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Tip & Tricks
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Tip of the Month
Vehicle Graphic Installation Guide
INTRODUCTION
This document will provide guidelines for installing Arlon vinyl graphics onto your vehicle. It is important to review these guidelines to ensure a quality, consistent and professional image for your vehicle and fleet applications. Following these procedures will help ensure proper vinyl installation and get the maximum durability of the applied graphics.
MATERIALS
For vinyl graphic installation, you will need:
- Vinyl Graphics*
- Heat Gun or Propane Torch
- Glass Cleaner
- Placement Magnets (optional)*
- 0% Denatured Alcohol
- Masking Tape
- Paper Towels
- Sealer Pens
- Xacto Blades
- Measuring Tape
- 3” Felt Squeegee*
- 3” Teflon Squeegee*
- Tools for Removing Hardware
*Please contact Arlon Customer Service at 1-800-232-7161 to get information on a distributor near you or go to www.arlon.com/FindaDistributor for purchasing information.
SURFACE PREPARATION
The vehicle should be washed with soap and water, but not waxed the night before installation. The vehicle should be allowed to dry in above 55ºF (12.8ºC) overnight to enable all moisture to evaporate from seams. Indoor installation is advised to ensure that the surface is clean and climate conditions do not affect the install.
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More Tips
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When removing application tape from lettering where there is a need to make the tape remove easier from the graphic or substrate – spray a light mist of application fluid over the application tape. Let dwell for 20 to 30 seconds and begin peeling back at about a 45° angle from the line of the text and as close to the work table or sign surface as possible. - View
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Only lay down and make contact with the amount of film to which you can apply high squeegee pressure. While squeegeeing, work from center, out and the top, down.
- View
- Surface preparation for all boats prior to installation:
1. Polyester Gel Coat
i. New:
A. Treat surface as if it has silicone mold release agent or wax by washing thoroughly with mold release remover recommended by the provider of the mold release agent/boat manufacturer or wax remover recommended by the boat manufacturer.
- View
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When adhesive first makes contact with a surface the level of bound or stickiness is called "tack". As time passes or pressure is exerted the adhesive flows onto, and makes complete surface contact on the sign substrate it achieves "ultimate adhesion". The difference between tack and ultimate adhesion is substantial. In fact ultimate adhesion can be over 400% greater than tack when film is applied with the standard method (squeegee + elbow grease). Knowing how to adjust the level of tack and understanding the rate at which bond levels rise will make applications much easier and allow bubble and trouble free sign installations. - View
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There are three tools that help sign makers remove vinyl graphics from a sign face: heat, abrasive wheels and chemicals. Chemicals used in the early days of vinyl signage (solvents like Naptha and Toluene) are being replaced by combinations of these petrochemical type solvents as well as the introduction of citron based systems. - View
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Decal Marking Films 72A and 67A from Arlon/MII are best applied at temperatures between 10C (50f) and 35C (95f). Within the center of this range the tack of the adhesive is high enough to attain high instant bond to painted surfaces but not so high that repositioning is difficult. Also the PVC film itself is elastic enough to take the shape of textured surfaces with out cracking but not so soft and malleable that stretching and distortion are problems. Preparation techniques for installing decals near to or below 10C which allow the end-user to mark surfaces throughout the winter season can be found below. - View
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I. Wall Preparation and Painting
A. Wall must be smooth, clean and completely dry before painting.
1. Painting over wet or damp drywall compound will retard paint drying
and cause inconsistent graphic adhesion.
2. Painting over dusty drywall will impair primer bond to wall surface. - View
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Creating a successful digital graphic, applying it, and having it remain in place is the result of a sequence of properly planned and executed steps, each as important as last, each capable of making every subsequent task easier, harder or altogether impossible. Often the level of consideration given to application obstacles by the print designer makes all the difference between a profitable and professional looking graphic project or one that looks like a training exercise. - View
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Unlike screen printed graphics with their high abrasion resistance, good color fastness and strong water resistance, images produced with digital inks are somewhat more sensitive to exterior wear and benefit greatly from added protection. The protection may be in the form of a clear solid film overlaminate or a liquid topcoat. While the added cost of each method of protection is high, the price of not over laminating is far greater. - View
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Digital Printer Maintenance is far more demanding and critical to making high quality prints than was ever the case with sign cutting.
Daily print head checks for port clearance and calibration are a must if unexpected print failures are to be prevented. Print heads are also prone to drying when any more than a few hours has elapsed between print jobs. Early drying at the print head is one of the trade-offs that come with certain "hotter" inks, which demonstrate aggressive ink anchorage, and a wide range of ink compatibility with unusual substrates. - View
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General Notes:
When installing Arlon’s DPF 6000 it is important to realize and use the internal strength of the laminated graphic to the installers benefit, that is when one takes advantage of both the strength and the distortion recovery capacity of the product then application confidence, speed and bubble reduction improve proportionally. While the instant adhesion (tack) of DPF 6000 is high enough to keep film in place over deeply stretched applications it need not be an obstacle to installers when one considers the balance between tack level (about 2 lb./in) and film strength (>15lb/in). - View
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To ensure the long-term success of a fleet, or large-format graphic, it is important to finish the vinyl installation properly.
