So I'm doing the entry door of a retail location. She wants me to remove some 10 year old lettering that is on the outside of the door and replace it (plus more new lettering) on the inside of the door. No problem, I say! I cut the job. I go out there and install it. Then I start to scape... Well, I try to scrape. I'm using "Vinyl Off" remover and a plastic razor blade scraper to absolutely no avail.
Anyone have any suggestions on removing 10 year old, completely baked on vinyl from a glass door? I already put the new letters on the inside and done a minor amount of damage to the old lettering so I've got to get the old stuff off!
Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
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Jenn ~ Phire Branded Apparel and Graphics
DId you try a heat gun? I heat the vinyl up and use a razor blade to lift it at the same time I am applying heat. My experience with the liquid vinyl removers has been poor. Use the heat gun and then an adhesive remover for the left over adhesive.
Using a real razor blade will make a world of difference. When I was a mechanic, the guys that did state inspections had scrapers with a long handle that held a metal razor blade. A heat gun might help also, but use it on a warm day. I'd be nervous right now that applying heat to the corner or a chip in a glass window might bring the whole thing down. Just a thought. Maybe completely off, but a thought none the less.
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Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
So I'm doing the entry door of a retail location. She wants me to remove some 10 year old lettering that is on the outside of the door and replace it (plus more new lettering) on the inside of the door. No problem, I say! I cut the job. I go out there and install it. Then I start to scape... Well, I try to scrape. I'm using "Vinyl Off" remover and a plastic razor blade scraper to absolutely no avail.
Anyone have any suggestions on removing 10 year old, completely baked on vinyl from a glass door? I already put the new letters on the inside and done a minor amount of damage to the old lettering so I've got to get the old stuff off!
Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
I think that to be safe, 'specially in the Winter, you'd be better off with a hair dryer warming the cold and hard vinyl up.
You can then use a NEW razor blade at the 'correct' angle, that is very important, 'cause you sure don't want to have to also buy them a new glass, it can scratch if you aren't doing it right.
I clean my glass-top stove with a razor blade, and I have cleaned glass for over 35 years with one, but in the beginning, I did scratch a glass or two.
A heat gun could possibly break the glass, but all depending on how you used it, if you were quick and careful, it would work fine, but then again, one mistake...
The "correct" angle is a little less than 30-40 degrees.
Here's a chart in case...
Once you get the old vinyl off with a razor blade, use some bestine (rubber cement thinner) to remove the adhesive. Put a little on, wait 10-15 seconds and it'll rub right off.
yes be VERY careful applying heat to a glass surface in the winter! it could be a really, really expensive lesson learned
do use a razor blade scraper (a real one, not the plastic things) and most of the gunk should scrape off - i use denatured alcohol to remove the remaining adhesive. no, not the stuff at the drugstore! go to the hardware store to buy denatured alcohol i soak a cleaning rag in it and hold it up against the glass for a few moments for the really stubborn sticky spots.
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it's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!
Thanks for all the tips! You folks are awesome! Keep 'em coming if you think of anything else. I'm going to take another crack at it tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have better luck...
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Jenn ~ Phire Branded Apparel and Graphics
Good ole "Goof Off" has never failed but if it did, Id try MEK. Look in your local hardware store in the chemical section. (if its still legal in your state)
So if you don't use a heat gun - how do you get the surface warm enough to apply the vinyl? According to the vinyl distributors I work with the surface needs to be at least 50 degrees for the adhesive to adhere properly.
I'd be interested in how others in areas where it temps fall below freezing are able to do business in the winter when the area your applying vinyl without the use of a heat gun?
i had this problem yesterday, an ugly surpise from the customer, but it was a car, not a window.
it was very cold, 32 degreees, i used a domestic hair drier, paint diluter and a rugged cloth, then wiped it off with a kitchen paper towell..
there was a HUGE difference with the drier, a few short secconds is just enough to soften the adhesive residues.
i think it will be perfectly ok to work on the glass this way.
my advice is to test the diluter on some small hidden area of the painted item, before getting started.
Help! How to remove REALLY old vinyl?? 
i soak a cleaning rag in it and hold it up against the glass for a few moments for the really stubborn sticky spots.
