T-Cut alternative

[Shedendman]

Just bought a 2nd hand van,its had vinyl lettering on it for its past 14yr life,last owner did a carp job getting the lettering off,but that was fine by me no probs.
Anyway,spent a good few hours today removing most of the left over adhesive from said lettering with celly thinners and elbow grease,fine no probs
Now i have the ghost letters left over,popped down to halfrads got a bottle of T-Cut,after 2/3 goes with it over a small area its not cutting it at all(excuse the pun) i still have ghost lettering
So,whats next chaps,whats a better cutting compound,i'm not looking for a showroom finish,just want to rid the ghosts
Van will get a paint job at a later date but thats pending on whenever comes
Cheers chaps

 

[DanZac]

I cant provide an answer, but I'm watching with interest as I've had a couple of ex sign written vans and found that you can never fully get shot of the ghosting.

I've been able to get it so you can't see it, with t cut and other cutting compounds, followed by a good waxing, but it always seems to reappear after a while no matter what I've done.

The van I've got now was only used by a buisines for a couple of years when it was new, and it's not been sign written for the 10 years since. When it's clean you can barely make out the ghost writing, but as it gets dirty it seems more obvious.

 

[JOEPRO]

Maguires ultimate compound- amazing stuff

 

[ajlelectronics]

T-Cut is like WD-40, a triumph of marketing over ability. T-Cut is a formula for Sunday polishers that will not be effective enough to cause any damage. Somethng like Farecla G3 is what you want, enquire at your local body shop supplier.

 

[Shedendman]

T-Cut is like WD-40, a triumph of marketing over ability. T-Cut is a formula for Sunday polishers that will not be effective enough to cause any damage.

From Halfords remember
Farecla G3 having a look around right now

 

[Ross365]

Maybe times have changed but T-cut used to me regarded as the most aggressive option. Not something you would ever use on your own car unless you were selling it, and also the first choice of dodgy car dealers. I recall using it back in the 70's; took the surface off wonderfully, but within a few weeks looked awful. For a good job (but not at all very aggressive) I too like Maguires ultimate compound.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Farecla G3 having a look around right now

Farecla is just one example, your local emporium will sell you whatever their equivalent is.

 

[Shedendman]

While i'm thinking about this,i'll be using my polisher with a 6'' backing pad,what colour sponge would be ideal to start with,orange?
Cheers

 

[ajlelectronics]

While i'm thinking about this,i'll be using my polisher with a 6'' backing pad,what colour sponge would be ideal to start with,orange?
Cheers

You start with fairly firm and work back to soft. Bear in mind that you will easily burn through without care, if you are using a rotary polisher.

 

[Kram]

To remove ghosing I think you will need an agressive option! UV damage can penetrate quite deep.

I have a bottle of 3M Finess it,, I believe its their premium single stage product where as most compounds your supposed to use 3 or 4 different grades to prevent swirling marks. It does an excellent job on the small bits of paint and headlights I used it on. I cant say it cut hard enough to remove ghosting as I never tried that.

 

[ajlelectronics]

To remove ghosing I think you will need an agressive option! UV damage can penetrate quite deep.

I have a bottle of 3M Finess it,, I believe its their premium single stage product where as most compounds your supposed to use 3 or 4 different grades to prevent swirling marks. It does an excellent job on the small bits of paint and headlights I used it on. I cant say it cut hard enough to remove ghosting as I never tried that.

That is quite a fine finishing compound.

 

[zzr1200]

I've never found a cutting compound that gets rid of the ghost lettering, a respray is the only way.......

 

[Kram]

Put another sign over it or vinyl wrap

 

[grim_d]

Mirka polarshine 30 them 10 got rid of it on my black trafic.

 

[AVI_8]

I've never found a cutting compound that gets rid of the ghost lettering, a respray is the only way.......

That depends on how faded the paint is, a course then fine compound with a rotary or dual action buffer, should do the job on a vehicle which is clear coated, which every vehicle is nowadays.

 

[jo1010]

You won't be able to get rid of the ghosting. Problem is that the paint has faded back over 14 yrs where it wasn't protected by the graphics. Underneath the graphics is like the paint as it was 14 yrs ago. Therefore respray the panel - or put your own graphics on the panel to cover the old ones.
(That is the case even if clear coated - the clear coat fades, but the base coat fades as well.)

 

[sg66]

3m do cutting compound one version is more aggressive than t cut, I don't have a bottle at hand

 

[jsf55]

3m do cutting compound one version is more aggressive than t cut, I don't have a bottle at hand

3M fast cut plus extreme , it's what i used on mine, but go easy

 

[500e]

I've never found a cutting compound that gets rid of the ghost lettering, a respray is the only way.......

Have never found a total answer to ghosting have even seen it after bare metal re paint

 

[jo1010]

Have never found a total answer to ghosting have even seen it after bare metal re paint

Ok. But if you think about why this happens it might give a solution.....the adhesive on the graphic has leached through the original paint layers and modified/etched the metal surface.
Are you really saying that you sanded or stripped back to bare metal, used panel wipe, used 500 grit on a da sander, sprayed 2 coats of epoxy primer or similar followed by top coats.....and still saw ghosting from previous adhesive? Something sounds not right .....