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19 foot american flag boat wrap went wrong

shadi75

shadi75

owner
Hi

I had an installer buy a 19ft American flag boat wrap for a customer that wanted it. I made this wrap with the orajet 3951 and laminated with the 290g. Printed on a new roland 540vsi.

The customer contacted a week ago and says they can't get the bottom part of one side to stay on and they want me to owner the warranty to replace it. I checked with orafol specialist and showed them the photo they sent me ,i also had them check the lot number on the rolls i used to make sure everything is good.

After looking at the photo i m told the wrap is too close to the bottom edge and tucked in and that shouldn't have happened all boat wraps should stop few inches from the bottom.

Now i started making boat wraps this year so i m not very familiar with installation method and issues as i m with truck and car wraps.

Let me know what you think
 

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shadi75

shadi75

owner
The customer is the installer, this is a company in Tennessee, the wrap was shipped to them. They put it on i just made it. They said there 3M certified.
 
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unclebun

Active Member
Can't tell much about the boat from that picture, but boat wraps should not extend below the waterline, and the bottom edge has to be sealed. That looks like water spray/pressure has peeled back the wrap. Therefore the wrap was installed too far down.
 
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ikarasu

Premium Subscriber
If the installer is 3M preferred he should know you never install below the water line.

Vinyls not meant to soak in water.. And the pressure from it will easily tear the water. 3M will not warranty anything below water line, I'm sure orafol wouldn't either.

Tell him you do not warrant anything installed below the water line, as is standard by the industry. If you're new to printing, and this guy will be ordering a bunch of wraps... Maybe offer him a discount on a replacement to keep good will if you think telling him to pound sound will lose all his future business with you .... But that's completely up to you as you don't owe him anything.

If it were me I'd just say I spoke to orafol, after seeing the pictures they advised me the install is unwarranted due to it being below the water line. You spoke to your 3M rep to see if they have better warranty and they said they also do not warranty below the water line and it's industry standard.
 
Modern Ink Signs

Modern Ink Signs

Premium Subscriber
Looks like installer error to me. It looks to be below the water line. It also looks like there is no edge seal tape used.

If they are 3M Certified they should know this. So ya! It going to fail!
 
Modern Ink Signs

Modern Ink Signs

Premium Subscriber
You can also check to see if they are truly 3M Certified.

The certified company MUST maintain the testing person in their employment. There is a yearly process to confirm this. If not, the company must send someone else to take the test again.
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
equippaint said:
I wouldnt warranty something that Im not installing. I wouldnt warranty a boat wrap either even if done right. Between docking and loading on a trailer, its too easy to tear it up.
Click to expand...

I'm good and smooth driving a boat, and can back a trailer up with my eyes closed...but putting the boat ON the trailer? No...that's when all hell breaks loose... and it just has to happen when cars are all lined up waiting at the ramp and people are everywhere..:(
 
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equippaint

Active Member
Texas_Signmaker said:
I'm good and smooth driving a boat, and can back a trailer up with my eyes closed...but putting the boat ON the trailer? No...that's when all hell breaks loose... and it just has to happen when cars are all lined up waiting at the ramp and people are everywhere..:(
Click to expand...
Sissy. My wife will do it for you
 
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ikarasu

Premium Subscriber
Modern Ink Signs said:
You can also check to see if they are truly 3M Certified.

The certified company MUST maintain the testing person in their employment. There is a yearly process to confirm this. If not, the company must send someone else to take the test again.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind there is 3M Certified... and then there is 3M Preferred. 3M Certified could mean he paid the $600, went to the 1 day course that consisted of a 3M Rep telling you about all the tools you should buy at the 15% off discount, how their films are better than everyone elses... and then they throw you on a car with a handful of vinyl and say to practice.

Technically you're certified at level 1... with no tests, nothing. My co-worker left halfway through the course and still got his level 1 certification.... Even level 2 doesn't mean much. If a company doesn't say they're 3M Preferred... I just take it to mean they bought their way into certification... which is pretty much what it is. Only level 3 can you fail, only level 3 do they bother to test you and make sure you do stuff properly..

At least that's how it works in Canada. I'm pretty sure we just copied your guys's course system... so I imagine it's the same over there.
 
HulkSmash

HulkSmash

New Member
We do not warranty install if we do not do it. Pretty common sense stuff here. That's not material failure, it's install failure.
 
shadi75

shadi75

owner
Thank you all for the valuable responses.

Placing the boat on and off the trailer is another issue i didn't think about.

I wanted to get more feedback and make sure the orajet 3951 boat wrap vinyl is great like the orajet 3951GRA . So far no complaints so it can't be an inferior vinyl as this customer is claiming.
 
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stew1tx

Centex Wraps and Signs
Q- did you properly allow the graphic to outgas before laminating it? I am looking at the photo and it appears the laminate is pulling back. I have some tricks I have used to go well below the static water line BUT THIS IS NOT WARRANTED nor is it suggested. With that said, It held all season long. I should reach out to the guy and see if it is still on 3 years later. If you can prove it is an installer issue I would put it on them. Would I pay for part of it? Sure, PART of it. Additionally like mentioned above all of th is is covered under modules in the 3m course. I went through it and ran out of time due to an overcrowded class. I never could break away and go back to sit for missing parts. HOWEVER, if someone happened to be a professional fisherman and understood hydraulic pressures one could ascertain where the high stress areas are and figure out ways to mitigate that stress. With that said haha, if he laid right to the edge of the strake without sealing and applying gobs of adhesion promoter, it is going to fail. Trailering as mentioned could be the culprit from repeated rub exposure. get a good look at the trailer and bunks and a video of it being unloaded and loaded. Typically you would see that in the front unless they get it on the trailer crooked and it rests against the wheel well or the light poles. Hard to tell proximity from pic. We use a 3m product and had great luck with it. 3M does not suggest nor warrant an air egress vinyl for watercraft for good reason, water migration from improperly laid down vinyl. You need very high adhesion with repositionability (my made up word haha) with a light tac which is hard to come by. Just my $.50. pm me or email me if you want to talk further
 
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stew1tx

Centex Wraps and Signs
Oh and after looking again, it appears he went just around the strake corner if you look just forward of front tear. I would say based on tear that the front was due to hitting the wheel well but the back appears to have the laminate separating and at an upward angle so probable water intrusion. One has to remember that at speeds there is very little upward hydraulic pressure on the sides because the hull does a good job of spreading out that pressure with the bow. Unless it was a gunwale with flares, which that boat does not appear to have, whereby pressure is increased as depth is increased (think sides flared outwards as opposed to straight up) pressure would not peal it unless installer couldn't run a squeegee haha. FURTHER, the back one could be from them being crooked on the trailer when pulling out and the side of the boat rubbing in a downward manner on the wheel well. Really ironic to have both failures right in the middle of the boat, right next to wheel wells which always become issues unless you have a very seasoned captain.... I have seen it thousands of times, even with pro's.....
 
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Jb1983

New Member
3mij180cv3-10 or mc-10 are your best choices for boat wraps. I say this based on the higher tack they seem to have.
I’ve wrapped lots of boats, and it always goes below the waterline, especially near the rear of boat. I’ve got boats sitting in the lake all summer with 6” of wrap under water. No failures .

#1. Problem here is there’s no edge sealing tape! 3m sells an optically clear edge sealing tape , that’s what they need to use. Don’t bother with edge seal pens or any of that crap. Use the tape.

#2. The rear area that is peeling sure looks like curtains and shrinkage to me. Meaning there install method was NFG.
 
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