3M's DG3 reflective

[letterman7]

Not a full wrap, but pertinent: has anyone successfully applied this stuff to a compound curve? I had to chevron a police vehicle - one of the new Ford Interceptor SUV's (the Explorer variant) and just got a call that the DG3 is peeling up off the tailgate. I have yet to see it, but my suspicion is it's at the bottom where the door folds twice. I had a hell of a time getting it to lay down even with heat and a lot of pressure, so I'm looking for options and opinions on how to approach the fix.
Thanks!

Rick

 

[SightLine]

Use something else? DG3 is really not intended for vehicles, period, according to 3M's documents. It's intended for purely flat sign substrates.

Reflexite (now sold under Oracal) has some Chevron stripe that is very flexible in comparison to regular sign grade high intensity reflective. Not sure which of 3M's high intensity reflectives would be best suited for this.

 

[letterman7]

Yeah, but it's current NFPA regulations on fire apparatus. Support vehicles, like this Ford, can use the standard engineer grade, but the department wanted the DG3 despite my warning that it probably wouldn't stick over the curves. This looks like it's going to be a fun mess to clean up...

 

[jfiscus]

use 3M's IJ680CR for rear chevrons on curved vehicles, I've put it on LOTs of van rear doors, tailgates and liftgates with no problems.

 

[letterman7]

Yeah, that's the same stuff (the 680) as their standard color reflectives. It does have great conformity, and I've used both that and the FDC brands for other chevrons. The DG3... another story. I did just get back from seeing the vehicle, and as expected, the DG3 is puckering in the hollows of the body cavity. But here's the kicker... I was able to peel one of the pieces off with almost the entire adhesive backing intact - I've never had that happen, ever. I'm wondering if there is some credence to the new car paints having silicone in them. I did clean the tailgate liberally, so there shouldn't have been any contamination.