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Rapid Tac
- Thread starter cwb143
- Start date
Johnny Best
Active Member
The only thing I use it on is applying etch film on glass. Everything else I apply dry or bubble free material.
SignosaurusRex
Active Member
RapidTac is nothing more than Purified water with fragrance and a surfactant additive to lower the surface tension between the liquid and the substrate. A few drops of a simple dish soap like "Dawn" or "Joy" will work just as well. Some folks prefer "Baby Shampoo". RapidTac costs an arm & leg because of shipping and is meant for those that are just lazy enough to not mix their own concoction and/or will not or are not comfortable with mastering the 'Dry Application' method. Some folks like to add a small percentage of alcohol to the mix. Purified Water is used in order to reduce impurities that may contribute to a mold or fungal development which may occur with water that is not chlorinated or purified by other means.
hcardwell93
New Member
I only use Rapid Tac for layering vinyl or etch film. It lets the vinyl stick to the substrate much faster than soapy water does so that you can peel off the tape and move on.
Other than that it's dry installation for everything.
Other than that it's dry installation for everything.
gabagoo
New Member
I used it many years ago when it first came out but then thought...why am I paying for something can make for almost nothing.... I then got to the point where I apply just about everything dry unless they are fairly large and layered.
I actually went back to rapid tac when I was doing a fleet of wheelchair taxi vans. They were mostly Chrysler Caravans and I had to put a 4 " stripe around the vehicle with a black and yellow checkered print. I originally tried printing them on wrap film but could not get the yellow to be as bright to match the vinyl logos so decided to print on primrose yellow 3M 220 vinyl instead. What I noticed was that because the black squares were printed and the yellow was just the vinyl itself it just never really went down properly. I would squeegee the stripe using a soft squeegee and it looked fine, but by the time I returned after completing the entire striping ( about 20 minutes or so) where I had started their were now pockets of water that would gather in the yellow areas that had no print. I went over them again and again and eventually they all came out. I then tried using rapid tac on the next vehicle and although the same thing would happen they were much easier to squeegee down and stay down with a little heat. I did about 80 or so of those vehicles and no issues. I use Rapid Tac sparingly only when really needed.
I actually went back to rapid tac when I was doing a fleet of wheelchair taxi vans. They were mostly Chrysler Caravans and I had to put a 4 " stripe around the vehicle with a black and yellow checkered print. I originally tried printing them on wrap film but could not get the yellow to be as bright to match the vinyl logos so decided to print on primrose yellow 3M 220 vinyl instead. What I noticed was that because the black squares were printed and the yellow was just the vinyl itself it just never really went down properly. I would squeegee the stripe using a soft squeegee and it looked fine, but by the time I returned after completing the entire striping ( about 20 minutes or so) where I had started their were now pockets of water that would gather in the yellow areas that had no print. I went over them again and again and eventually they all came out. I then tried using rapid tac on the next vehicle and although the same thing would happen they were much easier to squeegee down and stay down with a little heat. I did about 80 or so of those vehicles and no issues. I use Rapid Tac sparingly only when really needed.
bannertime
Active Member
I make a bottle of 3 parts water and 1 part isopropyl alcohol and another with water and 2-3 drops of baby shampoo. First one is very fast drying but allows some sliding and the other is hardly used these days except when training a new guy. I love seeing their reaction when they realize it's so much faster to lay a sign dry. Rapid Remover is always on hand though. Haven't ever looked to find a good replacement.
gabagoo
New Member
...just curious...that 1 part alcohol is basically a solvent which breaks down the adhesive....would that not be of concern over the long term life of the vinyl? I know rapid tac has alcohol in it but I don't think really that much....
bannertime
Active Member
I know what you're talking about. I've seen it happen when I tried to install a small credit card sticker on my door. I just had the bottle of 70% alcohol and mistakenly sprayed a liberal amount onto the door to just slap the sticker on. The adhesive literally squeezed out the sides as I pressed it on.
I've never seen anything like that with the 1:3 solution. Last time I used it liberally was over a year ago. I used it to align oversized window graphics. Those graphics are still nicely adhered to the window. It's merely a last resort tool, like if material folds onto itself or something.
JohnBFryJr
New Member
Bubble free vinyl? I must be living in the dark ages.
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Johnny Best
Active Member
CanuckSigns
Active Member
ams
New Member
Are you wiping it with a clean dry cloth? It needs to be fully dry and not moist. I've never had an issue in my 10 years of business.
We install wet 95% of the time using about a tablespoon of dish soap in a 3g jug of water. Only use rapid tac on certain installations (ie. substrate dependant etc.). For most things there is no need to install dry unless its a little piece of signage or some perf. (at least on glass). Everything on glass that we do is wet and install it 20x faster than anyone could ever do it dry...
Chaz
Chaz
Johnny Best
Active Member
Never install using wet on glass, takes to long for it to set up so as to remove transfer material. Like stating before, only use wet (Rapidtac) when installing "etch" material in large pieces. And 20x faster using wet on glass than dry, You don't have to pick up the spray bottle, spray it on and then put it down when doing dry.
Takes too long to set up? Guess you're using the wrong premask... we put up the sheets wet, let sit for 2 min and install the next window, come back and remove the premask. done no issues. We just did 22 units of etchmark 48"h x 36"w with a knockout (clear) logo 16"h x 22"w centered in the band in 2.5 hours in and out. So you're saying if you had the same thing but in an opaque vinyl that you would put it down dry?
And spray bottle? no wonder you think its faster to go dry. Being prepared with a 3gal spray tank with a 10' hose speeds things up, just have to hook onto your belt.. work smart not hard.
Chaz