Cloudy splotches in 3M 8518 gloss lam

[Steenland]

I'm using 3M 8518 gloss lam for the first time, and I'm getting ugly cloudy splotches on the last 8 to 10 feet of each roll. It gets worse as the roll nears the end. It's not so visible straight on, but shows up strongly in the reflectivity.

Is this normal? I'm putting it on IJ8150, so it's very visible and I'm having to remake the prints.

 

[Bly]

We had similar issues with a roll of 8150 optically clear recently.
I don't think I'd buy it again for the price.
There were repeating marks at the beginning of the roll from lying on it's side or something.

 

[ikarasu]

It's from the glue "pooling" It happens sometimes at the end of 3M rolls.... Usually it'll go away with heat or over time.... Doesn't help for indoor installs, but if you take a heat gun to it on low for a few minutes, it should clear up. With how expensive 8150 is...It's worth a try at least. I know it works on 180, but with 8150 being so clear... Maybe it never goes back to "Perfection"

 

[White Haus]

Yes, this is normal for 8518. No, I don't like it or think it's acceptable for how much 3M charges for this "premium" product.

It used to only show up in 8519 for us. Returned every other roll and 3M claimed they had never seen it before. So we dropped 8519 a couple years ago, now it's happening on 8518 but only at the end of the roll like you mentioned.

Also present on most of their 220 cut vinyl, especially gloss black.

But hey, it's 3M, so they're the "best", right? What other company can pull off quarterly price increases while consistently delivering lower quality products?

End. Rant. Back to work for me.

 

[WYLDGFI]

We have that issue once in a while with 8518 and file a claim with our vendor to let them deal with it. Sucks when you loose prints because of crap like that. The time and effort cannot be recouped.

 

[Steenland]

Thanks for the feedback. Wow, it's annoying to pay top dollar for "the good stuff" and then get issues like this! Most of my work is temporary indoor exhibits so I use cheap calendared lam, and I've never seen this.

 

[SignLadyWeymouth]

I'm using 3M 8518 gloss lam for the first time, and I'm getting ugly cloudy splotches on the last 8 to 10 feet of each roll. It gets worse as the roll nears the end. It's not so visible straight on, but shows up strongly in the reflectivity.

Is this normal? I'm putting it on IJ8150, so it's very visible and I'm having to remake the prints.

I find that EVERY roll of that laminate is cloudy for the last few yards. It's pretty frustrating so we switched to Avery Clear Vue gloss. Perfect til the end every time.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

I'm seeing this to be further into the rolls now, not just at the end... AND... in just about EVERY ROLL. If 3M doesn't fix this quality issue... it will NO LONGER be the ONE OVERLAMINATE I buy for ALL of my vinyls. Period.

 

[tudouqiezi]

Yes, I had the same problem many times with 8518 8519, which bothered me a lot, and the 3M after-sales support in my area was 0, which didn't seem to be a problem for them, much to my disappointment

 

[rjssigns]

Stopped using 3M years ago for all the reasons listed. Best part is not one client has noticed or complained I didn't use the 3M products. Imagine that...

 

[McDonald Signs]

I use 3M 8518 laminate and have the same problem but after applying the laminate to the vinyl I just heat those spots with a heat gun and they go away.

 

[White Haus]

I use 3M 8518 laminate and have the same problem but after applying the laminate to the vinyl I just heat those spots with a heat gun and they go away.

Yeah they do go away with heat/sun, but it sucks having to go through all the hoops to make a "premium" product look good.

Oraguard 290 gloss and Avery 1060Z don't have this problem and actually have a nicer finish as far as I'm concerned.

 

[rjssigns]

Yeah they do go away with heat/sun, but it sucks having to go through all the hoops to make a "premium" product look good.

Oraguard 290 gloss and Avery 1060Z don't have this problem and actually have a nicer finish as far as I'm concerned.

BOOM!!! This right here.^^^^^

No way I'm going to "crutch" a premium product. It's either perfect out of the box or it isn't getting used.

Can't understand why so many cling to a product/company that keeps screwing them.

 

[White Haus]

BOOM!!! This right here.^^^^^

No way I'm going to "crutch" a premium product. It's either perfect out of the box or it isn't getting used.

Can't understand why so many cling to a product/company that keeps screwing them.

Yep.
We're about to do the same with their ridiculously overpriced premask, SCPS-55. They're now charging over $500 a roll (Canadian Pesos) and we're starting to run into issues with it.

