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SeaJay's
07-11-2011, 07:42 AM
The company that did my window decal got a call from a local plumbing company looking to get his company van decals removed so he can donate the van. The decal guy didn't have time to get it done any time soon but gave him my info to see if I'd be interested.

I've done sticker, badge, & dealership decal removal on cars but nothing this big. I let the guy know that, but told him I didn't think I'd run into any issues and be willing to tackle the job. Luckily he was going on vacation and he let me have the van for the week to work on. It took me longer than I anticipated due to some of the decals and glue were a real pain to get off.

His main concern: Get the decals off and give it a quick buff just to get rid of any outlines of the lettering. He said it didn't need to be perfect. So, that being his only area he was concerned about I focused only on those panels. I did not wash the whole van as he said not to worry about it.

Products Used:
Tarminator
3M Adhesive remover - I ran out of Tarminator and had to find something locally. This stuff works pretty well though. Still prefer Tarminator.
Dawn
ONR
Griots Garage Step 3 Polish
Iron-X - Didn't need to do this and was probably a waste of product, but this van as you will see from the pics was covered in industrial fall out, brake dust, etc. and wanted to see the reaction it would get.

Equipment Used:
Gaia Steamer - Started with this and realized it just wasn't cutting it
Porter Cable Heat Gun - had to run out and buy this...made the job much easier
Plastic Razor Blades
Lots of all purpose MF's - wasn't using the good ones on adhesive removal
Flex PE14 Rotary
White Kompressor pad
1 5 Gallon bucket
Cobra Chenille Wash mitt - can no longer put my hand in it due to the pocket mesh is falling apart.

Weather: It was pretty hot all week 94-98 with about 60% humidity. That's hot for hear. Not that I am complaining. Bring on the heat and humidity over the cold and snow any day!

On to the pics

Before

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7249.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7248.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7247.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7246.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7245.jpg

Decals removed - Van was pretty dirty so the outlines stood out pretty bad. After washing it wasn't too noticeable but hit it with the rotary anyway.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7251.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7250.jpg

Iron-X doing it's thing..

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7252.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7254.jpg

And the afters

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7261.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7262.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7263.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7264.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7265.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7266.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7268.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/JPerrydore/Decal%20Removal/IMG_7270.jpg

Working on it a couple hours here and there over the week it was about 7 hours total to get get all the decals off, remove all the adhesive, and give it a wash & quick polish.

Now I know the process and think that I could have done it much quicker, but was taking my time.

Thanks for reading!
vet
07-11-2011, 07:50 AM
Looks good! Bet the guy was "WOW"!
SeaJay's
07-11-2011, 07:54 AM
He was pretty impressed considering I had never done something like that before. He said he's going to be bringing me his box truck to have a full decal removal and detail done on it so he can sell it.
James K
07-11-2011, 08:02 AM
That's great! More business is always a good thing. I hate deal removal. I did some, but they were not that big. PITA!
SeaJay's
07-11-2011, 08:04 AM
That's great! More business is always a good thing. I hate deal removal. I did some, but they were not that big. PITA!

Most of them were pretty easy to get off. It was the metallic ones at the top that were a real pain. I think getting all the adhesive off was even more of a pain than the actual decals.
Flash Gordon
07-11-2011, 08:06 AM
Looks like that decal has paid off. Nice job Jason
SeaJay's
07-11-2011, 08:14 AM
Looks like that decal has paid off. Nice job Jason

The decal has paid for itself already yes.

Last week I was pretty slow due to the holiday and everyone being on vacation. This week I only have 2 details booked, so hopefully I can get some more.

I'm in the process of putting together packages for different fleet companies in hopes of getting some more regular business.
DaHen
07-11-2011, 08:20 AM
Came out great.

It helped that you had allot of time to work on it and didn't have to rush.
Jimmie
07-11-2011, 09:13 AM
Holy cow! My hat is off to you. There were a bunch of them. Good job. Looks great.
dad07
07-11-2011, 10:00 AM
looks great Jason! wasn't as hard as you thought.....that heat gun purchase was well worth it!

Good Job!
Flash Gordon
07-11-2011, 10:10 AM
Last week I was pretty slow due to the holiday and everyone being on vacation. This week I only have 2 details booked, so hopefully I can get some more.

I'm in the process of putting together packages for different fleet companies in hopes of getting some more regular business.

July is a notoriously slow month for most with so many ppl on vacation. Good luck on landing some commercial accounts

I tried sending you some work thru TID. Has anyone "New" called?
SeaJay's
07-11-2011, 10:14 AM
July is a notoriously slow month for most with so many ppl on vacation. Good luck on landing some commercial accounts

I tried sending you some work thru TID. Has anyone "New" called?


TID? I'm lost...I have "new" people calling me every day. Some just wanting pricing etc. I probably get at least 2 or 3 calls a day with people looking for pricing. Typically they say they will call back and never do. Shopping around for the cheapest price I'm sure. Oh well!
gumbedamit
07-11-2011, 02:06 PM
Great Job, I have a job coming up with 4 trucks that need to be De-Decaled...I don't know how to price them, you have any ideas? thanx
Van just like the ones you have here, about the same about of lettering
SeaJay's
07-11-2011, 02:38 PM
Great Job, I have a job coming up with 4 trucks that need to be De-Decaled...I don't know how to price them, you have any ideas? thanx
Van just like the ones you have here, about the same about of lettering

Well I gave a rough estimate of what I figured it would take me (not having any idea I estimated about 5-6 hours at $35 an hour. Came out to roughly $200. So I just said $200. However the job took me longer than that by an hour or two but not too bad. Plus I had to buy a heat gun ($40). So, I ate that. Either way it was good experience and he's bringing me more business. So I'll make up for the $40 and extra time on the next one. Now that I have a feeling for it I think I could get it done in about 3-4 hours without a problem.

I would just be fair to the guy and charge him roughly what you make an hour. Plus if he's bringing you 4 trucks you may want to give him a slightly lower rate since it's so many. But that's up to you and I don't want to tell you how to run your business.
My Detailing Guys
07-11-2011, 03:02 PM
Nice job!