How do you remove old decals? That’s a great question, and there are several factors involved. While a lot of emphasis is placed on getting a car wrap, vehicle graphics, or decals for your vehicle, we have a lot of customers who need to have their old branding removed before anything new can be done. Here are some answers to how do you remove old decals?

How Do You Remove Old Decals?

How Long Has the Decal Been On the Vehicle?

If the decals have been on the vehicle longer then recommended, it can be difficult remove, time consuming, and damaging to the finish. A vinyl with a seven year compliance, which has been on the vehicle for more than ten years, will be challenging to remove and may pull off parts of the finish.

When adhesive vinyl has been on longer than manufacturer recommendations, special care will be needed during de-identification to damage the surface of the vehicle, which can lead to further expense and time spent in repair.

What Type of Vinyl Material Was Used?

Quality adhesive vinyl is removable, provided it’s designed for vehicle application, and it’s within the recommended time limits. Cheaper materials may use adhesives never intended for removal, which can make removal tedious and time consuming. The material should be tested by first removing a small area on an unseen part of the vehicle.

If there are doubts about their condition, a snap test is recommended. According to 3M, “This test can be used to help determine if a substrate appears to have sufficient integrity to remain intact during eventual graphic removal.”

What Condition Are the Decals?

Are the decals scratched, cut, or damaged? If so, they may come off in parts or strips, rather than a whole. Once again, this can be time consuming. We recently de-identified (removed the old decals) from a 53’ semi-trailer, which had tree branch scratches along the top of the trailer. It doubled the removal time as the decals came off in pieces. Thoroughly inspecting the vehicle for damage can help establish the time required to complete the task.

How Much Adhesive Remains After the Decal is Removed?

Lesser quality adhesives may not be designed for easy removal, and can take a lot of elbow grease to remove. Many solvents aren’t very useful for adhesive removal. We recommend a solvent designed to remove decals from a vehicle without damaging the body. For example, Graphic Removal with 3MTM Graphic.

If adhesives remain adhered to the surface after the decal has been removed, use a citrus-based cleaner to remove the adhesive. TKO Graphix offers DAR 2000 for purchase, a citrus-based cleaner, used by our own installers. Call 877-TKO-2324 for sizes and prices.

So, How Do You Remove Old Decals?

How do you remove old decals? Sometimes the answer is all of the above. If you’re having problems removing old decals, we’d be happy to offer our advice.

TKO Graphix is a national fleet and vehicle graphics company helping customers since 1985. We provide full-service graphics solutions such as design, digital printing, screen printing, installation and removal of fleet graphics, vehicle graphics, and commercial graphics.

If you’re Looking for an effective and affordable way to create brand awareness, build credibility, and get your marketing message seen by thousands of potential customers every day? Vehicle graphics and wraps are your answer to getting your business name out there at an affordable price.

TKO Graphix is a national fleet and vehicle graphics company helping customers since 1985. We provide full-service graphics solutions such as design, digital printing, screen printing, installation and removal of fleet graphics, vehicle graphics, and commercial graphics.

If there are doubts about their condition, a snap test is recommended. According to 3M, “This test can be used to help determine if a substrate appears to have sufficient integrity to remain intact during eventual graphic removal.

Give us a call today at 888-544-8051 or Request a Quote.