Hi Everyone,

Ok, a couple of things about vinyl.

It is a material that can conrtain polyvinyl chloride (PVC) - which
offgasses and is one of the "bad" materials to have in intimate
environments with art and historic objects in museums - if you get any
kind of plastic baby pool odor then that is PVC.

PVC is also very hazardous when it is a combustible in a fire and has
been a concern of many building products as a result.

It also is one of the less environmentally degradable plastic polymers
and has been identified as a source of dioxins and other pollutants.

Vinyls degrade, especially with strong light (UV) and the cheaper
sources can contain lead - that is why vinyl window blinds were in the
news a few years ago. So before removing or trying to pry off old
vinyl you might want to test the surface first with one of those
simple home lead test swabs.

So there is more for you to consider than time issues with removal a
few years later.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, CA

On 4/20/08, Rhonda Dass <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I am normally content to just read the postings, but this thread shouted out
> for me to add my personal experience to the pool of information.
>
> I just spent the last week personally removing vinyl letters from one wall.
> Granted the lettering was placed there in the mid 80s - I had one set of
> lettering that came off as you all suggest it will (just peel from wall -
> clean the adhesive residue) and the other type of lettering that I had to
> remove brought me to new heights of destructiveness. Peeling only resulted
> in slivers of letter removed at a time. We tried various chemical removers
> including Goo Gone and Diff with no results. One of the two people assisting
> me decided to try sanding  - this extended the time required to remove the
> lettering and required further repair work once the letters were gone. Just
> seconds before I reached for a sledge hammer, we found that hot water
> loosened the letters enough that we could peel them more easily and they
> would come off in more cohesive pieces if not whole.
>
> The lettering that was the worst for removal was directly under the
> strongest spot lighting. My suggestion would be to chose carefully what type
> of lettering you are using or look for an alternative method - vinyl
> lettering may be cheaper to begin with but the cost of labor on this small
> removal project for us negated any savings there may have been.
>
> Rhonda Dass-Wilen
> Assistant Curator
> Ironworld Museum
> Chisholm, Minnesota
>
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