WhiskeyDreamer
Professional Snow Ninja
Good afternoon everyone! We've hit a bit of a dilemma in our shop with an installation that went pear shaped. So I'm coming to the professionals. 
Here's the job, so far: 3M prints from Signs 365 with matte laminate were applied to a wallpapered wall at the business. It's a large, full coverage area. The wall was cleaned with denatured alcohol as per our usual. Installer is educated and knows what he's doing.
The day following install, client calls and says the vinyl is peeling off. We check it out. On-site decision is made to reapply with a rivet brush and inform the client we'll be back in a day or so to check it out and see what's happening.
Two days later, it's peeling off again. Installer goes out and applies Primer 94 to corners. Give it a day or two and check again. This seems to be working. Installer applies Primer 94 to a large section of the wallpapered wall and reapplies the vinyl graphics that were peeling off.
About a week goes by and we get a call. Now it's staying secured at the corners, but it's "bubbling" out in the middle, meaning there are air pockets. The client is just pressing them back down by hand as they see them.
This is a really good client and they've been very understanding with this for us. We want to fix this problem, but we're not really sure where to start. I don't want to order the prints again, and have the same problem.
What I know about the wall: there's a picture of it attached. It is at least 10+ years old in its current state (with the wallpaper). It was thorough cleaned before the vinyl was applied (each time it was applied). We've used this vinyl on hundreds of other installs without an issue, so I'm assuming that it's not the problem.
What you need to know about the design: it has to be printed. It's a distressed font word collage with multiple colors.
Things we've thought to try/do:
- Instead of prints, do a substrate that would then be adhered to the wall.
- Find a vinyl with a more aggressive adhesive.
- Is there a different primer out there that would aid the adhesion better?
- Would having the wall painted help or hinder the install?
What would you guys do/try in this situation?
Thanks in advance for your help! Any questions, ask away! I'll answer the best I can.
Here's the job, so far: 3M prints from Signs 365 with matte laminate were applied to a wallpapered wall at the business. It's a large, full coverage area. The wall was cleaned with denatured alcohol as per our usual. Installer is educated and knows what he's doing.
The day following install, client calls and says the vinyl is peeling off. We check it out. On-site decision is made to reapply with a rivet brush and inform the client we'll be back in a day or so to check it out and see what's happening.
Two days later, it's peeling off again. Installer goes out and applies Primer 94 to corners. Give it a day or two and check again. This seems to be working. Installer applies Primer 94 to a large section of the wallpapered wall and reapplies the vinyl graphics that were peeling off.
About a week goes by and we get a call. Now it's staying secured at the corners, but it's "bubbling" out in the middle, meaning there are air pockets. The client is just pressing them back down by hand as they see them.
This is a really good client and they've been very understanding with this for us. We want to fix this problem, but we're not really sure where to start. I don't want to order the prints again, and have the same problem.
What I know about the wall: there's a picture of it attached. It is at least 10+ years old in its current state (with the wallpaper). It was thorough cleaned before the vinyl was applied (each time it was applied). We've used this vinyl on hundreds of other installs without an issue, so I'm assuming that it's not the problem.
What you need to know about the design: it has to be printed. It's a distressed font word collage with multiple colors.
Things we've thought to try/do:
- Instead of prints, do a substrate that would then be adhered to the wall.
- Find a vinyl with a more aggressive adhesive.
- Is there a different primer out there that would aid the adhesion better?
- Would having the wall painted help or hinder the install?
What would you guys do/try in this situation?
Thanks in advance for your help! Any questions, ask away! I'll answer the best I can.
