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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Removing vinyl decals from fiberglas MH body
I have a motorhome with a large vinyl (I think) decal on the side. Over the years the UV has made it brittle and little by little it is flaking off around the edges. The motor home body is fiberglas.
Can anyone advise me as to what to use to remove this decal without damaging the fiberglas.. what kind of chemicals, etc.
Rik Perezhobbyist - Langley, British Columbia, Canada
2004
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Hi Rick, Try using a 'low' solvent, ... PVC solvent is THF and that is too powerful. Try using first of all some alchohol ... then use the wife's (or wives'?) nail varnish remover and then go to acetone ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] Warning! highly Flammable! (which is often used anyhow for nail varnish remover) As soon as the PVC starts to soften, scrape it off with a coarse cloth. That should do it. And if that works, you can drink the rest of the alchohol.  Freeman Newton [deceased] (It is our sad duty to advise that Freeman passed away April 21, 2012. R.I.P. old friend). 2004 Windex or Ammonia, it should dissolve the old glue on the back of the decal, go slow and keep at it, it will come off. Keep in mind if the fiberglass is old enough to have had a vinyl decal flake off it will be discolored underneath. Marc Banks- Elizabeth City, North Carolina 2004 |
I have a very close friend who had a problem like yours. After trying several things, he asked someone in a Body Shop. He was told to use a heat gun ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and plastic scraper. He did, it worked. Move the gun often, don't get it too hot, just enough to soften the decal.
Ed De Costa- Hayward, CA, U.S.A.
2005
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