if you like, but give it a good alcohol bath in the end.