Liquid lamination

[gabagoo]

I have been using clear shiels liquid laminates for our digital printing. We have a gloss vehicle grade which rolls out horribly and we have a semi gloss which is not vehicle grade, but we use it on our banners and vinyl signs. To purchase by the gallon is rather expensive and we roll them on with a foam roller which may use more liquid then is necessary. I can buy a 5 gallon Neschen liquid laminate product , which is a matte lam. Having never used it I am curious as it is not designed for vehicles, just what will happen when used outdoors? Is it stricktly an indoor laminate? I would ask the company that sells it but they are unsure and finding these liquid laminates seems to be difficult in the Toronto area from my searches to date. Any help or suggestions as to what and where I can find a good all round product in the semi gloss range that comes in 5 gallon quantities would be great

:Canada 2:

[noregrets]

Have you tried spraying the laminate on with an HVLP gun? Works well for me.....just make sure you wear a mask!

[GXSignCo]

Personally, I wouldn't even mess around with liquid laminates at all. I don't think any of them are as durable as a film laminate. Why not just get a cold film laminator and avoid the hassles of liquid lams?

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

we roll them on with a foam roller which may use more liquid then is necessary

That is what many people think but not totally correct. A roller lays down more than a spray gun BUT if done properly the excess appearance disappears after the laminate flows out - leaving a nicely finished appearance. Too many people actually try and overwork the liquid. Roll it out in what appears to be heavy (in dust free environment) and walk away - you may be pleasantly surprised.

Chris - Liquid lam actually does have its place. There actually are times where the presence of a film is not desirable because a film is usually detectable, especially the high-res indoor stuff.

As for using a liquid lam for vehicles - dunno. Liquid lam CAN absorb dirt contaminates much easier than than a cold lam, and the abrasion resistance is minimal at best.

[grafxxx]

when i airbrush on vinyl i use spray automotive clear on. also i heard of using frog juice spray

[Techman]

cold film laminator and avoid the hassles of liquid lams\

I use liquid lam all the time on indoor stuff and short term banners. The product doesnt need a film for protection. It just needs to pop and thats what a good liquid lam does.
I use foamy rollers all the time. It doesnt use as much as it seems.

[Urban Image]

A lot of our customers use that because it's quick and cheap. I wouldn't put much money on it being very effective, though.

[gabagoo]

So whats the worst that can happen if it is on a 5 year vinyl with a digital print applied to plywood for outside? The ink is rated for 3 years outdoor with no protection, or thats what the mfg claims. Does the laminate crack up and flake? and if so in what time period? There must be someone here who has had experience with these liquids over the years.

[ahollow]

After I use liquid lam on my banners, I store the foam roller in a zip-lock bag. I've had some in bags for over three months, and still work great. No wasting the liquid lam that way.

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

If you want to see the liquid lamination for yourself, take a piece of coro and laminate a section of it. You should see that the water-based liquid lam leaves/forms a skin.

As for the type of project that you mentioned, you should be more than fine. It is the vehicle application and abrasion that comes into question.

[Baz]

I go through at least a couple of gallons of clearshield per month. I do allot of family lifestyle pictures for real estate billboards. I am just starting to take down signs that i have done over 5 years ago and the prints still look great! I use liquid clear on those prints since it prevents allot of unwanted scratches by handling them until they are up and installed and allot of signs are up for more than three years.

On vehicles i prefer cast laminate but for large flat surface cube vans i will use liquid and short term vehicles (i do a couple of radio stations) works also since they change their cars every 2 years.

[johnnysigns]

we used clearshield a lot when i was at a shop that had a gerber edge. it definitely beefed up the resistance to fading.

a lot of the fleet wrap graphics we're supplied is liquid laminated. we mainly use the stuff for non compound curve work.

[Craig Sjoquist]

whenever a UV clear is needed matte, semi gloss, or gloss ..I've been using with NO PROBLEMS ...it washes over n over, takes abuse, odd stuff spilled on cleans off, and keeps on protecting, also does not yellow over time ....
RONAN's ...AQUATHANE ...cost $38 per qt but does last and takes very little to clear coat and yes spraying would be alot smoother then roller which I mainly do ...
at present testing on some abused banners over print

13 folds