Decal Removal Tools

Thirty years ago if you needed graphics , large decals or stickers on your auto, van, truck or boat you would consult with a sign writing company. This was before the advent of the computer, when things were done “the old fashioned way”. A sign writer was a man or woman who in some countries had served an apprenticeship for four or five years and the watchful and instructing eye  of a “journey man” who had served his apprenticeship and had years of experience on the job with all types of signage and graphics and to be a sign writer you definitely had to have artistic flair. His tools of trade were varying sizes of paint brushes from very fine to big, (for painting backgrounds on which the sign writing would be applied).  In his van or truck were many, many cans of paint of all sizes  as one would hardly ever know how much and what color paint would be needed. Special paints were used, not the household type as sign writing was expected to last many years so there was a “Sign Writing Paint” standard manufactured which would have long lasting qualities.  An interesting fact is that red is one of the colors that will fade first. Gold leaf was used for making honour boards and a sign writer excelled in fine scroll work or pin lining originally or horse drawn carts and wagons  and with the advent of the motor vehicle commenced pin lining and scrolling trucks, vans and boats.

A good sign writer was a perfectionist, this was needed to create type faces of regularity, shape, size and colour. The brushes used were made from exotic hair, for instance, sable, squirrel and oxen, artificial and plastic derivative fibres were completely unknown and never used. Quality brushes were expensive and carefully cared for, looked after and cleaned. You could always tell a sign writer as they shared almost a universal uniform. White bib and brace overalls and boots, both splattered with many colors of paint and a work box made of wood that contained many brushes and tins of paint. The box also doubled as a seat to sit on whilst they worked on some jobs. The problem with using paint on autos, vans, trucks, boats, in fact any surface that had been sign written with paint is that it was almost impossible to remove at the time to sell it (autos and vehicles especially)  or the end of its life like on shop and store awnings. Today it is easy to remove due to graphics, decals and sticker being made of vinyl as the Wonder Wheel is designed to make your job easy.

In Part 2 will be the introduction of vinyl and computers.

Ever purchased a second hand van, truck or commercial vehicle that has been covered with vinyl graphics and lettering? Generally people take this kind of vehicle to a sign company and ask for a quote to do a complete removal. Depending on the coverage you can be quoted many hundreds of dollars. You can do this cheap as chips if you do it yourself using a Blaster Wonder Wheel. (That is the way many sign companies do it but they will not tell you their secret cheap way of doing it!)

Generally when an auto dealer sells a commercial vehicle, auto, wagon, van, pickup or truck he will have all the graphics, decals and stickers removed by an auto detailer or sign shop. By doing this he has a ready saleable product. If the decals or stickers remain there is always hesitation by a potential buyer not to buy for two reasons, firstly, he does not want someone else’s name or product to be on his “new” vehicle, secondly, he may not know where or how these graphics, sticker or decals can be removed.

Generally if the vehicle is being sold privately the vendor himself may not even know how to remove them. Here you are at an advantage because you know about the Wonder Wheel and how quickly and effortlessly you can do it and save a lot of money. You can tell him you will have to go to a sign shop or motor detailer and the usual charge, depending on the amount of graphics to be removed can vary between $100 and $300, even more if it is a large covered truck. By doing this you can lower his asking price You can do this by yourself for the price of a Wonder Wheel and save one heck of a lot of money. So you win, thanks to Wonder Wheel!

If you have ever watched the Dakar Rally (i.e the crazy race through the desert from Europe to Africa – though recently held in South America due to security concerns) you will know it’s an advertisers heaven… Why?

It has a tens of millons of people watching it and that means Decals all over the motor bikes, 4WD’s, Trucks and support vehicles. It attracts the big names of motor sport such as:

• Renault 4
• Land Rover
• Range Rover
• Mercedes-Benz G
• Volkswagen
• Iltis
• Pinzgauer
• Toyota Land Cruiser
• Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero

What this means is that alot of Decals need to be removed. For such large spaces, then the Wonder Wheel is perfect as is a very fast way to take of the decal (and without the mess of glue being on the surface when using a tool such as a heat gun)

So if you compete in any motor sports that has a lot of marketing on the vehicles and hence, plenty of stickers, vinyl signs and decals, then hopefully we can make your job easier.

