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Exterior Window Perf Vinyl Failing after 6 months

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appropriate1

New Member
Ready to be shredded and maybe even receive some good advice. Did an exterior, south facing window perf job last fall.
Six panels 4 x 6 feet high, approx. All are lifting on the edges and corners in large areas...2 to 3 inches into the sheet.
We did the store next door years ago with the same thing and it is fine still. Shop owner blames brutally cold winter maybe,
and also says two of the windows cracked since install, and wondering if my window perf might have caused that, too.

I think the issues was using glass cleaner and not rapid tac to final wash glass panes and doubt that anything with my
vinyl job could have had anything to do with his cracks that appeared months after my install. Opinions please?
 

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  • Agree
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A

AB Rolan

New Member
appropriate1 said:
Ready to be shredded and maybe even receive some good advice. Did an exterior, south facing window perf job last fall.
Six panels 4 x 6 feet high, approx. All are lifting on the edges and corners in large areas...2 to 3 inches into the sheet.
We did the store next door years ago with the same thing and it is fine still. Shop owner blames brutally cold winter maybe,
and also says two of the windows cracked since install, and wondering if my window perf might have caused that, too.

I think the issues was using glass cleaner and not rapid tac to final wash glass panes and doubt that anything with my
vinyl job could have had anything to do with his cracks that appeared months after my install. Opinions please?
Click to expand...
Without knowing anything about window perf, any product can have failures, probably none will accept fault. For cleaning i cant imagine you would go wrong using ammonia / water mix. Maybe soap / water / rinse to start if it is really dirty.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user
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signheremd

New Member
A couple of things to consider: it is hard to properly clean the edges of the glass as it is often next to a rubber or silicone seal. I find the black rubber seals have an oxidized layer that wipes off and can smear the glass edges when you clean and that setups lifting corners down the road. So does simply not cleaning properly at the edges. When in doubt if edges will stay, cut the vinyl smaller than the window and use stripes of clear lamination overlapping the vinyl to permanently hold the edges. As to the perf cracking the glass - ah, no. Looks more like somebody hit the glass to me. Maybe some passer by? Maybe a delivery guy lend something against it? That light gray is not going to absorb enough light as heat to do anything. Cleaning with Rapid Tac or Rapid Tac II is a big plus (especially good in the winter installs). Suggest you go back to that. My 2 cents
 
Stacey K

Stacey K

I like making signs
Gosh, I've heard you can't put black on windows if southern exposure but that looks pretty light, like Signheremd said. I also agree with him on the edges. There is something called edge tape and it's about 1/4" wide. I started using it on a variety of things including windows. Wish I had started using it sooner, it will fix the edge issue. I've also used the edge tape on vehicles near door edges. I had a customer come with a partial wrap from another shop where the edges were lifting. We put the edge tape on and a couple years later still good.
 
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Reactions: 1 users
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LarryB

New Member
We will pull the rubber gasket out and install perf all the way to the edges then reinstall the gasket.
 
  • OMG / WOW
Reactions: 1 user
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SeMi57

New Member
As far as edge tape, I haven't done this but was told to use clear banner hem tape around the entire edge.
 
Precision

Precision

SoCal Signmaker
Its usually because of cleanliness, especially specs of dirt in the corners. We print to size of window no bleed. Really if you keep it an 1/8 or 1/4 gap between perf and seal no one will even notice and it helps stay down longer.
 
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Reactions: 1 user
Precision

Precision

SoCal Signmaker
I guess it all depends on why your in business. It would be great to turn work down. Just not geared that way. A set of windows is an easy $1000 on about $400 in cost where I'm at.
 
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Reactions: 1 user
Norman Clifton

Norman Clifton

New Member
appropriate1 said:
Ready to be shredded and maybe even receive some good advice. Did an exterior, south facing window perf job last fall.
Six panels 4 x 6 feet high, approx. All are lifting on the edges and corners in large areas...2 to 3 inches into the sheet.
We did the store next door years ago with the same thing and it is fine still. Shop owner blames brutally cold winter maybe,
and also says two of the windows cracked since install, and wondering if my window perf might have caused that, too.

I think the issues was using glass cleaner and not rapid tac to final wash glass panes and doubt that anything with my
vinyl job could have had anything to do with his cracks that appeared months after my install. Opinions please?\
appropriate1 said:
Ready to be shredded and maybe even receive some good advice. Did an exterior, south facing window perf job last fall.
Six panels 4 x 6 feet high, approx. All are lifting on the edges and corners in large areas...2 to 3 inches into the sheet.
We did the store next door years ago with the same thing and it is fine still. Shop owner blames brutally cold winter maybe,
and also says two of the windows cracked since install, and wondering if my window perf might have caused that, too.

I think the issues was using glass cleaner and not rapid tac to final wash glass panes and doubt that anything with my
vinyl job could have had anything to do with his cracks that appeared months after my install. Opinions please?
Click to expand...
We had a similar fail but it was because the media we were using was not UV compatible and we had not checked specs (went with vendor telling us it was UV rated :( )- they made it good again
but we had to remove and reinstall new prints, Never again take anyones word for it. Windex to us is a no no---- we would clean by using alcohol/water and use a blade to scrape surface.
Click to expand...
 
T

TheAngryCanadian

New Member
I going to agree with signheremd that cleaning was probably the reason. I’ve seen lots of these failures before and improperly cleaning was the reason. With glass you might have to clean it 2-3 times to get it “clean” there are glass safe scrub pads (white) that you can use to break the dirt layer. Always do a final clean with isopropyl alcohol.
I strongly recommend doing an adhesion test too. If your masking tape doesn’t stick neither will your graphic. Taking extra time to make sure is less Expensive than a redo.
 
Eforcer

Eforcer

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appropriate1 said:
Ready to be shredded and maybe even receive some good advice. Did an exterior, south facing window perf job last fall.
Six panels 4 x 6 feet high, approx. All are lifting on the edges and corners in large areas...2 to 3 inches into the sheet.
We did the store next door years ago with the same thing and it is fine still. Shop owner blames brutally cold winter maybe,
and also says two of the windows cracked since install, and wondering if my window perf might have caused that, too.

I think the issues was using glass cleaner and not rapid tac to final wash glass panes and doubt that anything with my
vinyl job could have had anything to do with his cracks that appeared months after my install. Opinions please?
Click to expand...
All film are not created equal with adhesive and backing. After 20 years of applying perf (never laminated) I've learned cleaning is the most important, but doesn't really prevent lifting. I always apply double sided tape to all the corners. This will help seal the film from peeling. As far as the perf cracking the glass. Bah ha ha

I had salt hit a pane from the city doing the salt spreader. I received a price of $450 Insurance said no so I said I'll perf it. 3 years later still up.



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