vinyl backing removal using mek

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silentblackhat

Copper - Posts: 138

Joined: January 14, 2005

Location: New Brunswick, Austria

Posted: April 16, 2007 at 2:31 AM / IP Logged

I havn't seen this on this forum so I thought I would share what I found out.

I am making a custom fiberglass panel for my 99 Honda Civic 4dr. I ordered the factory vinyl(i think its called Endurasoft, i know it is Honda CF Grey) but it has a backing on it that looks like cheese cloth; that stuff makes it hard to stretch the vinyl, even when its heated with a heat gun.

well i was looking on the internet and came across this really small forum where people were talking about how to stretch marine vinyl over a project(i have never worked with that but from what i hear, the backing is really touch and stuck on there)....One person said to remove the backing using MEK(Methyl Ethyl Keytone....not the same at MEKP which is the fiberglass hardener and is totally different).

I put that on the backing of the vinyl, waited a few seconds, put some more on it(using a sponge brush) and it pealed off the back so easily. It didn't ruin the front at all, the texture and color is the exact same.

I just did this to a test strip to see if it really worked and it did. I am going to upholster my project tomorrow so I will post pictures to show how they came out. I just thought I would share the MEK trick with others that may have vinyl stretching problems.

I got mine at Lowes, but paint stores should have it like Sherwin-Williams.

By the way from what I know MEL is pretty nasty stuff that u dont want to touch or breathe in....i did mine outside in the open wearing chemical gloves as well as a chemical mask(still had it from college chemistry)

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bellsracer

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Joined: January 14, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: April 16, 2007 at 10:41 AM / IP Logged

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speakermakers

Copper - Posts: 231

Joined: January 02, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: April 22, 2007 at 6:06 PM / IP Logged

I am very curious to find out how well contact cement will bond to the back of your vinyl. I was told by a couple of upholsterers that it wont, and that’s why its there. Logic tells me though that the vinyl manufacturer attached that backing some how and that adhesion process can be replicated. I have considered doing what you are doing in the past and one idea that I had is to use the heat activated plastic specific contact cement that select products uses. I have no idea if it would work. I don’t even know if the upholsterers that I talked to know what they are talking about (though both seemed certain). Let us know how it works out.

silentblackhat

Copper - Posts: 138

Joined: January 14, 2005

Location: New Brunswick, Austria

Posted: April 25, 2007 at 12:25 AM / IP Logged

ill test try it tomorrow. i got the "3M Vinyl & Rubber" adhesive that I will try out first. I should have saved the site i got this tip from because i am 90% certain that they have done this due to the person saying that it works as well as a shop owner saying(not exact words but the meaning what he said) "Thanks a lot! this is much quicker which means more profit! It was a huge difference of the angles i am able to stretch this over and attach it to".

I have a few things of fiberglass i can try this on. From what I understand, the MEK disolves the adhesion agent...so it should be able to be replaced by another.

i will post when i have come to a conclusion after my tests

auex

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Posted: April 25, 2007 at 4:43 AM / IP Logged

Never had that much of a problem stretching vinyl.

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silentblackhat

Copper - Posts: 138

Joined: January 14, 2005

Location: New Brunswick, Austria

Posted: April 25, 2007 at 12:42 PM / IP Logged

this vinyl that im using has a backing that is hard to stretch so taking it off will allow you to stretch it a lot better and at different more sharp angles

silentblackhat

Copper - Posts: 138

Joined: January 14, 2005

Location: New Brunswick, Austria

Posted: April 25, 2007 at 11:16 PM / IP Logged

speakermakers wrote:

Logic tells you right....the upholsters were wrong. Ill post again once it dries completly but i just tore part of the vinyl trying to peal it off of the fiberglass test piece so it sticks pretty well with contact cement.

What i was told was the backing was there to prevent it from tearing, not specifically so it would bond to something else.

silentblackhat

Copper - Posts: 138

Joined: January 14, 2005

Location: New Brunswick, Austria

Posted: April 27, 2007 at 1:35 PM / IP Logged

Yep, even with this contact cement, its a really strong bond, i was almost able to lift the fiberglass enclosure off of the ground with the bond it makes....but the vinyl tore before it was able to be lifted.

Looks like the pros were wrong

speakermakers

Copper - Posts: 231

Joined: January 02, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: April 27, 2007 at 11:50 PM / IP Logged

Good to know!

I want to try this out myself right away. I assume that you are using the regular garden variety contact cement, but just to be sure. What type (brand, and part #) of contact cement are you using? Did you spray it on? Did you cross spray? And how long did you let the contact cement cure before applying the vinyl? Did the contact cement solvents distort the outer vinyl surface (like it dose if you spray it on too thick normally)?

I ask because I think that this is a very important breakthrough.

silentblackhat

Copper - Posts: 138

Joined: January 14, 2005

Location: New Brunswick, Austria

Posted: April 28, 2007 at 4:37 PM / IP Logged

well i havnt upholstered my actual door panel yet...but i will. I ordered WAY too much vinyl for my car so i had plenty to make test strips and test them. But testing the strips, I used WEldWood Contact Cement; you can buy this stuff at honedepot in the 3oz can or the bigger can(not sure how much, maybe its a quart of contact cement.

What I am going to do is go to the local auto trim store and see if they sell their glue and if not, ill get the Weldwood HHR Contact Cement from the net. People have told me different times of letting it dry due to the different types of cement used. I find that using the stuff u get at home depot, letting the glue dry till its tacky seems to work best...sometimes i wait a minute after it turns tacky...that stuff seems to turn tacky within a few minutes. The HHR contact cement seems like it would take longer; some ppl I have talked to say wait about 4-6 hours when using this, im guessing u have to wait this long if u brush it on because since its a spray cement, it needs extra time for the solvents to evaporate.

The HHR cement was suggested by to me by someoen that has used it for a while and has had good results, it also says the bond increases with with the HHR cement. it also says its for automotive use, the stuff you get at home depot seems like it is for home use but some say that they use it on door panels and have no trouble

if you dont have too many bends in ur design, you should be able to leave the backing on your design but if you have compound bends(bends that are extreme, more than a simple gradual curve) you will probably need to take the backing off.

I will post back to what I have found to upholster my panels later on tonight, im on my final sanding of the project. it came out so much better than i imagined since its my first...i really think that when im done it will look like a pro did it. i spent extra time to make everthing perfect so it would.

Im glad I found this trick; i saved so much headache from figuring out how I am going to upholster my design. it will make it so much easier.

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