By the way – the Dakar is an extremely dangerous race for the drivers as shown below (except the guy removing decals)

Dakar crash site... a dangerous sport

Preparing for the Dakar rally - applying the advertising decals

Dakar rally - the drivers take many risks

P.S – if you know someone who could use our help in the motor sport industry, please pass this blog onto them

There are many grades of vinyls used for making decals and stickers.  These vinyls are manufactured in many countries around the world. However we have found that many of the cheaper grades of vinyls, made not only in Asia but many other countries  seem a bargain but the adhesive on them is very aggressive  and when removed will often leave a lot of the adhesive  on the surface where the decals or stickers were previously adhered.

If not fully removed, this left on goo will attract dust and dirt just like bees around a honey pot and soon the old vinyl graphic will reappear as a dirty shadow .

This generally occurs on motor vehicles that have been sold and the original owners graphics have been removed but the surface has not been cleaned correctly. Apart from detracting from the appearance of the vehicle it isn’t helping the new owner.

Many folk try gas, paraffin, mineral turpentine, alcohol and other kinds of chemicals they think will remove the goo but these are not the best method and are generally flammable and that is dangerous.

A simple cheap method of removing this offensive and ugly grey or black shadow is cleaning it down with Citrus cleaner or eucalyptus oil. Spray this on and then rub with a rag or soft brush, you may have to let it soak in for 15 to 30 minutes or so and then wash off with water and using the same soft brush or a rag.(Eucalyptus oil is also a fabulous way of removing chewing and bubble gum from surfaces where it has been trodden in, especially carpet).

Do you have decals or stickers on glass windows you cannot remove? This is quite common in kindergartens, schools, scout dens and even shops, check the windows on your van or car (check around your home too, it is amazing the things kids do).

The Blaster Wonder wheel can be your answer as it has been to people in many industries. As you know window glass is a very hard surface  and does not mark or scratch easily. The wonder wheel  will not damage or mark the glass as it is made from a specialised rubber and on glass very little pressure is required.

Almost any home handyman drill will hold the metal shaft of the Wonder wheel and you only need revs between 2000 and 4000 per minute and gentle pressure.

One of the great things about the Wonder wheel and folk sometimes don’t believe us until they use it, but due to the special composition of the Wonderwheel  “rubber” it causes a very pleasant odour the same as caramel candy when being used. (Honestly it really does!). Light pressure is all that is needed on glass surfaces and generally on glass the Wonder wheel will also remove the adhesive

One must take care sometimes especially on marine craft and aircraft which sometimes use plexiglass instead of glass. Plexiglass is a form of clear or coloured plastic and scratches more than glass. Always test on an area out of sight or in where it will not be noticed.

When selling  any kind of auto whether it be a car, motorcycle, van, pickup, truck or motor home, the object is to get that vehicle presentable and pristine.

Many folk do a great job, polishing, cleaning, getting the interior spotless, steam cleaning the engine and getting it back to showroom condition. However the always seems to be an oversight and that decals and stickers have not been removed.

A bumper sticker with something like, “I love football” does take a little away from all the hard work you have done. But worst of all are political statements or statements regarding politicians for example ” Vote for Hank Jones and your  vote will be for the*******Party”. Your potential buyer might not like the “******* Party”.

There are also parking stickers, entry permits and the kids could have been putting their stickers on too. These will all detract from your carefully detailed and prepared auto.

Want to know how to get rid of them? The Wonder Wheel, can be used on bumpers, car body paint and glass windows to get rid of those distracting and ugly decals and stickers. You will be doing yourself a favour when selling your auto.

Do you own a boat or about to purchase a second hand boat that has a registration number and a name you wish to change? Some people put funny names on their boats. Saw one only last week, “Mums Worry!”  I presume at some stage that the decal or sticker boat registration number and perhaps name will need to be removed!

Well the good news is that there is a solution to remove the vinyl boat registration number….

First of all you need to determine whether the registration number or name is a decal (i.e. like sticker) or painted on. If it’s a decal, then you’re in luck – we have the answer for you.

FYI – decals are made from vinyl film and stuck on using an adhesive that is on the back of the vinyl film. As the decals on the boat are often sprayed by salt water plus the effect of the sun, peeling them off by hand is very difficult (and most likely to result in losing your fingernails). Worst is the sun as this actually hardens and bakes the decals on to the surface. We have seen cases where the decal is almost fused onto the surface.

What we recommend in these situations is to use a Wonder Wheel. The Wonder Wheel is made from soft rubber and works by wearing away the boat decal registration number, an amazing feature.

