Premask left on vinyl too long - tips/tricks for removal

[MarkH42]

We were applying cut vinyl graphics to semi-trailers and one of our employees left the premask on the vinyl on several trucks on Friday, thinking he was coming back Saturday. These were 18" stripes that ran the length of the trailer. Long story short, he didn't tell anyone this and, after some weather issues, our crew showed back up on Tuesday and the premask is welded to the vinyl like nothing I have ever seen. There are parts of three trailers effected. It was extremely hot over the weekend (mid 90's) and rained quite a bit also. The vinyl is Oracal 751 and the premask is a Briteline cheapo paper/masking tape material (yes, I know I should have splurged for better premask).

We initially started with plastic razor blades and one employee working 8 hours removed half of one side of one trailer, leaving behind quite a bit of adhesive residue. We tried soapy water with no success, then today we bought Rapid Remove. If you dab that onto the premask, let it sit for a minute or so, reapply, repeat this 2 or 3 times, the plastic razor blade works better, but it is still amazingly tedious. Adding to the trouble is the fact that these stripes are at the top of the trailer and there are digital prints underneath them, so you have to be careful that any chemicals you use don't run down onto the other prints. We have considered removing the vinyl and starting over with that 18" strip, but removing 751 takes almost as long as removing the premask.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to remove the premask? When you peel it, it comes off in very small pieces, one layer at a time. This is costing us a fortune and I'm desperate to find a way to resolve this. Any ideas?? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[oldgoatroper]

maybe try soaking a bit of the premask with Windex.. or glass cleaner. ... I sometimes spray it on the premask as it definitley does help the premask come off easier but you have a very small window time-wise for doing this cuz if you wait too long, your premask will come off in tiny pieces.

So, this is just a suggestion -- if this works, limit yourself to small sections at a time.

 

[GaSouthpaw]

maybe try soaking a bit of the premask with Windex.. or glass cleaner. ... I sometimes spray it on the premask as it definitley does help the premask come off easier but you have a very small window time-wise for doing this cuz if you wait too long, your premask will come off in tiny pieces.

So, this is just a suggestion -- if this works, limit yourself to small sections at a time.

Second this method, but I'd suggest using the Rapid Tac in this way. Spray it on, let it sit about as long as it take to squeegee about 8' of it (my experience) and remove. You might not even need the scraper. Bonus: I've never seen it mess up a laminated print (not saying it won't, but I've never seen it).

 

[2B]

that is a major pain.

agree rapid tac is easier to use as a removal
we have never had an issue with the paper mask, have had issues with the clear being left on too long especially if it gets hot, but nothing to the amount you have.

at this point would it be faster to strip the vinyl off and reapply?

 

[CanuckSigns]

Wallpaper streamer?

 

[GaSouthpaw]

that is a major pain.

agree rapid tac is easier to use as a removal
we have never had an issue with the paper mask, have had issues with the clear being left on too long especially if it gets hot, but nothing to the amount you have.

at this point would it be faster to strip the vinyl off and reapply?

You know, on second thought- that might be the best move!

 

[equippaint]

Id soak it with windex. Weve had cheaper tape in the hot sun (not left for any long period) leave the adhesive behind after we soaked it. It takes so much time, well exceeding the material cost. As painful as it sounds, dollar wise you'd probably be ahead just redoing it. Labor is the most expensive part. Don't mean to rub salt in the wound but in the future don't let people go home until the job is complete. My guys try this sometimes, when they get their way, its always a disaster the next day. You may have had the same issue the following day if he came in and it should have been removed that night. Time management is the employees responsibility as much as it is the owners.

 

[myront]

Give it a light alcohol spray much the same way as using rapid tac as suggested above . Give it about 10-15 seconds then try and pull off.

 

[Marlene]

to add to the srpay it with windex, just do it in small sections, not too far ahead as it can make it really gummy

 

[Chasez]

Maybe try a 70/30 mix %99 iso/water mix. The water will soak into the paper mask and the iso should help to dissolve the adhesive.

Good Luck!

Chaz

 

[MikePro]

rapidRemover has been my go-to for years for this kind of situation. we used to throw away large chunks of acrylic sheets that the paper masking had basically welded itself to the acrylic, and was impossible to peel it off with the above suggestions. Years later, I randomly decided to try wetting the paper with RapidRemover, and the paper peeled-off along with the adhesive as if it were brand-new.

 

[MarkH42]

I appreciate all of the input. We have tried all of the above with no real breakthroughs yet. The current plan is to use the Rapid Remove - apply, let it soak in for 30 seconds or so, reapply - repeat this 5 of 6 times, then begin scraping with a plastic razor blade in a scraper tool. I have a 3 man crew going this weekend to try to remove 160 linear feet of this 18" wide premask and they have to average roughly 3 linear feet (4.5 square feet) per man-hour to get this done. This is not a mistake that we will make again. By the way, removing this vinyl from the trailer, with the graphics underneath not getting disturbed, has proven to be almost as slow and that is the only reason we are pressing on with the plan to remove the premask only. I'll be glad when this project is in my rearview mirror. Thanks again for the help!

 

[MikePro]

try simply peeling the masking off after rapidremover has 30sec'ish to soak. you might catch a break

 

[MarkH42]

I tried that myself. I spent an hour with Rapid Remove and tried varying levels of time and application, re-application, etc. 5 applications in the same place with 30 seconds of soaking between applications takes the process from slower than you can imagine to just really slow. If my team can average 4-1/2 square feet per man-hour, that would be great. I realize that may be hard to believe but I have never seen anything like this.

 

[Andy D]

One thing that I do to help me remove stubborn pre-mask and protective films is to work up a edge, and then
using a cardboard core, roll the mask/film off. This gives me more leverage and helps prevent it from tearing.

 

[Andy D]

& yes, Briteline transfer tape is bad about turning into a gooey mess if you try and remove it wet.
It's better to remove it dry if you can.