Bubbles with metallic vinyl

[JBurton]

a pile of rage, or a pile of shame?

Agreed, piles are reserved for shame. Holes are where I keep my rage bottled up, or strewn across the floor as the trashcan spiraled from a swift kick.

Gnubler, pick ya up a cheapie laminator off of ebay, they can be had for $2-300. pop the material in, vinyl on top, peel back, remove liner and cut it off, then crank that half through the laminator. Repeat for the opposite side.

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[gnubler]

That laminator has been on my list for months, it's time to just buy it already.

My "pile" was definitely formed by rage. The first magnet that hit the ground ended up splitting because I threw it so hard.
It's been cleaned up but I haven't yet gained the patience to get back to it. Plus I had to order more metallic silver and then found out it's on a manufacturer drop ship. So, 30 days?
F.M.L.

 

[Johnny Best]

Coda makes a great manual laminator. Had a 36" one for close to fifty years. Try Ebay for deals.

 

[JBurton]

Plus I had to order more metallic silver and then found out it's on a manufacturer drop ship. So, 30 days?

Ugh, Avery makes a decent one that I use seldomly, and 3m has one in there 3630 series, 3630-121 (silver) is as sparkly as gold nugget.

 

[White Haus]

That laminator has been on my list for months, it's time to just buy it already.

My "pile" was definitely formed by rage. The first magnet that hit the ground ended up splitting because I threw it so hard.
It's been cleaned up but I haven't yet gained the patience to get back to it. Plus I had to order more metallic silver and then found out it's on a manufacturer drop ship. So, 30 days?
F.M.L.

That's frustrating! Anyone nearby that could just run these for you? I'd offer to make them for you but shipping from Canada to Idaho probably wouldn't be ideal, eh.

You could probably get a sample roll/yard of 3M IJ180 metallic silver faster than 30 days, and might be enough to get the job done!

 

[gnubler]

Big squeegee will always leave bubbles with non-air-release material, especially with magnetic that won't ever lie flat on your table. To get the magnetic to lie flat you should keep a piece of galvanized sheetmetal to lay it on.

However you can get a totally bubble free application if you put application tape on the vinyl (with no bubbles under the tape either) and put it on the magnetic with a regular squeegee using the hinge method from the center of the piece. We do it all the time.

WOOT! Unclebun is the winner here! What I did was lay my magnet on top of a filing cabinet (only flat metal surface in the shop), Gerber 220 cast masked with low-tac clear tape, taped a center hinge, and NO app fluid. Used a small squeegee, then pulled the tape off parallel to itself. No bubbles! Looks like glass.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone.

 

[Boudica]

 

[gnubler]

Also, I was wearing sandals and listening to Great Gig in the Sky during this process, probably imperative to the outcome.
Meanwhile, my inbox is being flooded with big dollar jobs...and I'm screwing around with these stupid nonprofit magnets. At least they are done and I won't struggle with this ever again.

 

[JBurton]

Great Gig in the Sky

That's my current morning alarm. Such a f*cking surging buildup, it's hard not to wake up ready to rock.