It’s really easy to use – Insert the wonder wheel metal shaft into the chuck of a home handyman power drill and rub the decal moving all the time over the surface, do not keep it stopped in one spot , a backward and forward motion is all that is needed and depending on the size of your decal it will be gone in minutes.

As always check the surface of where the decals have been applied  to ensure no one has previously used a cheap inferior paint or surface covering. To do this select an area out of sight or in an area that will not be noticed and apply the Wonder Wheel with the same pressure as on the instructions and this will show you how durable and good the surface is.

Last week I received a query from a customer who used a propane gas burner to take off Decals…..?

What the heck. Wouldn’t a high temperature gas torch using propane gas just burn your paint job or melt the plastic? Well that’s what I thought.

Once he explained to me the way it worked, it started to make a little sense.

The gas torch would be kept about 1 foot away from the surface to heat the decal and cause the adhesive to loosen. Then he would peel away the Decal with his finger nails.

What is the point of this is – well this guy has to take Decals off 53 foot long truck trailers all day long and wanted to know if there was a quicker way of doing it.

I suggested he could try the Wonder Wheel as his current approach has a few health and safety (no-one wants to come home from work with burnt fingers).

So in a few days, I should be getting the feedback – and hopefully this way he will avoid getting burnt or burning the side of the truck.

He also told me a about the bumper sticker he has on the back of his truck – when the trailer is not attached….. it always gets a few strange looks

Recently I had a phone call and the chap calling said. “I have just purchased a four wheel drive that has been in the outback for twelve years and it has some vinyl lettering on it but no matter what I do I can’t get it off.” He was local so I told him to bring the car around to our store. He arrived shortly and told me the full story.

He wanted a cheap vehicle and this one had been used by a mining company in the Australian Outback. Now the Australian Outback can be a very hot place, lots of desert, very little water and summer temperatures of exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit each day.

The vehicle had vinyl lettering with the name of the company and other details when it was new but after 12 years of life in the desert heat it was literally baked on. He had been to several different sign companies to have it removed but  although they all tried with different methods nothing could be done. It had more or less fused onto the paint  work and was so far gone the vinyl had shrunk and cracked. It was so heavily baked on that even a plastic razor blade  could not lit a corner.

I put a wonder wheel into the chuck of a power drill and was about to start when he asked if the wheel would damage the paint work and I replied that if you kept the wheel moving over the surface, not stopped in one spot the paint work would should not be damaged.

Within a minute the first letter was removed without damage to the paintwork. Our customer was amazed, “I never thought I would get rid of all that lettering!”  Boy! Was he happy! It had been a friend who had told him of our product and he left our store with a smile from ear to ear!

The secret ingredient that is naturally made and user friendly to hands to remove goo and adhesive that is available from most supermarkets is…..

It’s eucalyptus oil.

It’s a natural oil from the Eucalyptus tree and has a pleasant smell and works very well. We recommend this as some adhesive chemicals can affect people’s hands and has cause allergic re-actions.

The great thing about eucalyptus oil is that it can be used on virtually all surfaces without damaging the surface.

If you are after a stronger, man made chemical, the alternative is Citrus Degreaser. It’s works similar to Eucalyptus oil, though you need to check the surface first as Citrus Degreaser can damage surfaces such as plastic. You also need to check it’s use on your hands, as some people have allergic reactions to Citrus Degreasers

If you are removing left over adhesive and putting on a new sticker, remember to thoroughly clean the surface with soapy water. If you leave any Eucalyptus or Citrus degreaser on the surface, the new decal will not stick properly.

FYI – if you use a Wonder Wheel to remove a decal, it will take away alot of the adhesive as strips away the decal and at the sametime, strips away alot of the adhesive

We are really here to help people with making the job of removing stickers, decals or vinyl lettering easy. If you would like further information about Decal removal or order a Wonder Product, visit www.decalstickerremover.com (order form at the bottom of the page)

As a bonus, if you fill out our 3 questions decal survey, we will send you an extra White Wonder blade valued at $19.90 for Free when you order any product within the next 24 hours.  Just drop us an email at peter@pacificwebb.com.au with subject line “Free blade”, after you have placed your order.

Regards,

Peter Nobbs

“Chief “Decal Remover” Officer

P.S – We have included a few customer email feedbacks to get their view

Ron – Western Australia, Australia

“Hi Peter,just letting you know the above arrived on Friday and put it to use straight away,what a blessing to buy something that really works!!!!! Probably only took 5 min to remove the decals (metallic) on my boat,thanks for the product,what else do you have!!!! Cheers and thanks””