 

[Patentagosse]

Yeah they do go away with heat/sun, but it sucks having to go through all the hoops to make a "premium" product look good.

Oraguard 290 gloss and Avery 1060Z don't have this problem and actually have a nicer finish as far as I'm concerned.

I'm a long time Oracal user but for the last +/-8 years, I print on 3751 and laminate with 8518. I'm getting the glossiest finish with 3M, over Avery's and way over Oracal's 290g & GF. It's also better for clarity (290G shifts my colors and it has been noticed by my clients once I ran out of 8518). I'm getting the "cloudy splotches" from about every mfg. rolls (Arlon, Avery, 3M, Oracal, Hexis...) Sometimes it's on 1 edge for the whole roll, sometimes it's like you described, near the end. Just run the heatgun / torch over it and it sets back to normal. They all have some issues here & there. For me here, Avery have been the worst over my 33 years career. Never had "shrinking issues" with 3M or Oracal... all the noticeable ones were from Avery rolls.

As for the price, curiously the cheapest 54x150 gloss cast laminate I can get is the 8518 (!!!) when usually 3M stuffs are TopShelf. The most expensive is the 290G. I'm getting my 3751GPS from a source and my 8518 from another place and it cost me the same as getting a 3751 combo.

To me, doing lots of big rigs graphics (print n' cut), it's my prefered combo and it's time-tested for nearly 10 years w/o issue.

 

[Patentagosse]

Yep.
We're about to do the same with their ridiculously overpriced premask, SCPS-55. They're now charging over $500 a roll (Canadian Pesos) and we're starting to run into issues with it.

Yeah, I hear you... I was using 3M premasks (2-3-44x) for decades. They were better quality, thicker premium paper at almost the same price other no name products here. For the last 2-3 years, 3M seem to want all the money I put on the side for my son's scholarship (...) so I decided to boycot 'em and look into other similar products. I've found that Nekoosa (former RTape) have a great selection of premium transfer tape that feel the very same as 3m's. They offer different types of adhesive from LowTac to HiTack, for a wide range of applications (fleet laminate, UV graphics, ...)

Even cooler, the canadian rep is living about an hour from my shop (Quebec, Canada). Give him a call and ask for sample to try, mention you wanna left 3M and looking for an equivalent replacement for the 55 you use. (business card below)

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

So I'm testing the New General Formulations 830 with the Optically Clear Overlam... it's about $400 less than the 3M180/8518 kit for the same longevity and install feels very similar.
It's still $100 cheaper than the 175/8518 kit without the 30% adhesive remaining issue.
The quality control STILL sucks on these 8518 and I'm putting my money where my mouth is and switching. We'll see how it goes. Sorry, but if 3M is going to raise their prices that many times in 3 years but go down hill on quality.... ... just sayin'

 

[White Haus]

Yeah, I hear you... I was using 3M premasks (2-3-44x) for decades. They were better quality, thicker premium paper at almost the same price other no name products here. For the last 2-3 years, 3M seem to want all the money I put on the side for my son's scholarship (...) so I decided to boycot 'em and look into other similar products. I've found that Nekoosa (former RTape) have a great selection of premium transfer tape that feel the very same as 3m's. They offer different types of adhesive from LowTac to HiTack, for a wide range of applications (fleet laminate, UV graphics, ...)

Even cooler, the canadian rep is living about an hour from my shop (Quebec, Canada). Give him a call and ask for sample to try, mention you wanna left 3M and looking for an equivalent replacement for the 55 you use. (business card below)

Sorry just saw this, thank you! I will check it out. Pretty sure we've used Nekoosa in the past but will look into it again.

 

[White Haus]

So I'm testing the New General Formulations 830 with the Optically Clear Overlam... it's about $400 less than the 3M180/8518 kit for the same longevity and install feels very similar.
It's still $100 cheaper than the 175/8518 kit without the 30% adhesive remaining issue.
The quality control STILL sucks on these 8518 and I'm putting my money where my mouth is and switching. We'll see how it goes. Sorry, but if 3M is going to raise their prices that many times in 3 years but go down hill on quality.... ... just sayin'

Let us know how your testing goes - I'm going to reach out to our dealer to see if we can test some out.

(Still getting chitty rolls of 8518 here and yet price just keeps going up!)

 

[Kernersville Vinyl]

used 8518 on Oralite 5600 reflective, is this what you are talking about?