If I have learned but one valuable life lesson from this conversion so far, it is that I should never be overly surprised when what initially seemed like a simple task turns out to be the Queen Mother Slog from Hell.
Case in point, today, wherein my modest goals included finishing the removal of everything that won't be painted and isn't easily maskable, taking off the vinyl striping from the body, and then getting started on repairing a few dings. Alas, the stripe removal, what I figured would eat up an hour or two at most, proved to be my Waterloo.
I first laid into that infernal stria shortly after noon, and by the time Mrs. Q returned home from work, quietly informing me that it was getting dark out, and might it not be wise to consider putting down the power tools for the night, I was covered in vinyl and rubber shavings, and sadly, only about halfway finished.
On the upside, the auto paint supply gods have graced mankind with stripe removal eraser wheels, which fit on the end of any power drill and do much of the dirty work, albeit slowly. On the downside, the one pictured above was my second of the day, after having chewed through the first on the rear door alone. Adding to the fun, they sell for $30 a pop, which means I'm now on the hook for $60 just to remove a flipping stripe – a number that could be twice as much by this time tomorrow.
Yesiree folks, vinyl stripe removal and eraser wheels. That's your post for today. Oh, how we've fallen from those golden days or yore, when spectacular vistas, funky towns, and all manner of roadside gems typified this here blog. Hang in there with me – we'll get back to it someday, though I'm no longer so naive to think there won't be several more Queen Mother Slogs from Hell along the way. I guess that's some sort of progress, no?
I hear you. I too am slowly changing the ways of my metal home. Just when I thought every thing was planned something changes its mind.....vans do have their own minds don't they? Seems like it anyway. I am having fun along the way though....just saying.
ReplyDeleteOoh that really looks like hard work. That looks more like a buffing wheel than a vinyl stripper to my old eye.
ReplyDeleteTry this: soften the vinyl and the backing glue with a close-up blast from a good hairdryer, or borrow Q's heat gun, I bet he has one. It should then peel off quite easily at right angles to the body. If you get lucky you can peel with one hand and lead with the heat in the other. Any remaining glue should clean off with lighter fluid or acetone (ask Mrs Q for nail-polish remover).
A good sign-writing company that uses self-adhesive vinyls will also have a syrupy liquid stripper, iirc it contains methyl ethyl ketone, that works within minutes but may be pricey.
When working on ANY vehicle figure an estimated completion time. Double that. Now double that again. You are now approaching reality!
ReplyDeleteAnd please don't lament the lack of beautiful vistas. Some of us are enjoying the preparation almost as much as the journey.
If it's alright with you I'm going to borrow "queen mother slog from hell" as it's the most descriptive phrase I have ever heard for working on cars.
Sounds like the vandwelling equivalent to stripping wallpaper! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteAny chance you could find how people remove the striping from motorhomes?
ReplyDeleteEgads. I've been wanting to remove the decals from my motorhome ever since I bought it! What's stopping me is what you are facing now...I did a youtube search on it too. Nothing looked easy that I found!
ReplyDeleteI had the dealer remove a pinstripe from my shiny car with oven cleaner. It worked perfectly and did not damage the clear coat.
ReplyDeleteI was also gonna suggest the heat gun method that 2 Coops suggested.
ReplyDeleteOR....one can simply learn to really really like stripes and decals and leave them a lone! LMAO..sorry, couldn't help myself.
ReplyDeleteI have no quarrel with stripes. The bed liner, however, does.
DeleteIn any paint job, prepping is always a lot harder and more time consuming than you ever think it could be. That is if you do right.
ReplyDeleteTo all the rabid heat gun fanboys, you underestimate me. That was the first thing I tried, but I'm dealing with 25 year-old, baked-in, and pretty well cracked vinyl. The eraser wheel works far better.
ReplyDeleteRabid fanboys? That seems a bit unnecessary...
DeleteIt only seems so. In some cultures, "rabid heat gun fanboy" is considered high praise.
DeleteSince you are going to put a thick coat of bed liner on it, how about just a good paint stripper? If you damage the paint, no big deal. Just feather in the old paint and apply the bed liner.
ReplyDeleteIf you were going to try to preserve the underlying paint then the tedious process of removal would be warranted. Otherwise, nuke it with paint remover.
Lots of work for no gain in my opinion.
Anyway, Good Luck!!
It's all about creating an optimal substrate for the bed liner, which does not adhere well to bare metal. Lightly sanded OEM paint seems to be the best surface to work with, so I'd like to preserve as much of it as possible until I'm ready to rough it up. So yes, lots of work, but not without gain.
DeleteYour vinyl stripes will come off very easily with a hair dryer...
ReplyDeleteThere is no easy way around the prep, never is. I saw a bay window bus at BBTB this year that had been done in bed liner, it looked ok, but.... I guess we'll see!
ReplyDeleteI just noticed your "Accident-free Days" number towards the top of the page. Is this a haven't slipped on a banana peel number or how long since the page crashed?