Is the lines to thin?

[denniswa]

Regarding Orafol 3551 RA – do you have any recommendations on the minimum thickness for thin lines on cars? I made some that were 1mm, and they peeled off quite quickly.

 

[weyandsign]

3-6mm. But I would use Oracal 751 on that. 3551RA thin lines won't stick as well as 751 on a window.

 

[denniswa]

3-6mm. But I would use Oracal 751 on that. 3551RA thin lines won't stick as well as 751 on a window.

thanks! Would that thin decal work better on the side of the car or on the hood? It’s for a customer, so is there anything I could recommend? 3551 ra is the only vinyl i have unfortunally

 

[weyandsign]

I think it would stick much better on metal instead of the glass, if it needs to be that thin. I've stuck extremely thin 3551RA on doors and it stayed on. But on your design if you thicken it just even a small amount I think it would hold much better on the glass.
3551RA also should be post heated on stuff that thin.

 

[denniswa]

I think it would stick much better on metal instead of the glass, if it needs to be that thin. I've stuck extremely thin 3551RA on doors and it stayed on. But on your design if you thicken it just even a small amount I think it would hold much better on the glass.
3551RA also should be post heated on stuff that thin.

Thanks, can I recommend the customer to place a big transparent film over the decal or use some sort of glue or something to fix this issue? Or should I just make a return of the money? I dont know how they mounted the decal because i send it by post

 

[Boudica]

I don't think it matters what type of vinyl you use. Anything that thin is going to fail pretty quickly.

 

[denniswa]

I don't think it matters what type of vinyl you use. Anything that thin is going to fail pretty quicklythank you

What would you say is the minimum for a cardecal like this?

 

[Boudica]

1/8th of an inch. However, the bigger issue you have here are the fine points at the ends of the lines. Those will be the initial fail point no matter how thick the lines are

 

[Stacey K]

1/8th of an inch. However, the bigger issue you have here are the fine points at the ends of the lines. Those will be the initial fail point no matter how thick the lines are

This! And car washes, hand washes, wipers grab those pointy spots and pull the decals up.

 

[VizualVoice]

Thanks, can I recommend the customer to place a big transparent film over the decal or use some sort of glue or something to fix this issue? Or should I just make a return of the money? I dont know how they mounted the decal because i send it by post

NO. You can NOT glue or tape down failing vinyl and expect it to last or work.

 

[Gino]

Looks like you already put some kinda laminate down. I can see the trapped air around certain areas. We almost always round sharp points.

 

[denniswa]

Looks like you already put some kinda laminate down. I can see the trapped air around certain areas. We almost always round sharp points.

It has to be something to do with the cold weather because its no air under the laminate that is laying only over the vinyl thanks for your advice!

 

[denniswa]

1/8th of an inch. However, the bigger issue you have here are the fine points at the ends of the lines. Those will be the initial fail point no matter how thick the lines are

Thank you! What should be the minimum radius for edges and angles like this decal? And at which angle can I use sharp edges?

 

[Geneva Olson]

that looks like a back window graphic. I would have sold them window perf.

Thin lines are irritating.

 

[denniswa]

that looks like a back window graphic. I would have sold them window perf.

Thin lines are irritating.

Yes it is, The customer liked to have it as white and our machine does not have that ink

 

[Kev-O-Rama]

One other option: Hand paint the thin lines w/ One Shot enamel paints and followed by a breathable paint sealer. You could even apply the design in vinyl on the subsurface as a template. All in all, however, that skill takes a different Old School bread of artist. Good tips on using One Shot paints can be found here, by "Rass": https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/97135-sign-painters-one-shot-enamel/

 

[Boudica]

Here is the real problem.... Your customer has wants, but you don't seem to know what you're doing enough to tell them what the solution to what they want and what is realistic.

 

[VizualVoice]

It has to be something to do with the cold weather because its no air under the laminate that is laying only over the vinyl thanks for your advice!

you said it's cold weather and that the customer installed it. I bet that's the magic combo of why it started to fail so soon. How cold was the glass when it was installed? How was it cleaned and prepped? Was it properly squeegeed? Etc. All things anyone here would likely know to do properly but Joe Customer maybe not.

 

[Superior_Adam]

3551 is a intermediate removable film. You need a good cast vinyl for this. I would still thicken the lines up some but for this I would use cast vinyl. Proper cleaning and install is critical here as well. You are saying that is the only vinyl you have on hand but you can order a few yards of a cast vinyl to get this job done instead of buying a whole roll.

 

[denniswa]

you said it's cold weather and that the customer installed it. I bet that's the magic combo of why it started to fail so soon. How cold was the glass when it was installed? How was it cleaned and prepped? Was it properly squeegeed? Etc. All things anyone here would likely know to do properly but Joe Customer maybe not.

I recommended the customer to install it in a warm garage and use cleaning