Need Help Recommended premask for wet installaions

[Thom S.]

What's a good premask that can be used when installing 3M Frosted Crystal vinyl. These are large window plotted graphics that are applied wet. We also need to remove the premask the same day, we don't have the time to have it set up overnight. Any thoughts?

 

[d fleming]

Transfer right premask, low tac. Rapid tac II. Personally I would do it dry if at all possible. It is a total pita to remove premask from graphics on glass in a hurry.

 

[Thom S.]

Thanks for your input, we've found that wet installs give us the best results with this material. Is the low tack enough to hold the vinyl while removing the release liner?

 

[ikarasu]

Go over it with a heat gun before pulling it off. If the vinyl is wet no matter how low tac it's going to remove the vinyl. We try to leave it for at least a couple hours.

There is also bubble free frosted vinyl.. we haven't used it for any job yet, it's mainly for printed installs. We had a sample of it though and it was awesome.

 

[Thom S.]

Go over it with a heat gun before pulling it off. If the vinyl is wet no matter how low tac it's going to remove the vinyl. We try to leave it for at least a couple hours.

There is also bubble free frosted vinyl.. we haven't used it for any job yet, it's mainly for printed installs. We had a sample of it though and it was awesome.

Thanks for your input. We have an air release frost in stock but it's almost impossible to weed, very difficult to see cuts, guess it'd be OK for print.

 

[Melks]

I often use 3M dusted crystal film on glass for office applications and more. For the longest time I have used high tack Tru-Stock premask (Grimco's cost effective premask in Canada) but it does not work well with 3M dusted crystal film when a detailed design is involved. I have a lot of patience so I manage to get the film and premask off the liner but its not always an easy task. I think using a high tack or very high tack 3M premask will work better. I feel wait times vary depending on installation technique. Also spraying some water on the premask before removal often helps for me. I would work my way along installing other windows and then come back every so often to see if the premask is ready to be efficiently removed. Hope this helps.

 

[d fleming]

Thanks for your input, we've found that wet installs give us the best results with this material. Is the low tack enough to hold the vinyl while removing the release liner?

It's a pain. Best bet is length of time begore removing premask and spraying more rt2 on mask prior to trying to remove it. Pic is 3/4 ex in my living room. It was done wet so initially it had bubbles but they went away fairly quick.

 

[d fleming]

Sorry for spelling. Using my phone. Should be 3/4" plexi

 

[ikarasu]

Thanks for your input. We have an air release frost in stock but it's almost impossible to weed, very difficult to see cuts, guess it'd be OK for print.

We usually use mactac for frosted, their b free seems to be the same appearance for cutting as their normal. It does say it's not best suited for cutting, and is mainly.for printed though. I've only ever cut bigger designs on the b free for testing.

Generally we just use true stock also, spray the window and the vinyl with soap/water mix.. place it, then squeegee it 2-3 times to ensure all water is out. We had a time sensitive where it had to be done in a day..m so we used a heat gun on the vinyl, and it seemed to dry it decently. It still pulled up... But if you take your time and peel at an angle you should be fine. Anything that lifts you just pull off the premask and repress down.

It's always best to let it dry overnight... But if you can't, just go slow when your peeling. Bring some space heaters and point t at the sections that are done, move onto the next window... And start pulling off once your done the rest.

 

[Markus13126]

Spray the transfer with rapid tacII-- wait a min or two keeping it wet, the tape will peel off easy :0)

 

[CSOCSO]

use paper transfer tape. not the clear one and make sure it's low tack. Once it's installed spray it down with the application solution let it sit for a while. It will release a lot better

 

[Active Sign]

Install graphics and soak paper masking with soapy water and wait a few minutes.

Ever tried the the Hexis frosted vinyl? It's air egress and looks great! [emoji106]


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[Sandman]

I would never take a chance heating a window. Uneven heating could be dangerous to your health and very dangerous to your wallet. No need to use a low tack transfer tape. Wetting it with Rapid Tac or Rapid Tac II will release the transfer tape easily. What I HAVE had trouble with is getting small cut vinyl pieces to stick to low tack TT. You should be able to use whatever tack you have on hand. I've had no problem doing this on R-Tape or Transfer Rite. Keep it wet for several minutes and it will almost fall off. Rapid Tac II for applying the graphics is the only way to go especially on glass. Many people use water with a little alcohol and a drop of dish wash soap for wet applications. This does nothing to promote adhesion. Rapid Tac does, thus the name RAPID Tac. I've installed vinyl on class at 20° F with Rapid Tac II with no problems. YOu can get it removed the same day, just give it a little time to set up and wet it wall.

 

[CL Visual]

I just recently switched over to General Formulation 791AE, it's an air egress and works great. Also, it has a think backing paper which never rips when removing for installation. I've been very happy with it. Previously with Avery Etchmark, I would have to recut a piece every so often which wound up being very costly when the job is not close by.

 

[Signs 'n' Stuff]

Hi Thom
You need to look much earlier in the application. The problem with getting the app tape off is not the app tape but how you prepare the glass. We use medium tack transferite and remove the app tape immediately on wet application on glass. Its how you clean the glass.

• Spray glass with soap and water.
• Use a white nylon scourer scour all over
  
• Rubber squeegee off This safely removes any grit to avoid scratching in next step.
• Spray with soapy water
  
• scrape glass with single sided razor
• spray glass
• scrape again
• spray again
• Squeegee
• spray scour
• squeegee for final dry.

Once you clean glass this way installation becomes much nicer, most people use too much soap in their installation fluid. 1 drop per litre ( close enough to US quart) is about right.

Brett