Duetto stripes

I know this has been discussed many times on this forum but I thought I would just add my two pennyworth!
I have just finished removing the stripes on my Duetto, a job which has taken around 14 hours in total. I used a heat gun initially, which worked well on the wider green stripe, but the narrow ones, for some reason, did not want to come away. It was made worse as previous owners had patched pieces in so just when I thought I had a nice run to pull away, the tape would break at the umpteen joins. Then on to removing the glue. Not much residue from the green vinyl but again the narrow stripes were a real pain. A combination of sticky stuff remover, white spirit, T cut and some very sore fingers, finally did the trick.
I have decided to go back in time and use a burgundy stripe with gold and white coachlines. I purchased the wider vinyl from a company called the4all. They were very helpful and also set up a special purchase for a sheet of the burgundy from which I will cut the front roof decal. I have a silhouette cameo cutter which I will use to cut the AS logo which will go in the centre of the roof decal. The narrow stripes were bought on ebay. I plan to stick the narrow stripes onto the wider ones and then put the completed stripes onto the van next spring. I must admit, it does look rather smart without stripes but due to the difference in paintwork and the fact that it does seem to lack an identity, I will replace them.
Hope my experiences will help anyone contemplating this tedious but very rewarding job!

Hi there,

Well done! 

A few photographs would help to get some of us more inclined to attempt the same improvement. 

Best regards,

Here are some work in progress pics. You can see the glue left on the bodywork. I will probably wait until spring to put the new stripes on so will post more pics then.
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Hi Janian,

Something to think about. Before you go sticking one piece of vinyl on top of the other then applying to the van, do a small test. You will most probably find that because of the difference in thickness you will get a thin bead of air trapped on the edges where the two overlap. You should get a better finish by applying them seperately. I am now retired but spent about 30 years working with self adhesive vinyl.

Brian.

Hi Brian. Many thanks for the info. I have done a small test and there doesn't seem to be a problem but I will certainly keep an eye out for any isssues. My thinking was that by buying vinyl stripes the full width required ie 100mm for the sides and 45mm for the top and then adding the 3mm coachline stripes to that vinyl,(indoors on the kitchen table) would be easier than applying them all individually onto the van. Time will tell! 
Ian

Hi again. After removing the old stripes the winter set in so I waited until warmer times before putting on the new ones. The van was in a local bodywork shop for a while, having the bottom of the rear doors attended to as well as a few other bits. The windscreen was removed and the surround including the section at the bottom which I gather can be a problem was checked for corrosion. Luckily all was well under there!
As I stated previously I bought the burgundy, gold and white vinyl stripes, plus a larger piece of burgundy for the front decals. I cut the logo for the top front and the gold Autosleeper wording on a Silhouette cameo cutter. The work went well with a bit of swearing and pricking of airbubbles which might be the new campsite game for the summer!
Janet made new curtains and I fitted a roller blind over the back doors. We are very happy with the fresh new look and I have included some pictures here.
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That's absolutely brilliant. A first class job there sir (and madam!)

PB

Thank you PB for the kind words. After all the effort involved, however, commissions will definitely NOT be taken!

Absolutely lovely