Removable Cast Vinyl?

[SCDesign]

Does anyone know of any good removable cast vinyls? We'd like to use this for temporary floor graphics. What we're using right now looks great, but it's too much of a pain to peel up. We're also laminating with a slip resistant laminate, so it doesn't have to be slip resistant on its own. Ideally, we'd like to use something that's less than 3 mil. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it! Thanks all.

 

[SightLine]

If you are going with cast then 3M 180 (in my 20 years of experience) removes more cleanly and easily than anything else unless primer is used which would not be with floor graphics.

Aside from that though. Most promotional "floor graphic" vinyl is not cast and has adhesive designed to be easily and cleanly removable. I've even used transit vinyl (like Busmark or Metromark) for short term floor graphics and it came up just fine. A non cast promo vinyl will also be an order of magnitude less expensive....

 

[SCDesign]

Calendered vs cast isn't a dealbreaker for this application, so I would try calendered. We initially went with cast because we wanted a thinner profile, but I think we might just have to go thicker. Is there a product you would recommend that's gloss, 4 mil or thinner, and slip resistant? (UFL 410 at least). Thanks for the advice!

 

[WYLDGFI]

We've been using calendared forever for floors. The 5-6mil non slip overlam of course on top of that....Avery 2921 with clear adhesive has been working really well for us.

 

[SCDesign]

Thanks so much for the input! I like the specs for Avery 2921, but matte is a dealbreaker. Do you use any similar products that are gloss?

 

[ChaseO]

Gloss and slip resistant usually don't play well together. It generally doesn't matter what sheen the vinyl is as the laminate needed is usually more of a matte finish anyway.

 

[Boudica]

3M IJ40-CR - it's halfway between cast and calendared, and it's removable. This is our go-to for floor graphics, as well as (most) wall murals.

 

[SCDesign]

What do you mean "halfway between cast and calendered"? I have to say I've never heard of a material like that

 

[Boudica]

maybe I said that incorrectly. It is calendared - but it behaves more like cast than say IJ35-c. I might have been thinking about the cost when I typed that that it's halfway...

 

[WYLDGFI]

2921 Matte prints great. Its the lam you put on top of it that makes the difference.

3M IJ40-CR - it's halfway between cast and calendared, and it's removable. This is our go-to for floor graphics, as well as (most) wall murals.

IJ 40 has the same adhesive as 3m IJ 180CV3 on a higher quality calendared PVC coating. I think that would clear up what you meant when you said "halfway between". lol

 

[Boudica]

I was hoping you would chime in and clarify what I meant... lol

 

[Inks]

maybe I said that incorrectly. It is calendared - but it behaves more like cast than say IJ35-c. I might have been thinking about the cost when I typed that that it's halfway...

I believe what you are describing is Polymeric calendared which shrinks less than Monomeric.

 

[Geneva Olson]

What do you mean "halfway between cast and calendered"? I have to say I've never heard of a material like that

It's called a polymeric. It was partially made with pellets and with liquid . (Cast is liquid, calendered is pellets).
Arlon has a laminate that is gloss that is great for floor graphics. I want to say it is 3170. We just use arlon 510 OR orajet 3640 along with arlon 3170 laminate. I believe I saw that combination here for the floor graphics. But I could be mistaken.
Arlon 510 comes in removable and permanent.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

Does anyone know of any good removable cast vinyls? We'd like to use this for temporary floor graphics. What we're using right now looks great, but it's too much of a pain to peel up. We're also laminating with a slip resistant laminate, so it doesn't have to be slip resistant on its own. Ideally, we'd like to use something that's less than 3 mil. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it! Thanks all.

Just out of curiosity, what are you currently using?

 

[SCDesign]

We were using Arlon 6100. It was an extremely rushed job with a high profile client, so I had to go with something I already had enough stock of and knew would look great despite the high price point. Not a great fit for this application, but I had to go with it. I would still consider using it if not for how tough it was to remove.

 

[Geneva Olson]

We were using Arlon 6100. It was an extremely rushed job with a high profile client, so I had to go with something I already had enough stock of and knew would look great despite the high price point. Not a great fit for this application, but I had to go with it. I would still consider using it if not for how tough it was to remove.

Have you tried the Arlon SLX plus? it has a low initial tack.

 

[Inks]

It's called a polymeric. It was partially made with pellets and with liquid . (Cast is liquid, calendered is pellets).
Arlon has a laminate that is gloss that is great for floor graphics. I want to say it is 3170. We just use arlon 510 OR orajet 3640 along with arlon 3170 laminate. I believe I saw that combination here for the floor graphics. But I could be mistaken.
Arlon 510 comes in removable and permanent.

Cast vinyl is liquid that is put into a mold, holds its form and can be stretched like on vehicle wrap contours. Calenedered is extruded and has a memory, hence the shrinking.

Have you tried the Arlon SLX plus? it has a low initial tack.

It has a low initial tack but once activated by a heat gun which is the only way it will adhere it will perform like an other cast product.
IMO he needs a removable calendered vinyl, polymeric would be better to avoid shrinkage.

