Wrap material alternatives (the saga continues July 2022)

[CTWRAPS]

Hey All,
Supply chain issues are still a problem. It’s become very silly trying to order laminate at one place and material from another whilst waiting extended periods of time.

Aside from the tried and true… ij180/8518 or 1105/1360… is there another good CAST material available?
I am not asking if you know another brand of vinyl you can regurgitate ..
I’m asking for something worth using and has similar ease of use (slide ability and air release) and IS AVAILABLE. General formulations is not an option. Not looking for high tack problematic troublemakers… thanks in advance.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Arlon SLX+

 

[ikarasu]

I think in the past year we've tried it all!

We've used -

Grimco brightline - used 1 roll... Wasn't bad. Did a few flat kiosks as well as a vehicle... The vehicle hasn't come back so I'm guessing it works ok.

Arlon slx - 2 rolls. It went on ok... But the super low tack of it made doing certain wraps hard. Our installers hated it, and we were scared stuff would fall off or lift... But it also hasnt came back, so I'm guessing it went ok too!

Avery - you known/ have this one.

180 - we mainly use this. Hundreds of rolls, it's not bad... But as you said, issues getting it sometimes.

Orajet 3751 - used 2-3 rolls of this, but it was all mainly flat stuff

We've also mix and matched with overland with no issues.

Funny enough... The only fixes we've ever had was with 180... But we try to use 180 on the complex.curves / projects, so that may be why.

99% of the time any of the vehicle wrap casts will work - every company goes through bad batches and has their own pitfalls. It may take your installer a bit to get used to how the new vinyl lays, but I'd take anything you can get your hands on so long as it's reputable.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I think in the past year we've tried it all!

We've used -

Grimco brightline - used 1 roll... Wasn't bad. Did a few flat kiosks as well as a vehicle... The vehicle hasn't come back so I'm guessing it works ok.

Arlon slx - 2 rolls. It went on ok... But the super low tack of it made doing certain wraps hard. Our installers hated it, and we were scared stuff would fall off or lift... But it also hasnt came back, so I'm guessing it went ok too!

Avery - you known/ have this one.

180 - we mainly use this. Hundreds of rolls, it's not bad... But as you said, issues getting it sometimes.

Orajet 3751 - used 2-3 rolls of this, but it was all mainly flat stuff

We've also mix and matched with overland with no issues.

Funny enough... The only fixes we've ever had was with 180... But we try to use 180 on the complex.curves / projects, so that may be why.

99% of the time any of the vehicle wrap casts will work - every company goes through bad batches and has their own pitfalls. It may take your installer a bit to get used to how the new vinyl lays, but I'd take anything you can get your hands on so long as it's reputable.

SLX+ has more tack, it's nice material to work with, probably closer to 1105 or even IJ180. I also did not like the regular SLX for the reason you mentioned. 3751 was too tacky for wraps for me, I still use it on signs though.

 

[hybriddesign]

briteline definitely works well in a pinch

 

[regardstobuck]

As said slx+ is great! You can use arlon 6100 if you like more of an initial tack. Not a big fan of orajet… it’s way too tacky imo, doesn’t conform well either.

We mainly use 1105 if we can get it but the arlon above seems to do the job!

 

[marsuni]

Dear Friends,
Using Arlon SLX+ I had an experiment.
We covered Right side of an Iveco Daily Long-Tall within 4 and half hour!!!
The other side with Avery 1105. It took as about 7-8 hours.
Even the initial tack is low Arlon is far away more comfortable and 3+ years now, far more stable than Avery.
Greetings from GREECE!!!

 

[CTWRAPS]

Dear Friends,
Using Arlon SLX+ I had an experiment.
We covered Right side of an Iveco Daily Long-Tall within 4 and half hour!!!
The other side with Avery 1105. It took as about 7-8 hours.
Even the initial tack is low Arlon is far away more comfortable and 3+ years now, far more stable than Avery.
Greetings from GREECE!!!

Excellent experiment! Those are the results I want to hear! The material choice makes a big difference in installation time.

 

[CTWRAPS]

I think in the past year we've tried it all!

We've used -

Grimco brightline - used 1 roll... Wasn't bad. Did a few flat kiosks as well as a vehicle... The vehicle hasn't come back so I'm guessing it works ok.

Arlon slx - 2 rolls. It went on ok... But the super low tack of it made doing certain wraps hard. Our installers hated it, and we were scared stuff would fall off or lift... But it also hasnt came back, so I'm guessing it went ok too!

Avery - you known/ have this one.

180 - we mainly use this. Hundreds of rolls, it's not bad... But as you said, issues getting it sometimes.

Orajet 3751 - used 2-3 rolls of this, but it was all mainly flat stuff

We've also mix and matched with overland with no issues.

Funny enough... The only fixes we've ever had was with 180... But we try to use 180 on the complex.curves / projects, so that may be why.

99% of the time any of the vehicle wrap casts will work - every company goes through bad batches and has their own pitfalls. It may take your installer a bit to get used to how the new vinyl lays, but I'd take anything you can get your hands on so long as it's reputable.

