Just looking for any tips on doing this. I’ve been in this industry for 30 yrs. And removed vinyl and reflective a before. When it comes to removing reflective i usually use the MBX tool with the rubber eraser wheel. But I know the aluminum panels will require minimum pressure to not cause any burn marks because aluminum heats up quick. And it’s 3M. The top transparent color separates from the adhesive filled beads. You cannot scrape this because it’ll scratch. But any tips or another way that worked well for you I would be glad to know.
-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
Removing 3M reflective off an aluminum Ford F150
- Thread starter Gary1
- Start date
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
Never tried it but if it's a concern throw water on it as you go. You can do that buffing to keep the paint from getting too hot. I don't think it will be an issue, if the paint doesn't burn off on steel it's not going to on aluminum either.
rjssigns
Active Member
Using heat and fingers to remove reflective is brutal. Stuff tends to come off in layers and/or little slivers.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
and stab you right up under your nail like a splinter
Have one person use 2 heat guns to get the area nice and warm. As they heat you can pull at a consistent pace. other person slowly pulls at a slight angle. This normally works for us and we have did a ton of police and ambulance. Lots of labor but normally the glue comes with it so clean up isn’t too bad.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
Lil chizler. Those things are like gold.
You do not have experience to do this Job.
Pass It up!
I have striped over 20,000 trucks, and reflective is the hardest.
It requires the just right heat and pull speed.
But any reflective adhesive/metallic clean up is the real danger.
You could easilly be paying to have the truck re painted.
Pass it up.
Pass It up!
I have striped over 20,000 trucks, and reflective is the hardest.
It requires the just right heat and pull speed.
But any reflective adhesive/metallic clean up is the real danger.
You could easilly be paying to have the truck re painted.
Pass it up.
I have the experience. I’ve removed reflective from ambulances but the Ford F-150 panels seemed very thin and I knew heat could be an issue. And was only looking for additional knowledge. It worked out fine with the MBX tool. That’s what I use when removing reflective from ambulances. Truck was stripped and name was changed. Came out very good. I stripe about 35 ambulances a year but usually work on metal fenders and the module panels are a thicker aluminum. All is good.
I’ve used the Lil Chizler tool before but with 3M the top color translucent layer comes off then you’re left with the abrasive beads and the adhesive. Caused a lot of scratches. Used little pressure with the MBX TOOL yes you have to be careful and always use a good wheel and never go past the grooves of the wheel. Once the wheel is too worn out causes too much heat and you get hot spots.
That’s fine if it’s not 3M. 3M separates and leaves the adhesive and glass beads. I would use an infrared 3’ light on a stand on wheels with a timer when it’s not 3M. But when it is, I’ll use an eraser wheel. The ones for the MBX tool not the 1/2” thick solid 3M wheels.
Any scraping of the adhesive/beads leaves scratches in the clear coat. Have already done that years ago. If the layers don’t separate, I’ll use a heat gun or heat lamp. If the layers separate (3M), I’ll use the MBX tool.
SightLine
║▌║█║▌│║▌║▌█
I know many are against it, particularly since it gives you cancer in California but Xylol (xylene) works great on adhesives. We have used it for 20+ years. Just have to be aware of a couple of things. It is fine on modern automotive urethane paints but do NOT ever use it on the thin polyester paints on trailers, RV's, etc. Also generally fine on fiberglass gelcoat. Avoid getting it on plastics, especially lenses for any sort of lights. We soak a rag with it, then keep the adhesive we with it for a minute and scrape it off with a plastic blade. If even in doubt about the paint on a surface, always test a tiny spot first to make sure but we have used it on well over a thousand vehicles with modern paint jobs including industrial single stage paint like on city buses without any problems.
I've also used it on bare aluminum but if the aluminum is coated, just test in a small inconspicuous spot just to be sure it will not affect the coating. You can get it at most hardware stores, paint stores, Lowes, etc by the gallon usually for under $20. Also makes an excellent degreaser too. It does have a strong odor and solvent resistant gloves is recommended as it will really dry you hands out and is probably not good for your skin.
On the topic of removing reflectives.... you get what you pay for. The cheaper the reflective, the more easily it bruises on install, harder and more aggressive on install, tears easier, and much harder to remove. We print a lot of reflective since we do so many police, ambulance, and fire service vehicles. For any of the larger agencies that turn vehicles over pretty quick, we almost exclusively use 3M IJ680CR as it almost always removes as clan and easily as a high end wrap vinyl. Yes it costs more up front but when you are also removing 20-50 police cars a year, the savings on the back end more than makes up for it. It took me a couple of years to finally convince some of the larger police departments of this as they remove the graphics themselves on retired vehicles. Once they started seeing it take them 30 minutes to strip a patrol car versus 2 hours (and still leaving all the adhesive and often also scratching the paint jobs all up) and seeing higher used resale prices on the cars since the paint jobs were much better they now require 3M IJ680CR for all of the city fleet vehicles. I just wish it was not so expensive. On newer clients it takes quite a bit of effort to convince them why spending so much more than the cheap options competitors are pushing is worth it.
I've also used it on bare aluminum but if the aluminum is coated, just test in a small inconspicuous spot just to be sure it will not affect the coating. You can get it at most hardware stores, paint stores, Lowes, etc by the gallon usually for under $20. Also makes an excellent degreaser too. It does have a strong odor and solvent resistant gloves is recommended as it will really dry you hands out and is probably not good for your skin.
On the topic of removing reflectives.... you get what you pay for. The cheaper the reflective, the more easily it bruises on install, harder and more aggressive on install, tears easier, and much harder to remove. We print a lot of reflective since we do so many police, ambulance, and fire service vehicles. For any of the larger agencies that turn vehicles over pretty quick, we almost exclusively use 3M IJ680CR as it almost always removes as clan and easily as a high end wrap vinyl. Yes it costs more up front but when you are also removing 20-50 police cars a year, the savings on the back end more than makes up for it. It took me a couple of years to finally convince some of the larger police departments of this as they remove the graphics themselves on retired vehicles. Once they started seeing it take them 30 minutes to strip a patrol car versus 2 hours (and still leaving all the adhesive and often also scratching the paint jobs all up) and seeing higher used resale prices on the cars since the paint jobs were much better they now require 3M IJ680CR for all of the city fleet vehicles. I just wish it was not so expensive. On newer clients it takes quite a bit of effort to convince them why spending so much more than the cheap options competitors are pushing is worth it.
Last edited:
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
xylene is definitely bad for you, wear gloves. Gasoline is also a good grease remover but same deal with that, you can die from longterm exposure to benzene. I got a long lecture and threatened with a fine from MSHA about this same thing so we switched to acetone as a cleaning solvent and just use rapid remover for adhesive now.