• 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 vinyl from backlit (with a steamer)

sfr table hockey

New Member
Just a note to say if you have never tried a steamer to remove vinyl off of backlit (lexan or acrylic) I would say you will be amazed.

I have a 36” by 20 foot of lexan to remove lettering. I started with a spray (vinyl remover 4 oz for $8) and it did not help a bit. The vinyl was so brittle that it flaked into small chunks no matter how slow you pulled or how you pulled. It took about 10 min to remove one letter and then there was still residue.

I borrowed a steamer from a clothing store to try and it took a whole 5 seconds to say wow……..

The vinyl peeled off in one piece and with it 95% of the residue. It took about 5 seconds to hold over an edge before I lifted a corner with a blade and it peeled like nothing and from there staying slightly ahead with the steamer, you just peeled the rest easily. Caution as the steam is very hot and its easy so be careless but I did it without gloves and no problems.

The rest of the 36” by 10 foot section was done in less than 15 min. (10 might be more accurate) and almost no residue to remove. The vinyl goes back to its brittle state about 2 seconds after it hits the floor but the steamer does an incredible job.

I can’t see why this would not be safe on vehicles but others may know better but there is no need to use any kind of blade once you get an edge started. Also not sure if reflective vinyl would be as easy but that would be a good test.

By far this could be one of the best investments for removing vinyl.

The only issue I had was that the steamer head had to be raised a foot or so higher than the level of the tank so the condensation in the hose did not block the steam. Doing it on a table should be fine but I did mine with the lexan leaned against a wall and just flipped the sheet to do the lower section.
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
I am swamped right now to get a picture taken and put on here but if you do a quick google image search on "steamer" and if it has food in it... it is not the right one. It looks like a small vac with the hose hanging in the air.

It's the same thing you steam drapes or clothes with. Might be between $50 to $100 for the better ones.

Just finished the 2nd 36" x 10 foot side in 23 min. It had a 3'x4' detailed ouline of a house and trees and the outlines were 1/4" or thinner. Took a bit longer due to that but every connected line came off together.

A bit more residue is noticable on the outer edge of the image as if the vinyl shrunk a bit and dirt stuck to that residue edge but under the vinyl no residue.
 

BobM

New Member
I bought a $50 wallpaper steamer from Home Depot that works great. Takes a few minutes to get the steam up but once up to temp it keeps up with the removal just fine.
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
I could not believe how the steam could make the brittle vinyl stretch again and let you pull it off clean in one piece in a matter of seconds. I know others have suggested a steamer of sorts but I never got the feeling that it was that much better. I thought that using a heat gun or hair dryer would be similar, but its not even close.

I’m picking up one from a Home Hardware today so I don’t need to borrow one. Think its under $80. This will save you an hour or two on your first usage and more than pay for it self, as well you can save a pile of lexan that might be thrown out due to the time it would take clearing off the lettering compared to buying new.

Then do your drapes at home and score some points. (do people still have drapes)
 

Moze

Active Member
New to the site, so reading through some older threads....

Curious how this would work in cold weather (ie: removing old, brittle vinyl from an exterior sign face in cold weather)? Think a heat gun or steamer would work better?
 

JKADesigns

New Member
Just go get a Wagner steamer and try it out. They are less than $50. I had one for a long time sold it because I never used it now I wish I still have it. If it'll boil water (212 degrees) at 70 degrees in 5 minutes it'll work just fine below freezing, might take 10 mins to come to temp.
 
Top