Weigh in on vinyl removal...

m_mcgovern

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I have a vinyl'ed Atari cabinet (720) that has been painted black-- so vinyled particle board. I'm going to remove the painted vinyl and replace it. I have searched and skimmed through a bunch of posts to come to the following options:

1) Just sand it off

2) Chemical stripper

3) heat gun and peeling

4) Use this bad-boy http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa...o?itemid=65057&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=

What is the best way to get the vinyl off and why?

Thanks in advance
 
I've tried all those methods, and chemical stripping worked best for me. The vinyl Atari used on the System 1 cabinets did *not* want to come off.

With stripper, I brushed it on, waited five minutes, and the whole side peeled right off.
 
i used a heat gun on my system 1 cab, worked good although some spots were more difficult to get off than others.
 
Go check my restore thread that I just started today. In short...heat gun and time. That's your best, and cleanest option.
 
Yes, been working both with heat gun and blow dryer.

I would not say that it "comes right off" though....takes a bit of elbow grease and plenty of patience.

I've got most of one side done.
 
I've tried all the methods mentioned and I now use the heated razor scraper/decal remover. I'll never use another method, ever. I got my old, full TRON side art off in about 10 minutes per side. I used a heat gun and scraper on a few sets of Ninty Vs. side art in my day and each time it took me 3 damned days. Stripper is hit and miss as well. Works well for paint, but I've never had any luck on removing side art or vinyl with it. Try the heated decal remover. You won't regret it.
 
How does the heated decal remover effect the wood underneath? Does it "smear" the vinyl at all? Just curious because the first time I used a heat gun, I used a putty knife and tried scraping it off...and it just left a streaky mess that I had to sand down. Using a heat gun and pulling slowly will eventually get it off without doing much to the wood beneath. However, every game is different, as Phet said. Tron and 720 were a bear to get off...basically did it 1 inch at a time and took forever. With my Discs of Tron, after a little while I realized that I could almost peal it off without heating it at all. I was able to start it with a little heat and just rip it off in sheets after. I figured this out after it took me 20 minutes to do half of 1 side and another 10 to do the rest of it and the entire other side. It also depends on the toughness of the decal/vinyl you're removing...720 is very soft whereas DOT is much sturdier and less prone to tearing.
 
Anyone willing to buy one of those heated decal removers from HF and send me one? My local HF doesn't carry them. :( PM me if you're willing and we'll work out the details there.
 
I also use a heat gun with a scraper attachment and it works wonders. The nice thing is that it has a low setting and as long as you control the heat, it won't make the vinyl streak as some have mentioned.

I'm stripping the vinyl off my Dynamo HS-1 Cab for SFII:WW and it's peeling right off with no issues. It just takes a bit of time to heat, scrape, peel, heat, scrape, peel, etc. But like Jedidentist mentioned, it's a clean method that is relatively easy to do.

I posted it about the heat gun when I removed the old CPO off my MBWB CP:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=126184
 
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On alot of Atari cabinets I have encountered over the past few years, the original vinyl side art was literally falling off. The original stick 'em had long since dried. The surface was clean, dry, and ready to either paint or apply new vinyl.

For the most part today, if I'm going to remove side art that still sticks, I use the heated decal scraper from Harbor Freight.
 
Yeah..I've been extremely lucky with the vinyl I've had to remove...most just peeled right off with a little heat from my heat gun...A hair dryer ain't going to give you enough heat...but a heat gun is adjustable and easy to work with...I've had several cabs that I was able to peal vinyl right off and other than spots that had to be repaired the surface was still smooth and ready for new vinyl with little to no prep at all.
 
65057.gif


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65057 best $15 ever spent.

as mentioned you can buy online. they sell a lot of stuff on ebay too
 
So it is! I could've sworn there was no "add to cart" option for it but looks like I'll be able to get one after all! :)
 
if for some reason it wont let you, i live about 2 minutes from a HF and i am there a few times a week, including tonight
 
Just a follow up. I went heat-gun (a Kawasaki let the good times roll -- thanks eseyo1). A real pain, but the vinyl is off both sides. All that is left is the front of the cab and it will be done. Thanks for the tips, all.
 
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