Thank you! The cost of 180 is now a major turn off as well.

 

[RonaldTaylor]

I think in the past year we've tried it all!

We've used -

Grimco brightline - used 1 roll... Wasn't bad. Did a few flat kiosks as well as a vehicle... The vehicle hasn't come back so I'm guessing it works ok.

Arlon slx - 2 rolls. It went on ok... But the super low tack of it made doing certain wraps hard. Our installers hated it, and we were scared stuff would fall off or lift... But it also hasnt came back, so I'm guessing it went ok too!

Avery - you known/ have this one.

180 - we mainly use this. Hundreds of rolls, it's not bad... But as you said, issues getting it sometimes.

Orajet 3751 - used 2-3 rolls of this, but it was all mainly flat stuff

We've also mix and matched with overland with no issues.

Funny enough... The only fixes we've ever had was with 180... But we try to use 180 on the complex.curves / projects, so that may be why.

99% of the time any of the vehicle wrap casts will work - every company goes through bad batches and has their own pitfalls. It may take your installer a bit to get used to how the new vinyl lays, but I'd take anything you can get your hands on so long as it's reputable.

Thank you

 

[ChaseO]

3751RA with Proslide was my go to for the past couple of years, mainly because that's what my supplier had. I really started liking it, but it has since been discontinued. I just got a roll of 3951RA with proslide but haven't tried it yet. The 3951 from years ago was no fun to work with, but I'm told it has gotten better. We will see. As for wraps, the proslide made a lot of difference over the regular 3751RA, so I'm hoping this new stuff is better too. I generally laminate with 290, although I have used 293 as well.

 

[signheremd]

3751RA with Proslide was my go to for the past couple of years, mainly because that's what my supplier had. I really started liking it, but it has since been discontinued. I just got a roll of 3951RA with proslide but haven't tried it yet. The 3951 from years ago was no fun to work with, but I'm told it has gotten better. We will see. As for wraps, the proslide made a lot of difference over the regular 3751RA, so I'm hoping this new stuff is better too. I generally laminate with 290, although I have used 293 as well.

There used to be, and maybe still is, a 3951 that is neither Rapid Air not ProSlide - that might be the one you used years ago. We have used both 3751RA and 3951RA and can tell no difference between those. Neither is what we use to actually wrap a vehicle - for that we would use Arlon SLX plus. I would be willing to use 3951 ProSlide, but haven't done a full wrap in a while so fully in stock with the Arlon. We use 290 and like it much better than 3Ms 8418 and better than 8518 too.

 

[jfiscus]

We haven't been having any issues with 3M 180c/lam any time recently that I know of?
However, regular 220/7125 white is on backorder...

 

[ChaseO]

There used to be, and maybe still is, a 3951 that is neither Rapid Air not ProSlide - that might be the one you used years ago. We have used both 3751RA and 3951RA and can tell no difference between those. Neither is what we use to actually wrap a vehicle - for that we would use Arlon SLX plus. I would be willing to use 3951 ProSlide, but haven't done a full wrap in a while so fully in stock with the Arlon. We use 290 and like it much better than 3Ms 8418 and better than 8518 too.

I remember the non RA stuff, but the first version of 3951RA was very aggressive and got kinda gummy no matter how long I outgassed before laminating. That is what I am hoping is better now.

 

[Stacey K]

I just received my first roll of Arlon SLX+. Will be using it tomorrow for a partial trailer wrap.

 

[RabidOne]

I just received my first roll of Arlon SLX+. Will be using it tomorrow for a partial trailer wrap.

Interested to hear how that goes. We have been using 1105 forever, but if there is a more efficient alternative I am in!

 

[regardstobuck]

I just received my first roll of Arlon SLX+. Will be using it tomorrow for a partial trailer wrap.

We just installed a full commercial wrap on a F-150 in arlon slx+. We use a ton of 1105 and I liked the arlon better! It’s air egress wasn’t as good, but conformability and ease of installation was as good if not better than the 1105.

 

[signheremd]

We just installed a full commercial wrap on a F-150 in arlon slx+. We use a ton of 1105 and I liked the arlon better! It’s air egress wasn’t as good, but conformability and ease of installation was as good if not better than the 1105.

Just be sure to post form heat the vinyl to fully activate the adhesive - especially the edges

 

[Stacey K]

Interested to hear how that goes. We have been using 1105 forever, but if there is a more efficient alternative I am in!

3 sides done and I love it so far! Like someone else mentioned, I wasn't sure it was going to stick at first but once it was squeegeed on and sat for a bit, it's on there! My helper got both sticky sides stuck, but it didn't stick. Flat install so not sure how it would be over rivets but, I'm sold!

 

[RabidOne]

3 sides done and I love it so far! Like someone else mentioned, I wasn't sure it was going to stick at first but once it was squeegeed on and sat for a bit, it's on there! My helper got both sticky sides stuck, but it didn't stick. Flat install so not sure how it would be over rivets but, I'm sold!

Do you think its a faster install than 1180 or the equivalent? Do you wrap a lot of vehicles?