applying vinyl on new paint job

[shuv76]

Hello ,,, I was putting some vinyl lettering on a trailer the other day and when I peeled off the application tape, the paint came off with it. I asked the man about the paint and he said it had been painted 2 weeks ago. My question is how long should you wait before applying vinyl to a new paint job?
Thanks ,, Paul

 

[auto accents sc]

If the trailer was not prepped properly, you can have issues no matter how long you wait. If it was done correctly, after 2 weeks there should not have been a problem with the paint lifting. A good thing to do is test with masking tape in an out of the way place the paint adhesion. But this is not fool proof.

 

[Si Allen]

I'd wait until they stripped it and repainted it properly!

 

[Pat Whatley]

That's a prep problem, no doubt about that.

If you do a search for past discussions about how long to wait your answers are going to range from THE NEXT DAY to WAIT FOR AT LEAST A YEAR and everything in between and everybody is damn convinced that what they believe is right. My suggestion, as usual, is to follow Si's advice.

 

[redline graphics]

If the trailer was aluminum (most are) it needs to be primed with zinc chromate for paint adhesion. Without it, paint will peel off as described with very little effort.

On such jobs its always good to try an inconspicious spot before preceeding with the job. Also make sure on your quote you have a disclaimer to protect yourself against such issues.

 

[Mosh]

Paiter's problem! We letter stuff that has been 12 hours before no problem. Back 10-12 years ago the rule of thumb was to wait 2-3 weeks. Now any professional shop not has hardiners and cures the paint out so no problem..Unless they used a roller!!!

 

[GypsyGraphics]

I use 3M 610 tape to test paint adhesion, and I do it with client present.

 

[scarface]

I do vinyl on vehicles every week that have been freshly painted. You need to wait 1 day for the paint to outgas and then you can apply the vinyl. If you don't wait, there will be a million tiny bubbles under the vinyl appear overnight.

If the paint came off with the app tape, it was poorly painted without a doubt in my mind.

 

[shuv76]

Thanks so much for everyones help. Now I know what I am dealing with.
Paul