 

[Decal Removal Expert]

We have removed decals from floor advertisements in malls and stores. My 2 cents is use only 3M hi performance with the recommended laminate for foot traffic. Preferably 180c as mentioned by Sightline earlier in post. IMO, going cheap here could be a liability concern. Unless applying on a brand new substrate, different cleaning agents and more than average pressures will challenge the material characteristics to the edge.
Worst case scenario; On the largest of our projects, we were asked to remove 290 ft of vinyl material inside a high traffic mall that was 4 months old applied on a polished concrete surface. The installer used a material that his supplier recommended (not 3M) with a durable laminate. The material held up extremely well but the 1st and 2nd attempts to remove it yielded a 14 ft area for 8-10 hours of labor. We were called and were successful at removing the remainder in 5 hours with a 60-70% separation. The real concern wasn't getting the vinyl up, it was getting the adhesive up in an enclosed area that was populated 18 hours a day 7 days a week. We discovered this too late. We were given the O.K. to work from 11pm-7am. At 4am, when we completed removing the vinyl, we assumed that 3 hours would be sufficient to complete the adhesive evacuation process. No one mentioned the "mall walkers" that would show up from 5 am-7am and ignore all of our safety signs and barriers. Nor had we considered the fumes and the lack of ventilation........
Which explains my preference for material. What we are really talking about is the adhesive, and in my experience, 3M is the master when it comes to adhesive, it's what they are known for. Any vinyl will come up, the difficulty will vary. But we have yet to experience anything close to 3M 180c when it comes to separation issues (adhesive residue) with varied conditions, age and exposure. We have removed 3M 180c vinyl's from floors with little or no separation from 1 month-1 year old approx., smooth indoor surfaces.
Removeable can be very vague like Biodegradable, over tens of thousands of years, Plutonium is biodegradable. I would recommend finding somebody with direct, substantiated experience when choosing your materials.

 

[Inks]

We have removed decals from floor advertisements in malls and stores. My 2 cents is use only 3M hi performance with the recommended laminate for foot traffic. Preferably 180c as mentioned by Sightline earlier in post. IMO, going cheap here could be a liability concern. Unless applying on a brand new substrate, different cleaning agents and more than average pressures will challenge the material characteristics to the edge.
Worst case scenario; On the largest of our projects, we were asked to remove 290 ft of vinyl material inside a high traffic mall that was 4 months old applied on a polished concrete surface. The installer used a material that his supplier recommended (not 3M) with a durable laminate. The material held up extremely well but the 1st and 2nd attempts to remove it yielded a 14 ft area for 8-10 hours of labor. We were called and were successful at removing the remainder in 5 hours with a 60-70% separation. The real concern wasn't getting the vinyl up, it was getting the adhesive up in an enclosed area that was populated 18 hours a day 7 days a week. We discovered this too late. We were given the O.K. to work from 11pm-7am. At 4am, when we completed removing the vinyl, we assumed that 3 hours would be sufficient to complete the adhesive evacuation process. No one mentioned the "mall walkers" that would show up from 5 am-7am and ignore all of our safety signs and barriers. Nor had we considered the fumes and the lack of ventilation........
Which explains my preference for material. What we are really talking about is the adhesive, and in my experience, 3M is the master when it comes to adhesive, it's what they are known for. Any vinyl will come up, the difficulty will vary. But we have yet to experience anything close to 3M 180c when it comes to separation issues (adhesive residue) with varied conditions, age and exposure. We have removed 3M 180c vinyl's from floors with little or no separation from 1 month-1 year old approx., smooth indoor surfaces.
Removeable can be very vague like Biodegradable, over tens of thousands of years, Plutonium is biodegradable. I would recommend finding somebody with direct, substantiated experience when choosing your materials.

Sounds like you were removing a permanent adhesive not a removable. 3M is good but not the only product that functions in this application. Avery, Arlon, Orafol and others have perfectly good removable products.

 

[Decal Removal Expert]

Sounds like you were removing a permanent adhesive not a removable. 3M is good but not the only product that functions in this application. Avery, Arlon, Orafol and others have perfectly good removable products.

I just noticed your reply to my thread. Are you trying to sell the other products you mentioned as comparable? Comparable is another one of the vague terms loosely tossed around to save money or increase profit on the front end.
The vinyl from my post was not specified as a "permanent" vinyl. And I am sure that other products "function perfectly good"" in this application. But when considering the the separation issue(adhesive residue), over 25-30 years of actively removing decals from dozens of substrates and literally thousands of trailers and fleet equipment, not one of the other products you mentioned has come close to yielding the results of the 3m products we have worked with. We don't sell, manufacture or install vinyl anymore. Only remove. When removing decals from any substrate, upon discovering that the type of vinyl is Metallic, Reflective or other than 3M, the cost to remove is nearly double. This is not my opinion, it is a tried and true fact. A fact that only gets more expensive the older the film gets.