You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So the van I’ve just bought has had the vinyl lettering removed but in the paint work you can still see the name of the previous company. I was wondering how to remove it without damaging the silver paint. Would t-cut work?
How big? Ive had good results using rubbing compound and petrol on cheap cars, give a really good polish and protect after as the petrol will take all the surface protection away. Id definitely test an area first if anything posh.
if were talking side of a transit then treat yourself or see if you can borrow a random orbital polisher, youll be there a week otherwise. Might be as easy to have your local detailer correct it.
If its sticky residue, cloth and appropriate solvent that wont pull the paint off.
But its possible the paint has just faded around the vinyl and wont be recoverable.
Maybe t-cut and a good polish will make it less noticeable?
Is it this one?
You must have been horror-fied when you saw it. A bit of a polish and it'll look spook-tacular.
I have nothing constructive to add.
It'll buff out! 😁
Tar and glue remover and plenty of elbow grease .
I'd advise just polishing it off, it will most likely be a bit deeper than just the residue and will be difference in paint tone.
Can be tough going doing it by hand so maybe speak to a local valeter to get it done.
Machine polish worked for my van
Polish/t-cut
Embrace the lettering and start a new business?
Don't be surprised if it comes back though.
Lettering kept reappearing for 8 years on my last van. Doesn't even seem to matter if its a relatively short time its been on there. My friend had a car where you could see the price she'd paid for it on the bonnet for years too - the sticker can only have been on there for a month or so.
I actually wonder whether the vinyl / adhesive does something to change the paint rather than it being anything to do with sunlight as in both those examples the paint had spent far more time exposed to sunlight than covered and if anything the difference became more pronounced over time.
Basically your van has faded, but the lettering hasn't. You can try a clay bar and t-cut. A machine polish might be the only way to go.
This can be fixed by simply covering the entire van in vinyl lettering except where the previous writing was, and leaving it on for as long and in the same climatic conditions as the original lettering. Then peel it all off.
Reminds me of Adrian Mole and his Noddy wallpaper
A friend had this. He got the sides vinyled in black. Now looks like it has windows.
Added bonus that the van was super cheap because of it.
As Milkie says above, the paint under the letttering hasnt faded, the surroundings have.
Polish the thing to an inch of its life and keep doing it regularly to keep the difference hidden.
Polish the thing to an inch of its life and keep doing it regularly to keep the difference hidden.
eventually you'll have lovely blooms of tiny rust-dots where the paint has worn too thin and you can then stop worrying about the lettering - which will still re-appear. 🙂
Get a negative of the writing made to cover the faded bits, leave the letters exposed, apply leave for 2 years and when you take it off all the paint will be equally faded and the lettering will no longer be visible.
As others have said a machine polish will hide it, or just put a vinyl wrap over it.
I used the yellow cutting compound you get in a squeezy tube from Halfords, and hand polished. I bought a polisher but returned it as I once I fired it up I could see it would be extremely easy to go through the paint on the edges (my van had a lot of panel creases/indents) and chose to hand polish.
Or just take it to someone who can do a decent job of machine polishing without leaving the paintwork all swirly!
vinyl wrap
Loving these comments. I had a feeling ‘ghost writing’ might cause a few lolz. I’ll try a bit of t-cut first but failing that I’ll search for a good local paint/detailing specialist.
Next door neighbour has a knackered old corsa combo van with ghost lettering that says Carl Cox. I keep meaning to ask him if it used to belong to the international house and techno DJ.
Silver paint - that means a metallic colour coat made up of tiny aluminium flakes mixed into a base, several coats (or maybe only one), with a clear-coat over the top. That clear-coat, a clear lacquer, is very thin, using anything like T-Cut with any power polisher, means there is a very high risk of wearing it away, then the alloy flakes will oxidise, go dull, and become permeable to water and start flaking off.
Possibly the best option might be to find a car paint shop that can do a localised respray of just the affected panels - not the cheapest solution, but likely the best long-term option.
Or else fork out for a metallic vinyl wrap of the whole van.
Try this:
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/138244-how-to-remove-yellowing-from-an-old-atari-case/
Try sponging the mixture on 🙂
Depending on the time the lettering was in place you marry find it is slightly embossed as well, so will need flating back and polishing.
The letters will be slightly proud of the rest of the surface, as the stickers have protected it from weathering, washing and polishing. Also some adhesives can etch the paint surface which will give the same effect.
Car (and van) paint is only microns thick anyway so even the slightest difference is noticeable and a vinyl wrap may still show the letters through.
Silver paint – that means a metallic colour coat made up of tiny aluminium flakes mixed into a base, several coats (or maybe only one), with a clear-coat over the top. That clear-coat, a clear lacquer, is very thin, using anything like T-Cut with any power polisher, means there is a very high risk of wearing it away, then the alloy flakes will oxidise, go dull, and become permeable to water and start flaking off.
This is why you should never let anyone near your car with a machine polisher unless they have a paint thickness gauge and know how to use it.
<div class="bbcode-quote">
Silver paint – that means a metallic colour coat made up of tiny aluminium flakes mixed into a base, several coats (or maybe only one), with a clear-coat over the top. That clear-coat, a clear lacquer, is very thin, using anything like T-Cut with any power polisher, means there is a very high risk of wearing it away, then the alloy flakes will oxidise, go dull, and become permeable to water and start flaking off.
</div>
This is why you should never let anyone near your car with a machine polisher unless they have a paint thickness gauge and know how to use it.
I think that might be a bit of scare mongering. Have either of you used a PDG or a polisher before?
It takes a fair bit to cut through a clear coat with a rotary if the polisher is being used properly and a sensible grade of polish is used.
Like I said before, speak to a local valeter who will take on these jobs all the time and be able to deal with it quickly and with no dramas. They will also have full insurance to do that type of work just incase anything does go wrong.
Next door neighbour has a knackered old corsa combo van with ghost lettering that says Carl Cox. I keep meaning to ask him if it used to belong to the international house and techno DJ.
Yeah, I'm sure I saw that parked round the back of Turnmills one time when he was doing an all-nighter.
Probably didn't need it any more now vinyl's so rarely used for DJing.