Does Vinyl Lose Stickiness (Vinyl shelf life)?

[klevrgrafix]

I've only been in the vinyl graphics industry for a couple years now and last year I planned on dabbling into the interior / wall graphics side of things and bought a roll of Oracal 631 Exhibition vinyl in Brown. I never did anything with it until yesterday - About a year and 2 months later. I cut a decal out of it and put it up in our master bedroom but it's not adhering very well. It separated from the OraTape rather well but a couple spots keep peeling away from the wall even after squeegeeing over and over again. I wiped the wall down with just a damp paper towel about 6 hours before I applied it just to get any surface dust off the wall. It appears that the paint is your everyday satin finish slate blue color - Possibly higher end paint.

I've read a couple posts before that some paints just won't let the vinyl adhere well. Maybe this is the case, but also wondered if because the roll was over a year old - Maybe that's why?

Thanks in advance!

 

[player]

Vinyl does have a shelf life. You can call Oracal with the codes on the box and they can tell you how old it is.

A year sounds a little short to me though. Your wall may have soaked in water and not thoroughly dried. Or maybe there was some invisible oils or grease and you should have used a detergent...

There are also paints that do not work too well with vinyls.

I would try sticking a large piece to a rigid sheet of e-panel as a test, and call Oracal on Monday.

 

[Jburns]

I had the EXACT same problem with 631 Brown this year- bought last year!!

i bet its the same batch. Basic wall, sherwin williams eggshell...

 

[SignosaurusRex]

The culprit is most likely the paint. Some paints do contain ingredients to aid in cleaning and help repel anything from sticking to the paint. Upper-grade paints will usually fit into that particular category. Additionally, the grade/series of vinyl can also be an issue. If the vinyl is in fact 'old', It can be heated after application in order to rejuvenate the adhesive quality. Good Luck.

 

[bob]

I have some odd ball colors of Oracal 651 and 751, some over 10 years old. From time to time I'll use some of this material with no problems. When you have a roll of old vinyl that's be out in the air for a long time it's prudent to unwind the amount of media that's be expose to the air. That bit of vinyl might tend to behave a wee bit differently that the part that was covered. Not the adhesive but it can tend to get a bit more brittle than normal.

 

[OldPaint]

i have some vinyl that YES THE ADHESIVE DOES GET LESS STICKY in time. the worst was that roll of chrome with flecks of all kinda colors in it.......next would be any metallics......chrome, silver,, gold..good for 3 maybe 4 years.same with REFLECTIVE. now solid color oracal, never a problem 5-7 years old still good. i use a lot of SHINE RITE/BRITE LINE same vinyl different seller...most aggressive adhesive of any vinyl.......got som 10 yrs old.......still will take the hair off your chest)))

 

[ddarlak]

The shelf life is because the silicone on the liner breaks down and contaminates the adhesive on the vinyl. I'd imagine that different climate conditions make the shelf life vary.

That being said, I think your issue is the walls, some paints just don't take vinyl very well, especially cheap vinyl.

 

[OldPaint]

as for your present problem........"the wall" i think is the problem.
DID YOU PAINT IT? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PAINT IS? IS IT GLOSS, SEMI GLOSS OR FLAT??
vinyl wont stick to FLAT LATEX PAINT............
your best recourse in this is to make sure the wall is is either gloss or semi gloss.....GLOSS PREFERABLY.
wipe it down with an alcohol .......of 70% 1st...... TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NOTHING between paint and adhesive.
you will take off some paint.........but you will know its clean

 

[klevrgrafix]

Thanks, everyone, for your help! I did not paint the wall myself but the previous homeowners left the paint they used for all the rooms and it's Behr Premium Plus paint. When we moved in a couple months ago, we repainted some other rooms the same color but went down in Behr quality one level (because I can be cheap sometimes) so I'll see how the vinyl sticks to the other walls when my wife figures out what designs she wants where.

Thanks again!

 

[S'N'S]

Viponds also make this http://www.viponds.com.au/digital-print-prep-products for applying prints to walls painted with acrylic.

Note: I haven't tried it myself.

 

[decalman]

I took some Oracle 651 that looked hopeless. I knew this was hanging around 5-8 years, in the heat. The stuff stuck like it was new. It's great for wrapping packages too.

 

[klmiller611]

A number of years back, I had some vinyl cut for stencils to letter a railroad caboose. I had them cut in August for application in October, but weather never cooperated. So it was the following spring. The adhesive had gone bad on the stencils and they seemed to stick OK, but they did not seal well, and paint bleed all over the place. I had to spend an entire extra day cleaning off bleeds with Q tips and thinner. Now, I never get anything until right before I am using it.

The paint was a standard automotive paint, had fully cured and was painted correctly. Just think the vinyl I had gotten was old to start with, and they figured they could pass it off on me.

Best
Ken

 

[All Graphics Calgary]

631 exhibition vinyl is a short term vinyl meant for lettering on walls and to be removed. My thoughts are that the adhesive dried up..

 

[Rodan68]

Pretty sure it's the paint. Google applying vinyl to Low VOC or Zero VOC paint. Regular vinyl just doesn't stick well to that stuff. An alcohol wipe is recommended but be careful because that can leave streaks on the paint. Test an area first.

 

[signbrad]

Shelf Life

I have seen problems with vinyl adhering to some wall paints, too. I remember reading once where 3M even mentioned by name a particular line of paint to avoid because it resisted vinyl adhesion.

However, vinyl does have a shelf life.
And even if very old vinyl seems to stick well at first, it may not live to its rated life expectancy after it's installed. A vinyl may even be formulated with an initial tack that is more aggressive, but the initial tack may not indicate how long the permanent adhesion will last.
Another problem with vinyl shelf life is that we don't always know how long it has sat on a rack in a supplier's warehouse before we get it. That's why some of the warranties specifically state that the warranty period starts from the date printed on the box.


What determines shelf life?

An Arlon tech sheet (April, 2014) indicates the cause is usually contamination of the adhesive by the vinyl itself, or more specifically, by the plasticizer in the PVC. Plasticizers, used mostly in PVC products like sign vinyl, are necessary additives. They make the plastic sheet softer and more flexible, conformable. Plasticizers may make up 20-25% of a sign vinyl formulation. As vinyl ages, the plasticizer "migrates" and eventually saturates the adhesive, gradually "deadening" it. Adverse storage conditions, such as a hot supplier warehouse, can accelerate plasticizer migration. Also, cheaper vinyls use cheaper plasticizers that are less stable. They transfer more easily. Other vinyls, like cast vinyls, have plasticizers that are more resistant to migration. Adhesives vary, too. Some are more resistant to plasticizer contamination than others.
Plasticizer migration is a big deal in some industries that use PVC extensively. Examples would be food storage and packaging, medical equipment (tubing, bags, etc), and the plastic sheet businesses that supply liners to landfills and water treatment plants.


Here is the Arlon tech sheet that talks about shelf life:

http://www.nepcosignsupply.com/store/pc/catalog/tips/14.pdf


Here are specs for Oracal 631, which I understand is the only Oracal film with a true temporary adhesive so that it can be removed cleanly, while other Oracals have permanent or semi-permanent adhesives. 631 is for indoor use. And note that the shelf life is based on a particular temperature and humidity level:

http://www.orafol.com/tl_files/cont...ldatasheets/americas/en/oracal/oracal-631.pdf


Brad in Kansas City