# Fitting New Vinyl Stripes on Top of Old



## namder (Sep 20, 2006)

The vinyl stripes on my 1991 Compass Drifter have faded so I bought new vinyl. The fitting instructions were adamant about removing the old vinyl and all traces of the old adhesive, however after 20 years whilst the vinyl came off ok with the help of a hot air gun, the residue left is rock hard and I have tried a number of recommended applications to no avail. I have done a trial fitting of a small piece over the old adhesive and it's not bad. I have (against all advice) tried fitting a small piece on top of existing vinyl and it looks brilliant. Does anyone know why the advice is not to do this, is it going to peel off before long. 

Regards
John


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

If I was doing it I would be very tempted to clean the old vinyl and put the new on top.
I'm sure that removing the old adhesive is nearly impossible. :wink:


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## bobbylynne (Nov 11, 2010)

i am a spray painter by trade and in the past removing old transfers needed useing solvents to remove old glue. this sometimes took off the top coat of paint as well. if the originals are still smooth i would t-cut off any grime and place new ones over the top. jim


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

bobbylynne said:


> i am a spray painter by trade and in the past removing old transfers needed useing solvents to remove old glue. this sometimes took off the top coat of paint as well. if the originals are still smooth i would t-cut off any grime and place new ones over the top. jim


I would agree as long as the edges of the old decal are perpect, and no water has got under them.

You could lightly sand the surface with 2000 grit wet and dry to ensure a good adhesion of the new ones,


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## danas (Apr 3, 2009)

namder said:


> The vinyl stripes on my 1991 Compass Drifter have faded so I bought new vinyl. The fitting instructions were adamant about removing the old vinyl and all traces of the old adhesive, however after 20 years whilst the vinyl came off ok with the help of a hot air gun, the residue left is rock hard and I have tried a number of recommended applications to no avail. I have done a trial fitting of a small piece over the old adhesive and it's not bad. I have (against all advice) tried fitting a small piece on top of existing vinyl and it looks brilliant. Does anyone know why the advice is not to do this, is it going to peel off before long.
> 
> Regards
> John


How did you get on with this? I have a navigator and the decals are faded and Im interested in replacing


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## namder (Sep 20, 2006)

I wiped the old vinyl with white spirit and applied the new on top of the old and the result was perfect.

Regards

Namder


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## nigel67 (Dec 19, 2009)

When i used to remove race numbers and various stickers, i found that the best thing to remove the sticky residue was Mr Sheen polish. Let it soak in and with a bit of elbow grease it cleaned it off without any damage to the paintwork. Also ideal when taking off stickers from plastic panels.


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## ramblingon (Jul 15, 2009)

I never used a heat gun i just pealed it all off bit by bit then removed the few remaining adhesive marks with petrol.


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## danas (Apr 3, 2009)

namder said:


> I wiped the old vinyl with white spirit and applied the new on top of the old and the result was perfect.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Namder


Would be interested to see the result.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

3M do a very good adhesive remover anyone in the paint game should be able to give you the name of it, something like sticker remover, it worked a treat getting vinyl sign writing of a van I had, but do it in the open air, it's heady.


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## namder (Sep 20, 2006)

I'm out all day tomorrow but I'll try and put some photos up later.

Namder


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## danas (Apr 3, 2009)

namder said:


> I'm out all day tomorrow but I'll try and put some photos up later.
> 
> Namder


Thats great

Cheers.

PS: Where did you get the new vinyl from?


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## namder (Sep 20, 2006)

If you left click on the image, the wavy lines disappear on the enlargement. I only replaced the blue and silver stripes and you can obtain them from many Ebay traders.


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## danas (Apr 3, 2009)

Great job. Looks good,

So Ebay for the vinyl?


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## Dances-With-Dogs (Jun 30, 2007)

Hi there. I want to replace a small piece of vinyl striping on the side of my Swift Gazelle F61 Limited Edition (the one with the leaping gazelle) which is peeling off but I am having no luck finding the right width and colour, having asked at three caravan sales/repair places, Googled it, looked on Ebay and looked at the recent Motorhome Show at the NEC. I need some 1.1/8" (23mm) wide in a very dark forest green and a light browny/grey. Anybody got any suggestions where I might get some please?


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## Chausson (Oct 17, 2006)

Hi
The other thing you could use is brake cleaner, it does not affect any sound paintwork, one other things is panel wipe, it's a mild solvent which we used in the spray painting. One other thing I just thought is Acetone the type double glazer's use to clean the Upvc just be careful do a test on a part of the van firstly like inside the cab door.

Ron

If you cannot find graphics and need them made give me a pm.


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## namder (Sep 20, 2006)

Try Stripeworld on Ebay. They will do colours and sizes to order.


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