Due to the repositionable nature of the Series 6000 and 2100X adhesive, the bond between substrate and graphic builds slower than with standard higher-tack-type "sign-vinyl." While repositionability is a great advantage during installation it is important that proper technique is used during the final finishing steps to maintain the bond created during earlier installation. - View
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Vinyl installation on scrim reinforced vinyl is easy if one remembers that these materials are essentially "textured" surfaces and uses appropriate techniques to ensure high adhesive contact and thus high bond. - View
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Tank trailers present a unique challenge to installers in that several elements of this application are not found in other fleet van or trailer units. The fact of spillage and weld lines with gradual change in exposure angle from vertical to horizontal demand specific care be taken to provide a long lasting graphic.
- View
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- Optimal temperature range of substrate should be between 15º C and 32º C (60º F and 90º F).
- Substrate
temperature may drop as low as 4º C or rise as high as 48º C (39º F to
118º F) but at the extremes there will be more difficulty due to tack
loss.
- View
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Whether laminating self-wound paper, plastic transfer tape or linered overlaminating film using a laminating machine it is critical to use only as much unwind tension and nip pressure (gap closure) as needed to create a bubble and wrinkle free laminate. Excess laminantion tension causes a variety of downstream problems with handling, installation and even after installation. When material emerges from the lamination process it should lay as flat as when it went in. - View
Highly flexible vinyl film is accomplished with the addition of plasticizing oil. The surface of all these products is easily embossed by pressure. During processing and storage care must be taken to minimize uneven or high pressure. When enough pressure is exerted on the surface of these products they will very quickly become embossed and take on a dull appearance. Of course the pressure is never completely uniform so the appearance will be uneven although there are distinctive patterns which emerge depending on the type of product involved. - View
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PVC film used in the graphics industry is soft, slightly "oily" and susceptible to damage by the solvents found in many paints, printing inks or clear top coatings. Two rules of thumb to remember are to decorate with "softer" type resins and keep wet-solvent-contact-time to a minimum. - View
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When removing application tape from lettering where there is a need to make the tape remove easier from the graphic or substrate – spray a light mist of application fluid over the application tape. Let dwell for 20 to 30 seconds and begin peeling back at about a 45° angle from the line of the text and as close to the work table or sign surface as possible. - View
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Pressure washing is a cleaning method that’s been used on trailers for years. Not only does it quickly and effectively clean flat and corrugated walls but it also eliminates the need for brush cleaning, abrasive detergents or extra scaffolding. - View
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Overall
High quality long lasting airport runways signage is best achieved by second surface application of Translucent Cast film under clear polycarbonate. There are several advantages to this method over first surface film orientation or the use of acrylic faces. Furthermore, it is anticipated that first surface application for runway signage may result in premature signage failure through a variety of causes. - View
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When air and other gasses collect under vinyl film and expand due to heat, they can generate enough force to eventually lift the vinyl off the sign surface, forming small bubbles. - View
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The
softness and flexibility of Reflecta-Cal (Series 2400 and 2450) makes
it ideal for sign cutters. Cutting requires less weight or pressure
than other reflective products, which extends the life of the blade and
backing roll and reduces weeding time.
- View
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Application paper is used to protect graphic films from surface damage, to maintain spacing registration and to assist with installation. While selection and use of application paper is relatively simple, there are a few rules that must be followed. - View
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The shelf life of vinyl film is primarily determined by a.) the amount of plasticizing oils which transfer into the adhesive coating, and b.) the sensitivity of the affected adhesive to plasticizer contamination when it is fully saturated or contaminated. To some extent shelf life is dictated by product formula of film and adhesive but is also strongly affected by storage conditions at the distributor and end-user facility. A sign shop that keeps its film properly stored can expect to use it for significantly longer than the indicated shelf life with minimal risk, while an overheated or wet storage condition will invariably cause problems. - View
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Whether thermoforming prelaminated vinyl/plastic sheeting into simple pan faces or raised letters each aspect of fabrication: from material dehydration and lamination to releasing the formed piece is critical to the success of the finished sign. - View
- Arlon’s Etched Glass vinyl (Series 5200/5250) is designed to simulate the look of a fine grain acid etched or a sand blasted glass finish. It eliminates the mess, expense, inconsistency and possible damage to costly glass that these traditional methods can cause.
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It is important to achieve high initial adhesion in the fast turn-around sign fabrication market. This high adhesion helps to reduce the chance for bubbles, wrinkles and edge curl later on in the sign’s life. - View
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Scope:
Arlon recommends this application technique as the most effective method for installing film graphics over vehicles with complex channeled indentations. - View
- Wall wraps are an excellent means of expanding advertising space and extending your brand message. To protect your customer’s graphics and create the best first impression, the following installation recommendations are provided.
Best practice is to use 3200 or 3220 series overlaminate on graphics.
- View
- 1. When using application fluids to detackify graphics while installing:
- Be sure that all wetting agent is squeegeed from between the substrate and the signage. Excess liquid causes bubbling or tenting when the application tape is stripped away. (See: TIP # 6 Application Tape Removal.)
Allow sufficient drying time before removing the application tape. Removing the tape to soon causes tiny air bubbles to form in the graphic.
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When designing for large plate glass applications which experience high sun exposure, be sure to avoid large film areas of dark color next to a light or reflective color. The difference in heat gain and glass expansion under films with extreme grey scale differences will cause glass fatigue and early failure of the glass.
It’s best to break up the design and use hue, rather than grey scale, to attain sign element contrast.
- View
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