Chrome Vinyl for Vehicles?

[jfiscus]

I've been making signs for 5 years now, however I've never had a request for Chrome vinyl... Today, a local installer (who sells his own jobs; we do the design & print for him) received a request for chrome vinyl for dump truck doors.

What material would you recommend using?

 

[slappy]

http://www.rtape.com/vinylefx/

look at the outdoor durable column

 

[brian_fellers]

The longest lasting option would be the new Avery Conform Chrome, which is intended as an accent film for vehicles. Lots of my customers actually wrap entire vehicles with it, some even laminate it to 3M180Cv3 to make it easier to work with. The stuff is NOT cheap, it will run around $6.75 per SF.

The R-Tape chrome is a calendar film, and won't last nearly as long as the Avery. Just depends on your customers budget.

 

[Patentagosse]

From my experience, Oracal's 351 polyester chrome offers the best durability / warranty on the market for "budget" chrome. It's very thin, plot and weed like a charm but like every other brand, it turns faded (milky) passed 2-3 years. Usually truckers want chrome letters to match surrounding chrome parts but they are aware of the limited durability. New Avery's conform chrome is about 3X what people in my area are ready to pay from chrome letters... and you'll have to get way more than you actually need for the job.

Just my 0.02¢

 

[jfiscus]

Thanks, I just called a supplier and found the Oracal 351/352 to be very reasonably priced. Does anyone know if the 352 prints well with the EdgeFX?

 

[Haakon]

The longest lasting option would be the new Avery Conform Chrome, which is intended as an accent film for vehicles. Lots of my customers actually wrap entire vehicles with it, some even laminate it to 3M180Cv3 to make it easier to work with. The stuff is NOT cheap, it will run around $6.75 per SF.

I'd say using this really depends on what you are using it for. Small cut letters for example (I figure this thread is about truck lettering) is far from ideal on a thick, air egress vinyl made for wrapping. It's like advising to use Oracal 970RA for cut graphics since it has a long durability.

Have you testet how well small lettering holds up to wear and tear? Power washing etc? Air egress vinyls usually have less adhesion pr square inch than full glue coverage vinyls, and the smaller the details (this script fonts for example) the easier it lets go on the edges.

I have a square meter of the conform chrome here, I was curious about it so I ordered a piece from the US. (Local distributor needen an order for no less than 5 meters in full width to order it in). It's nice and certainly wrappable, but also thick and not very tacky in small pieces.

 

[signage]

You do know that that is only 2 year outdoor durability? So 2 years under idea conditions!

"This thin (1 mil) polyester film is ideal for the decoration of transparent substrates, applications including decorative labels, name and technical plates, decoration and moldings, safety stickers, as well as cut letters and symbols. 2-year outdoor durability.* Available in chrome, matte chrome and two-sided gold finishes.

* two-sided gold finish features 1-year outdoor durability"

 

[edgette]

FDC has some 5 year chrome. The price from my local supplier was about $140-150 for a 24" x 10 yard roll.

 

[brian_fellers]

Haakon:

I understand your point. As far as Oracal 970RA, I would just suggest to a customer to use Oracal 751. People put Oracal 651 Polymeric Calendar vinyl on vehicles all day, but......your not suppose to. First, it's calendar (it WILL shrink over time), secondly it has permanent adhesive. So, chances of damaging the paint after removal (2-5 years down the road) are much higher. I would use the Avery Conform Chrome, depending on how thick the strokes are on the lettering. If I used the Oracal 352 Chrome Mirror, I would tell my customer not to expect more than 2 years out of it, especially in south florida.

 

[brian_fellers]

Patentagosse:

It must depend on where your located. A few vendors in the Florida area sell Avery Chrome by the yard. That way, you order exactly what you need with minimal waste.