1Shot on vinyl? OK or No K?

[sardocs]

Hi and Happy New Year. I am doing a 4x16 ft sign on vinyl coated .081 aluminum that I would like to use both printed graphics and cut vinyl on. I also want to hand letter some portions of the design with 1shot enamel. Does anyone know if I need to prime the vinyl for the 1shot first, or can I just clean it with wax and grease remover then apply the paint? I don't need all the 1shot haters to tell me to use something else. I'm not worried about fading, i just want it to stick.

 

[jayce7211]

one shot will stick without any preparation on the vinyl just fine. I like using krylon spray paint on vinyl the best. Good luck.

 

[Gino]

Not sure about the vinyl you're using, but Gerber [3M] used to make a specialty enamel receptive film especially for accepting oil-based paints.

All the vinyl and painting work I've done over the years, the only paint sticking to vinyl will be rattle cans or air-brushed paints. They have enough thinners in them to stick for a while. Direct hand-painting, not so well, unless there are some specialty paints out there for this purpose.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Before you hand letter, you can give the vinyl a coat of Chromatic Waterborne Primer (#433-1011 I believe). It is clear, weathers well and 1-Shot will stick very well. Comes in gloss and flat finishes.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

one shot will stick without any preparation on the vinyl just fine. I like using krylon spray paint on vinyl the best. Good luck.

Not always. All vinyls are not created equal.

 

[sardocs]

Thanks for the fast replies folks. We get the aluminum from Sherine Industries in Vancouver, and it comes with a white vinyl laminated to it. I'm cutting it to follow the contours of the lettering and graphic components and I want to hand paint a 2" border and an outline around it. Both my plotters and my printer only do 30" so I can piece together the outlines if I have to, but I can handletter it so much faster. I originally wanted to paint the whole sign on MDO but they wanted aluminum.

 

[Gino]

Why not just order the substrate with enamel baked-on-finish and skip the vinyl coated aluminum ?? Then you can hand-paint the whole thing like you said.

 

[sardocs]

I'm already in the middle of cutting the aluminum to shape.

 

[Mosh]

+++I used to do the ol' krylon airbrushed look back in the late 80's early 90's. I would just print it and be done with it, sub the printing if you can't do it in house.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

1 Shot will work fine ..you can lightly sand with 400 grit or higher # for even better grip.

I use a vinyl paint, clear coat .. roll it up & install on windows using water & janitors squeegee or mail it they install.

 

[TammieH]

Since 1Shot bought out Chromatic, they no longer make the waterborne primer, but 1Shot does have something very similar (probably the same thing actually with their name on the can.

1Shot Vinyl Primer 5004. I still have a quart here

You might want to think about the Krylon or Krylon Fusion like others have suggested.

 

[sardocs]

I've used krylon in the past many times, but in this case I'm not spraying anything. I have aluminum that came pre-vinyled. It's now cut to shape. I'm using a combination of printed graphics and cut vinyl and I just want to outline the larger letters with red and black like in the design I posted. I'm going to scuff it and use the 1shot. It faces north and gets no sun. Thanks everyone for the replies. Y'all have a great new year.

 

[Mike Paul]

3M makes a clear enamel receptive vinyl that 1-Shot adheres to really well. I used it for years before getting a printer for gradient fades etc. but it looks like this won't work for you application.
1-Shot will lay down and dry on regular vinyl but it doesn't adhere well.
If you try a test piece and put application tape over it and pull it up you'll see what I mean...

 

[rjssigns]

Years ago I would airbrush fades, bevels, etc... using automotive toners on whatever vinyl I had. Lots of "bite" never an issue. Maybe check into House of Kolors urethane striping paint?

 

[visual800]

I wanna know why some still use one shot for anything why not save money and get rustoleum, lasts about the same

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Visual ..1 Shot is still a outstanding paint & flows very well in a brush yes so does Ronan lettering paint the are made for lettering is why.
In fact there are superior water base paints that out last 1-Shot and several others like Nova Colors, Modern Masters, & Golden.

Those hardware store paints are ok but not nearly as good as Nova Or 1-Shot & Ronan for lettering.

The water base Nova Colors does take getting use to for precise & tiny lettering & will most likely replace & be a main stay paint

 

[sardocs]

Thanks Craig, I'm going to follow your advice and lightly scuff the surface where I am going to paint. I knew when I first posted, that even if I said to keep the 1shot hate out of the thread, some folks would not be able to. I have been using 1shot since the mid-seventies and it is still my preferred lettering enamel. I've used Chromatic and HOK, but 1shot is da bomb! Visual800 - Thanks for your insightful comment, you can keep lettering and striping with Rustoleum or housepaint or shoe polish if it works for you. I be stickin' with the 1shot.

 

[MikePro]

+1 light scuffing for good measure.
acrylic enamel paints work great on vinyl.

....exterior use, however, can be sketchy unless using cast materials.

 

[Jillbeans]

If it's just the border, I would mask off the part to be painted (a good 2" mask over the vinyl you want to have exposed) very lightly Scotchbrite it and clean with 90% alcohol then paint.

I had used 1S since 1985 and loved it until about 2007. They were good to me, donated tons of paint to my meets, but I refuse to be loyal to a product that doesn't last longer than about 2 years outside. I've heard that 1S is changing the formulation and I hope it's true. But to me, 1 Shot is the new Avery.

Ronan is now my paint of choice but I did get to try the Nova colors this past summer. It's a HUGE learning curve but the paints are pretty, vibrant, and even though they have to be double or even triple-coated, they are supposed to last a long time and are easy to use.
Love....Jill