Question Vehicle Wraps

[Howard Bee]

Been having problems on our wraps with the Ford Transit van.
Have used Arlon SLX cast, 3M 480mC, Avery cast wrap and Orical 3951RA and all have lifted on the inside crease line of the pressed in panel (where the window would go if they were fitted.
Anyone have a solution because I have seen lots of other wraps that we have not done doing the same thing.

 

[OPENSignsInc.]

What are you cleaning the vehicle with?

Are you using any adhesion promoters (like 3M primer 94)?

Are you doing vertical or horizontal panels?

Are you post heating the area to the mfg recommend temp (with a heatgun and IR thermometer)?

One thing I try to do when doing the small grooves, is you want to work from the top of the ridge down to the flat surface. Basically you don't want to stretch the small area (which has less adhesion) because it's fighting the tendency to shrink against the larger area (which has greater adhesion). I do this by applying the vinyl around the whole outside window area and working my way to the center with a torch/heatgun.

 

[McDonald Signs]

Apply 3M Primer to the crease and after about 10 minutes drying time push the vinyl in the crease with heat

 

[MelloImagingTechnologies]

Watch the video on wrapitright.com

 

[Howard Bee]

What are you cleaning the vehicle with?

Are you using any adhesion promoters (like 3M primer 94)?

Are you doing vertical or horizontal panels?

Are you post heating the area to the mfg recommend temp (with a heatgun and IR thermometer)?

One thing I try to do when doing the small grooves, is you want to work from the top of the ridge down to the flat surface. Basically you don't want to stretch the small area (which has less adhesion) because it's fighting the tendency to shrink against the larger area (which has greater adhesion). I do this by applying the vinyl around the whole outside window area and working my way to the center with a torch/heatgun.

 

[Howard Bee]

Thanks tried all that but still have the problem of small areas where it bubbles. Been wrapping vehicles for many years and have never had this problem.
Always use a primer in in high stretch areas, post heat, but as I said seeing it everywhere but just on the fords and all in the same place, will continue to experiment.

 

[jim wells]

I struggled with one clients vans. They pretty much use older econoline vans with the small body groove so all different brands of vinyl shouldn't matter. It kept lifting in those areas and I kept redoing them. I switched from 3m at the time to Avery and tried Arlon as well and kept gettin the same issue. It wasn't on one particular van either. I went through all the typical things. Re-cleaning. Priming. Post heating and more post heating.
The background is solid orange with some text mixed in. They didn't like any of the off the shelf color change wrap colors so it was printed to their liking. I finally figured out that the vinyl was over saturated with ink to achieve that color that it must have been reacting with the adhesive. We have a special fixture that we use to let the vinyl outgas for a couple days prior to lamination so it's not that we were laminating too soon. Any other colors or combinations we have no issues and have gone into all the extreme contours and recesses with great success.

 

[ikarasu]

It could be whatever process ford uses is leaving behind contaminants.

I presume you clean it.... Have you tried using rapid cleaner? It's good at removing most residues that cause problems. I'd try rapid clean it, then rubbing alcohol 1-2 times just to be safe in that area.

If your comfortable with a torch you could try flaming it also.... But that's risky if you're not used to it.

 

[MikePatterson]

Adhere the wrap around the perimeter of the recess. Then adhere the center of the panel, only 4 to 6 inches down the middle. Leave roughly 12 inches around the outer perimeter loose. Heat away from the tight bend at least 4 inches away, then work the film into the recess. You put the stretch and stress in the flat area of the panel and not in the tight bend. Then work the air from under the 12 inches of film on the flat. Lastly post heat with a roller in the tight bend. I do not finish the outside of the panel until last just in case I wrinkle or FUBAR the recess. I can always pick it up and redo it without ruining anything.

We have done a few hundred vans without any major failures. We use Avery 1105 and do not use any primer. I cant say we don't get the occasional bubble but no major failures. We also try and keep vans for 24 hours after install to catch anything that may pop up.

 

[Lindsey]

Primer 94 (be sure to let it dry) and post heating to the correct temp for the material is crucial.