Removing old repro artwork

[big10p]

My Pac-Man cab has tatty old repro vinyl artwork that I'm thinking of trying to remove. It looks wrong anyway (shiny and the wrong yellow). I'd rather have the super tatty original artwork, which I can see is still there, as the vinyl is misaligned.

Anyway, any tips on removing the vinyl without destroying what's left of the original stencil artwork? Is it just a case of going at it with a hairdryer and plastic razorblade scraper?

 

[Bods]

Don't you just hate these poor restorations people do, why can't they leave things alone if they can't do a job properly

I'm not sure how well it would go on a Stenciled cab, if it leaves it tacky still that could be difficult to remove

 

[big10p]

Don't you just hate these poor restorations people do, why can't they leave things alone if they can't do a job properly

I'm not sure how well it would go on a Stenciled cab, if it leaves it tacky still that could be difficult to remove

Yeah, I don't like repro vinyl on a stenciled cab. Too shiny and the wrong yellow is really annoying. 😆

Think I might try removing the front vinyl first, and see how that goes.

 

[big10p]

So far, so good. 🙂 The vinyl is just peeling off slowly when heated with a hairdryer. It's leaving the surface sticky, but I'm pretty sure I can find something to wipe that off.

 

[Bods]

took me hours cleaning off the glue residue when I reconverted Thunderblade back to After Burner, that was on top of original so I had a shiny surface to clean it off

Hope the artwork is decent enough underneath, My Pac-Man sides aren't great but I like original

 

[big10p]

took me hours cleaning off the glue residue when I reconverted Thunderblade back to After Burner, that was on top of original so I had a shiny surface to clean it off

Hope the artwork is decent enough underneath, My Pac-Man sides aren't great but I like original

What did you use to remove the glue? I'm going to try a few things on the bits that are hidden by the coin door.

The front artwork looks in good shape, so far. The side art is no doubt not going to be as good, especially the left side where players tend to lean on the side. Not too bothered about that. I just want the original artwork back. You can see how far off the vinyl colours are in the pic above. Yuck!

 

[Ace`]

Goo Gone is great for removing glue residue, it's a bit pricey but the last bottle I had lasted 20 years.

 

[big10p]

Goo Gone is great for removing glue residue, it's a bit pricey but the last bottle I had lasted 20 years.

Good to hear. I ordered some Goo Gone spray gel to try, earlier today. 🙂

 

[Bods]

I had a load of these we got cheap from Discount shop years back, wasn't too bad but we used some stuff in a spray can at work, had a orange smell to it which worked great on labels and glue, Goo Gone will be good

one bottle of this was brand new sealed in the packet and when I opened it the bottle was completely empty, never had any in it, wish I'd noticed before opening pack

 

[big10p]

I had a load of these we got cheap from Discount shop years back, wasn't too bad but we used some stuff in a spray can at work, had a orange smell to it which worked great on labels and glue, Goo Gone will be good

one bottle of this was brand new sealed in the packet and when I opened it the bottle was completely empty, never had any in it, wish I'd noticed before opening pack

View attachment 43862

Probably did have orange in it. You can get cleaners based on citric acid. Supposed to be good, but I've never tried it.

 

[_Matt_]

There is usually a way to get vinyl off without leaving glue but you need to experiment. Sometimes you may need to get it really hot, sometimes no heat at all and sometimes somewhere in between. The angle you pull it off at can also make a massive difference. I've been Working with vinyl for 30 years and I can't stand having to get glue off but it's much worse when you don't want to damage what's underneath.
Every vinyl is different, every surface is different and even how it's applied makes a difference, water, no water etc. In the case of printed and laminated vinyl often the vinyl gets laminated immediately after it comes off the printer which means the gasses from the uncurred ink have no way to escape which damages the glue so when you try to strip it in the future the glue nearly always separates from the vinyl.

It's hard to explain but the method that works best (I finally figured this out after around 20 years) is to heat it up so it's fairly hot then start a bit off big enough to grab then instead of pulling at it the way you would instinctively do it keep the loose bit of vinyl fairly flat to the surface as if it was almost sticking back on (around a ½ inch away) then pull it towards you as if you was trying to really stretch it. Hard to explain but it's the exact opposite to how you would usually try and peel vinyl off. This works maybe 80% of the time. Good luck.

 

[big10p]

There is usually a way to get vinyl off without leaving glue but you need to experiment. Sometimes you may need to get it really hot, sometimes no heat at all and sometimes somewhere in between. The angle you pull it off at can also make a massive difference. I've been Working with vinyl for 30 years and I can't stand having to get glue off but it's much worse when you don't want to damage what's underneath.
Every vinyl is different, every surface is different and even how it's applied makes a difference, water, no water etc. In the case of printed and laminated vinyl often the vinyl gets laminated immediately after it comes off the printer which means the gasses from the uncurred ink have no way to escape which damages the glue so when you try to strip it in the future the glue nearly always separates from the vinyl.

It's hard to explain but the method that works best (I finally figured this out after around 20 years) is to heat it up so it's fairly hot then start a bit off big enough to grab then instead of pulling at it the way you would instinctively do it keep the loose bit of vinyl fairly flat to the surface as if it was almost sticking back on (around a ½ inch away) then pull it towards you as if you was trying to really stretch it. Hard to explain but it's the exact opposite to how you would usually try and peel vinyl off. This works maybe 80% of the time. Good luck.

I think I understand your method. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

I think if I really can't find a way of getting the glue off without damaging the artwork, I might try a clear, matt lacquer to seal it. This could all end up a complete mess, so it's a bit nerve wracking. Lol

 

[big10p]

I finished removing all the front artwork last night. So far, so good! Just some ugly black overspray in the top corners.


I tried using IPA to remove the glue on one of the black overspray areas, and it worked very well. It even removed the horrible black overspray without taking off any the original yellow. Well happy with that! 😊