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Cut vinyl prices peeling after 1 month

MHester

New Member
Does anyone know why this would have happened? (see attached pic) The cut vinyl prices are peeling off only after 1 month. According to customer, the transfer tape stayed over the prices for 2 weeks once they received it until they pulled it off right before grand opening. The sign is a 2nd surface backlit on acrylic, and the prices are cut black vinyl (no laminate) on top of the plexi (so we can change prices when needed). What I find really odd... there are 2 signs, and the 2nd sign is perfectly fine. I've been doing this process for a good year now, this is the first time I've seen this happen so quickly. Someone please educate me so I can avoid this in the future. Thanks.
 

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papabud

Lone Wolf
its hard to tell from the picture, but it could be they was applied to a dirty surface or got way to warm
 

MHester

New Member
its hard to tell from the picture, but it could be they was applied to a dirty surface or got way to warm
Surface was cleaned with alcohol and dried before applying, I did that myself before it went out of the shop. It's possible it got too warm sitting around on site before they installed the sign.
 

bannertime

Active Member
Even though it's calendared, it shouldn't have happened that fast.

So you applied it, didn't pull the transfer, they installed the sign face and removed the transfer two weeks later?
 

JTBoh

I sell signage and signage accessories.
A little weird that it looks like that, AFTER they pulled the transfer... if it's peeling that bad I'd guess the transfer would have pulled it off. I guess it's possible direct sun/heat coulda shrank it enough... looks like adhesive outline where it shrank is visible on the yellow.
 

Andy D

Active Member
A couple of guesses based on the fact that looks like a sign for a car wash:
1. Someone decided to spiff up that sign before your installation using a product with hydrophobic silicone polymer,
like what's in rain-x... we had a vehicle wind shield job years ago that we re-did a couple time... every time cleaning the window
real well with alcohol... and the vinyl still wouldn't stay on very long, due to the customer using rain-x

2. Someone took a pressure washer to it.
 

Bigdawg

Just Me
No way that happened without some help. I have black calendared vinyl out there in the hot Florida sun using the same process (although it is Oracal) and that is not the sun making it peel. My guess is pressure washed or sprayed with some type of cleaner that ate into the adhesion from the edges.
 

shoresigns

New Member
Avery is the worst. Don't ever buy Avery.
Avery's been our primary brand for print media and cut vinyl for over 10 years and we're happy with them. We have enough firsthand experience with Avery that we can confidently tell a client that their sign is likely to last at least as long as the manufacturer rating.

I am aware that Avery has had some reputation-shattering failures in the past, but I don't think they're the only major brand that's experienced that, and it was quite a long time ago. It didn't affect us, and if it had, we'd probably be in the Never Avery camp, too.
 
I have multiple brand print vinyl in my shop, avery is the worst, prints yellowed and shrinked ridiculously in a couple of months. For cut vinyl I use Oracal 651 and had 0 issues over 10y. When you clean the surface make sure you use rubbing alcohol as window cleaner what some may just consider alcohol contains stuff that will destroy the adhesive.
 

fresh

New Member
(1) It's Avery. (2) It's calendared. If it's facing the sun full time, it's going to shrink and pull, just like that.

I have hundreds of examples of this statement being completely untrue.

We have used Avery for 11 years, and I have never once seen any of their colored vinyls react like this, calendared or cast.
 

MHester

New Member
Wow, lots of folks hate Avery here. Good to know, I'll steer clear of it in the future. Some of you said that it looks like it was pressure washed. That would be my guess as well, since it's at a carwash and the install crew probably wanted to clean up the sign. I'm sure it loosened the edges, then the sun did the rest and shrunk it. Thanks everyone for your advice, I've certainly learned a few things here.
 

MHester

New Member
Even though it's calendared, it shouldn't have happened that fast.

So you applied it, didn't pull the transfer, they installed the sign face and removed the transfer two weeks later?
I have a feeling that the sign sat around onsite for 2 weeks, then they finally installed it and peeled the transfer tape off then. I also have a feeling that they went back with a high pressure sprayer and tried to clean it up before grand opening. Then after a couple days of hot hot sun beating on it, it shriveled up. .
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Just make new ones and let them fix it. You'll never find out who or how it was abused. Most likely, it had some help, as mentioned. That kinda stuff does not happen in a week or two or month.
 
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