vinyl zapper- orange-ish marks

[petepaz]

i was using the zapper to remove some printed vinyl today. customer bought a company out and i have to re-letter the trucks. the vinyl i was removing was printed and no lam so it was just breaking apart so i broke out the zapper. worked as good as it usually does but it left a orange/yellowish mark around the edges where i removed the vinyl. not sure if i was pushing too hard or if that means it's time to change the wheel or because of the ink in the vinyl but never had this before. finally got it off with a buffer wheel and some compound. anyone ever have this happen?

 

[gabagoo]

I had the same thing happen on a ford f150 last year. More of a slight yellow haze for me, and if memory serves it was hard to get off and I don't think we could get it all off.
Mine was from removing the f150 plate on the sides and then needing to zap the heavy black rubber adhesive residue.
It only happened once although we did 4 or 5 of the f150's on that job.

 

[petepaz]

i will have to contact the company and see if they have a solution. never noticed it before but some of the trucks are in such bad shape it won't matter. and i didn't get all of it either. if i wanted to spend all day compounding the doors probably could have gotten it all.
thanks

 

[klingsdesigns]

that happens to me a lot. I usually just use a prep sol to remove it. I am not sure if it is getting too hot or pushing to hard or what. I really notice it bad on white vehicles.

 

[letterman7]

Yep. Happens on most vehicles if you spend too much time in one spot. You're basically "melting" or burning the top coat of paint, whether it's the clear coat or not. Light touch and keep the wheel moving. Don't put the wheel up on edge either - always try to keep it flat.

 

[BobM]

Yep. Happens on most vehicles if you spend too much time in one spot. You're basically "melting" or burning the top coat of paint, whether it's the clear coat or not. Light touch and keep the wheel moving. Don't put the wheel up on edge either - always try to keep it flat.

+1. Had the same problem on a 14' body with lots of lettering. Washed everything off with Rapid Remover and then buffed the overheated vinyl/rubber wheel material off. It's easy to apply to much pressure on the zapper when doing large areas.

 

[SellersSign&Design]

I have noticed that certain brands of wheels do it worse than others. Oddly enough the more expensive wheels that have a vanilla scent seem to do the best for me.

 

[strypguy]

I do a lot of striping for car dealers and have seen this quite a few times. I usually test a small spot to see if it is going to happen before I go all out. Older paint doesn't seem to be so bad but newer stuff is hit and miss. Reds seem to be the worst for me. Remember to let the wheel do the work and don't use too much pressure. I've had the best luck with astro brand wheels as they are not as hard as the 3M wheels. Luckily, most of the vehicles I strip get a new stripe and it covers it up.

Once it happens hopefully you have a new decal to replace it because the damage is done. John

 

[max]

Yes has happened to me several times. Try removing it with some compound on a orbital buffer. Usually works for me. Good luck

 

[petepaz]

had to do more of the same trucks. cleaned the area first. put a new wheel on and made sure not to spend too much time in one spot or apply too much pressure. no marks at all this time
thanks for the tips