# Fixing cut vinyl with a heat gun.



## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

I've been able to save a few cut vinyl shirts with a heat gun.

I had one case where there was a wrinkle in the vinyl letter that made the shirt a reject. I used my heat gun for 15 seconds or so at about 1000 F, 6" from the letter. Once the vinyl got up to temp and the glue released,(about 200F?) I used the bend of a weeder to gently rub the wrinkle and reposition the vinyl. (The weeder is a metal wire 'hook' with a sharp point that won't melt.) Don't use your finger, it too will melt with much discomfort.

If you have some glue residue left on your shirt, lay a sheet of paper on the vinyl, press and warm peel. The glue will stick to the paper. Don't cold peel the paper, the paper will stick to the shirt!


A second case was when the curly serif of a letter had been folded under on a second press. The heat gun softened up the glue, allowing me to use the point of the weeder to unfold the letter and lay it back in place for a re-press.

Do you have any examples of "heat gun to the rescue"? Post them here.


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

Thanks for the tip John. I appprreciate it alot. ....JB


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## KILLER (Dec 15, 2006)

goood tip ..... thks


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Where do you buy your heat gun?


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

harbor freight has heat guns.. that is where i got mine..
They also come in very handy removing sign vinyl.. .. but remember they do get very very hot..


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

Rodney said:


> Where do you buy your heat gun?


I almost got one from Northern Tools, but I was in Lowes one day and saw a Wagner digital heat gun that had 12 temp settings and a cool down feature.
Look in the paint section. I think it was only $29? 

I was in the process of stripping the vinyl of a huge trailer at the time and wanted the finer control.

The model number is HT3500, I see it's not on Lowes' website


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

I picked up a heat gun at Harbor Freight for $12. Haven't used it yet -- I found that by hovering the upper platen an inch or so off of the shirt I can get the same effect. I've had some screw ups with vinyl as well.


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## CoolTech (Feb 3, 2007)

Rodney said:


> Where do you buy your heat gun?


If I remember correctly, you have ordered from Uline before.

If they included a catalog in your order, you can find them in there, or most equipment suppliers


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

So, lets assume I made a mistake on a vinyl shirt.. oh, heck.. OK, I made a mistake on a vinyl transfer. The vinyl is pressed on and I tried to remove it with one of my weeders and almost put a hole in the shirt. I am talking the size of a quarter. Just a piece that floated from nowhere on to the shirt. So I use this heat gun and put it how far from the shirt so I don't start a fire.. You think I can rescue the shirts I screwed up.. OK there were more than one.. John this would make a great video on how to save a shirt.. If you don't do it let me know.. I am off to lowes to get a heat gun..


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## bac (Jun 19, 2006)

ThanX John. As always - good advice and tip!!  


... Brad


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

i remember reading a post by Josh that acetone on the back of the vinyl placement will weaken the glue and allow the vinyl to be removed. I didn't like the smell, so I will buy a heat gun .... JB


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

So at 12;30 I read the post about the heat gun. It is now 5:20 and I now own a heat gun. 650 degrees. I started with a small piece of vinyl, about the size of a dime. it came off however I burnt the tee.. OK, a little too close.. then I did some yellow lettering on a navy shirt and the vinyl came off.. yippeee.... but, and there is always a but the glue stayed on.. what you want pictures.. not yet.. anyway how do I get the glue off. Now where I had yellow letters I now have white glue.. Oh the heat gun was bought for $20. and it is a weber. Lou


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

badalou said:


> So at 12;30 I read the post about the heat gun. It is now 5:20 and I now own a heat gun. 650 degrees. I started with a small piece of vinyl, about the size of a dime. it came off however I burnt the tee.. OK, a little too close.. then I did some yellow lettering on a navy shirt and the vinyl came off.. yippeee.... but, and there is always a but the glue stayed on.. what you want pictures.. not yet.. anyway how do I get the glue off. Now where I had yellow letters I now have white glue.. Oh the heat gun was bought for $20. and it is a weber. Lou


Marsh mellows come to mind when you say you burnt the shirt. Go easy on the heat! I kept my gun about 6" away and kept the point of impact moving in circles. Once you get the vinyl loose, back off on the heat, use just enough to keep the glue loose.

I've been able to get 'some' glue off by covering the area with sheet of copy paper and heat pressing a regular cycle. Let the paper cool just a little and peel it off. Peel too hot, and the glue stays on the shirt, wait too long and the paper stays on the shirt. (not fun, think white fuzzy bunny ) I would then take wack with acetone. (I haven't had to use a chemical yet, so far the paper trick has fixed the little problems)

I read a post which I now can't find that someone used a chemical from screenprinting that worked better than acetone. 

If someone finds it, post a link please.


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

I backed off the heat like you said and that helped me not burn the shirt. Next i will try the method to remove glue. I was hoping to reuse the shiirt. If I can't then what is the point.


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

badalou said:


> ... I was hoping to reuse the shirt. If I can't then what is the point.


I think it would be hard to remove a complete full front design and re-task the shirt for a different design. The final step of acetone might be the only way to get every speck of glue out of the shirt. For $2 it would be easier to buy a new shirt, but if you were stuck with a deadline and this is your last hope, it might be worth the effort. 

The heat gun is sweet when it comes to fixing a blemish that would other wise ruin the quality of the shirt.


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## Kim Vaughan (Apr 27, 2007)

Thanks heaps for the tip, from kim in Perth, Western Australia


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## Fluidcom (Apr 27, 2009)

Toluol or Toluene from the hardware store. It costs about $6. Use a Q-tip and rub it on the back of the vinyl, and before the chemical has a chance to evaporate, peal off the vinyl. You can usually burn off any glue by pressing again. I've had one time when I can't get the glue to come off, and that was on a poly uniform shirt. I may not have been pressing on a high enough temp to get the glue to burn off.

I have used it on a black AA shirt, that I didn't want to buy only one of and pay the shipping on, and it worked just fine.


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