Good Sam Club Open Roads Forum: Tech Issues: Decal removal using steam


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topflite51

In The Desert of Nevada

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Posted: 10/11/09 12:18pm

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Has anyone tried this method? It would seem that it would be less likely to cause damage during removal of the decals.

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Learjet

Louisiana

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Posted: 10/11/09 12:40pm

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3M makes products for this to include an erase wheel.

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jauguston

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Posted: 10/11/09 12:43pm

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The least damaging method is a decal eraser wheel. Ask your local auto body shop how they do it and you will find most all use the eraser wheel in a air tool like a die grinder but not as fast. I borrowed one from a body man friend when I removed the striping on my old class C. I wore out three wheels but it worked slick. I used Goof-Off to remove the remaining adhesive residue. A fast 1/4" electric drill (2500 rpm) will also work although not quite as fast as the air tool made especially for the wheels. The air tool took most of the air my 6 hp compressor would produce. A die grinder is too fast.

There is no easy safe way but the wheel is the easiest, safest and fastest.

Jim

* This post was edited 10/11/09 12:50pm by jauguston *

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fatboylust

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Posted: 10/11/09 12:54pm

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There are decals and there are stickers. Many RVs have vinyl stickers applied over the paint or jell-coat. These are easier to remove with a little heat (steam/hot air. The word is little, as too much could damage the paint or even the jell-coat. If the heat is hot enough to burn your fingers it may be nearly too hot for the base material. Decals may come off with heat but be cautious and consider the 3M remover wheel which can be run in a simple electric hand drill. If there is clear-coat paint over the decal this will complicate the result making a bigger mess than you wish to deal with. Good Luck. FBL

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topflite51

In The Desert of Nevada

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Posted: 10/11/09 01:01pm

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I agree that the eraser wheel is easy and safe for a stripe but I'm talking about total area of around 200 sq feet maybe a little more. Somehow doing it at approximately 3/8 inch width at a time, don't know if I can stand on a ladder that long, that's why I am asking about steam.

GSF

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Posted: 10/11/09 01:01pm

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This site talks about the subject: RVSG. Steam is used with newer graphics primarily. Older graphics/adhesive require an eraser wheel or a 3M Large Area Stripe Removal(LASR)disc. If you have a lot of vinyl and adhesive to remove, the LASR disc is the easiest to use. This photo shows the difference between an eraser wheel and the LASR disc.