How Best Remove tape striping??!!

[Anniedog]

Wow! Getting the old vynil tape off the side of our trailer is proving to be a challenge. Any helpful tips from those who have done it. We have the 7 1/2 wide bluewhiteblue strip, all one piece, that runs from stem to stern and it is a JOB getting it off. At the rate we are going its going to take a couple hundred razor blades. And be CAREFUL using your heat gun!!!

[Rebee]

Try using a hair dryer and warm the tape first. An electric heat gun may work as well but it will get very hot.

[Ganglin]

Have you tried a local body shop supply company. Our auto damge claims folks recommended basically a giant erasure that's used to remove pin stripes.

AES Industries 51823 - Pinstripe Eraser

[Becky B.]

I used an iron with a wet cloth under it. Let it steam in one spot for about 10 seconds & move a bit peel up the spot that you moved from while you wait for the next spot. Works good. I used a heat gun first & it melted the stripe & was too hot for me to control. Have fun!

[AIR-Quarius]

WD-40 might weaken the molecular structure as it saturates it...and you can use it on your sore muscles to boot! - has a pleasant smell too! Good Luck! I would think that paint remover like zip strip would knock the adhesive out of gear...

[starflyte1]

I have a floor steamer with wand attachments that removed stickers on a trailer we had. Just kind of slipped off.

[grtwhthuntr]

As Ganglin posted, if you go to an auto body shop supply, they have an rubber eraser wheel that fits into a drill.
Note: It will not harm the clearcoat on a car however, it may harm the plasti-coat on the AS. With that in mind you may have already damaged the plasti-coat w/ the razor blades. They are on the high side but it depends on how much you value your time versus the wheel.
I used it on my boat and loved it, it takes the adhesive off and everything, it just leaves a rubber residue that wipes off.
Good Luck

[Anniedog]

Okay gang, listen up: the eraser wheel is the way to do the job. I may end up having to buy another one, but it DOES get the stuff off. Remember, I have a 7 1/2 wide tape the whole length of the trailer, so there is a lot there.
I am going to have to lightly sand the area and then wipe it down good with acetone or something like that before we install the new tape. We received the tape from Out Of Doors Mart (I think its called) and it is exactly what we needed.
I will let you know how we conclude the effort. Thanks for all the ideas. I wish to hell I had known about the eraser before I put $80 into a heat gun and about 50 single edge razor blades and three knives!!! Ha!!

[AIR-Quarius]

heatguns are always handy to have in your shop....sooo

[Bowmans]

We were stripping our clearcoat at the same time as I was removing the vinyl stripes. I used Jasco Paint Remover (Lowe's) and we had 4 layers of vinyl stacked on the sides of our 31'. It pretty much melted the 4 layers of vinyl in one swoop and it came off as goop. It also will eat skin so be wary if you decide to go this route.

[kevin242]

My vote is eraser wheel. I used one prepping a car for sanding and it worked great. I have used heat guns too and always find my fingertips get burned trying to grasp and peel.

[Anniedog]

Okay folks, final report:
We wanted to replace broad 6/34" stripe down side of 1988 Excella 1000. Best way to remove old is with 3M stripping wheel ($30) and some potent 3M cleaning fluid. The $80 heatgun was too hard to control. We cleaned thorougly and even sanded with 400grit crocus paper. A final wipe down with acetone.
The tape I received was 7" so we had to carefully cut a bit off each edge of strip so it would fit between run rails. Try to do actual application on
COOL rather than sunblasted metal-hot tin makes vynl want to bubble. Use small plastic wallpaper paddle to CAREFULLY smooth tape as you apply it. The stuff will want to stretch so move slowly. This is a TWO person job.
Cost: 30' of tape was $110. Two 3M wheels at $30 ea.. Heat gun (unused in fact) $80 Stripping cleaner $20 razor blades and holders $15.
Patience. The old stuff is not easily removed, I don't care which method you use. The new stuff must be handled with care. Do NOT try to apply to hot metal. Two people mandatory.
You can do it.

[ArtStream]

Originally Posted by Anniedog

Okay folks, final report:
We wanted to replace broad 6/34" stripe down side of 1988 Excella 1000. Best way to remove old is with 3M stripping wheel ($30) and some potent 3M cleaning fluid. The $80 heatgun was too hard to control. We cleaned thorougly and even sanded with 400grit crocus paper. A final wipe down with acetone.
The tape I received was 7" so we had to carefully cut a bit off each edge of strip so it would fit between run rails. Try to do actual application on
COOL rather than sunblasted metal-hot tin makes vynl want to bubble. Use small plastic wallpaper paddle to CAREFULLY smooth tape as you apply it. The stuff will want to stretch so move slowly. This is a TWO person job.
Cost: 30' of tape was $110. Two 3M wheels at $30 ea.. Heat gun (unused in fact) $80 Stripping cleaner $20 razor blades and holders $15.
Patience. The old stuff is not easily removed, I don't care which method you use. The new stuff must be handled with care. Do NOT try to apply to hot metal. Two people mandatory.
You can do it.

Annie,

How bout fotos!


PS, where did you get the 400 grit Crocus paper this time of year

[scarecrow]

I am thinking about removing my blue stripe. I am wondering if I get it removed well enough to leave it as shiny aluminum. Has anyone done that? How does it look?

[casarodante]

I should send my wife over. She used a pressure washer at a truck wash and took off a few pieces here and there. Without me even asking to do it!

[Bowmans]

Scarecrow,
We removed the vinyl striping to polish our 1979 31' up. The vinyl had 4 layers from over the years where POs replaced it. I got it all off but the aluminum underneath, even after MANY coats of course F7 felt really smooth to the touch but had what looks like tape residue marks which I couldn't get off. I was thinking about not replacing the stripes but since it looks bad without them, I will probably paint them back on. Just my experience... If someone knows how to get rid of the residue or whatever it is, that would be great.

Here is about the best closeup shot I have of the area polished showing the residue. This is the area I spent long hours trying to get removed. It's the area around the International letters at the top of the pict: