Question Who Makes Adhesive Vinyl With the Longest Shelf Life?

[David40]

I've mainly used my printer for just about everything, but I needed to make some vinyl lettering for a project, so I grabbed a roll of Oracal 651 and discovered that the backing was basically welded to the vinyl. I tested a couple of other rolls and the same thing with those. I hated to trash all that vinyl. Very wasteful. This makes me curious about the shelf life of adhesive vinyls. Are there brands that have a longer shelf life than others? Do the manufacturers have shelf life recommendations?

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I have rolls of 651 that are probably over 10 years and they are ok...but it's climate controlled.

 

[MarkSnelling]

I've mainly used my printer for just about everything, but I needed to make some vinyl lettering for a project, so I grabbed a roll of Oracal 651 and discovered that the backing was basically welded to the vinyl. I tested a couple of other rolls and the same thing with those. I hated to trash all that vinyl. Very wasteful. This makes me curious about the shelf life of adhesive vinyls. Are there brands that have a longer shelf life than others? Do the manufacturers have shelf life recommendations?

Yes....most adhesive manufacturers will claim 2 years for shelf life. If it is in a consistent environment, despite the shelf life, the product will still work for many, many years....but in an environment where the temperature and humidity fluctuate, you'll see much shorter lifespans.

 

[Mike Paul]

How old is your vinyl David

 

[David40]

How old is your vinyl David

I'd have to say over 10 years, so I'm not surprised.

 

[tulsagraphics]

Today I tried using some 3 year old GF 226 (low tack mural job on some older paint -- thankfully not a low VOC formula), and it was really hanging on to that liner. Print and cut job. (11) 24" tall letters.

Regular high tack tape? Laughable. TransferRite AirMask 510U? Not even close.

Knowing I'd probably have to trash the vinyl... I said eff it and threw down some frickin' 3420 laminate as transfer tape! And... it actually worked!
Of course I don't recommend that method, and it wasn't the quickest install -- had to hold down the first inch or two of each edge as I pulled the laminate away... but at least I salvaged it.

 

[hybriddesign]

GF’s water based adhesive is terrible as it ages. We don’t use a lot of it so we often end up tossing half a roll as it just gets too hard to remove from the liner

 

[signbrad]

Oracal 651 has a two-year shelf.
Oracal 651

But what does that mean, a two-year shelf life? Does that mean it stops sticking after two years? Usually not. The initial tack may last for many years, even if the service life is reduced. Just because it "still sticks" does not necessarily mean it's still good.
Length of life for a vinyl often has a great deal to do with the rate of plasticizer migration over time. A two-year shelf life is common among manufacturers, but how long the service life is depends on many factors, as Mark Snelling brought out.

Shelf life

Arlon Tip #14

Brad in Kansas City

 

[Mike Paul]

7-8
What happens is the wax liner craps out first
Makes the adhesive on the vinyl less aggressive

 

[signbrad]

Plasticizer migration is often the cause when the adhesive begins to lose adhesion. Plasticizer migrates to the surfaces of the vinyl—both surfaces—including the surface that’s underneath the adhesive. This is the natural result of aging. Even if the initial tack seems good, on older vinyl the plasticizer may have contaminated the adhesive enough that the overall life of the vinyl is significantly shortened, even if it seems to stick well at first.
Heat, such as in a non-temperature controlled storage area, can accelerate plasticizer migration, but it is also true that not all plasticizers are of equal quality. One of ways that a calendared vinyl can be made cheaper than a cast vinyl is by using a cheaper plasticizer.
This is why storing a roll of vinyl in a temperature-controlled area is no guarantee of long life once the vinyl is installed. A good initial tack may even fool you into thinking the vinyl is still okay when it really isn’t.

Brad in Kansas City

 

[Jester]

We had some 6mil transit vinyl in the temperature controlled shop for 4 or 5 years (stupid pandemic). Race car number panels seemed fine on initial application, but some of their leading edges shattered* into 1/2 - 1 inch shards which departed in the early morning cold air flow. When removing the remainder of those panels later in the day, the vinyl seemed normally flexible.

I hadn't thought about Plasticizer Migration but it seems a plausible culprit.

*I wish I'd taken a photo of the damaged ones.