gnubler
Active Member
You're right about 230 not being carried anymore, I'm going to scrap that and go with 3630.
Is there a trick to trimming overlaps without slicing the bottom layer of vinyl?
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wrap print around pan face for colored background
- Thread starter tiredcreations
- Start date
Is there a trick to trimming overlaps without slicing the bottom layer of vinyl?
JBurton
Signtologist
You've either hit a wall, or you're about to up your skill set! Huzzah!
But really, take some scrap vinyl, stick it to some acm, snap a fresh blade and try to cut .25" strip of vinyl and peel it back. Do you see any cuts on the paint on the acm? If so, snap a new blade and try again. Gino's on the money, you aren't pressing the knife through the material, you'll be draggin it and letting the sharp edge do all the work. (this is basically 3m's certification test, knife portion, they want 3 concentric squares cut on a piece of baked enamel paint with no scratches)
Once you've mastered not cutting paint, you can lay another piece of vinyl over the first, and doing the same thing, but checking for cuts on the vinyl. It's all super easy once you train your hand to not mash the blade down like normal. It also plays hell with your brain when you go back to cutting mask + backer off the art table, as you have to press down then obviously.
Snap off blades are your friend, if you don't have one, nt cutters are my go to just for the red dot, helps me find my snapper when I drop it.
JBurton
Signtologist
Like my uncle mike always said, "if ya can do it drunk, you can do it whenever you want". His skill set was pretty narrow though, so ymmv.
gnubler
Active Member
Stacey - Did you do a wet install for the side strips? I just did a test with some 3630 translucent and got a lot of bubbles. I did it with a 30" strip, starting from the face of the sign working down the side to the edge of the panel. Seaming the corners looks like it's going to be a bit tricky as well.
The face graphics are all going to be premasked so I'm not worried about bubbles there.
Stacey K
I like making signs
I used regular 751 Oracal Black - so you can wet apply that, I'm guessing I didn't
Johnny Best
Active Member
“Say hełło to your Uncle Mike my friend ʼ and to your sister Kate”
gnubler
Active Member
This one is kicking my butt. HELP!
I'm doing a wet install on this all the way, my first attempt laying down a section of the face turned out bad and I lost 3 yds of material.
Doing it wet yields better results, but I'm getting a lot of fluid bubbles after pulling off the premask - see pics. This is how it looks after firmly running a squeegee across the premask, then pulling off the tape slowly at a 180 degree angle. Should I be waiting for it to dry out a bit before removing? Use a roller? Use a lower tack tape? I'm using R-tape 4075 RLA with 3630 translucent film. I don't do wet installs often, any suggestions? I made my own glide solution with 32oz water and 7 drops of baby shampoo, no alcohol.
My fingers are killing me trying to work out all the bubbles. Help...
I'm doing a wet install on this all the way, my first attempt laying down a section of the face turned out bad and I lost 3 yds of material.
Doing it wet yields better results, but I'm getting a lot of fluid bubbles after pulling off the premask - see pics. This is how it looks after firmly running a squeegee across the premask, then pulling off the tape slowly at a 180 degree angle. Should I be waiting for it to dry out a bit before removing? Use a roller? Use a lower tack tape? I'm using R-tape 4075 RLA with 3630 translucent film. I don't do wet installs often, any suggestions? I made my own glide solution with 32oz water and 7 drops of baby shampoo, no alcohol.
My fingers are killing me trying to work out all the bubbles. Help...
JBurton
Signtologist
Wet applies like this, I like to move outside after removing the premask and let the sun bake out some of the fluid. Pin holes in dark colors can show light, but as long as you aren't stabbing the hell out of it and tearing the vinyl, they should not be noticeable and 3630 shouldn't shrink enough to notice them later down the road. A pin tool, needle, or otherwise is slightly better than a knife, but if you're stuck with a knife, a fresh snap should suffice. Do you have some felt squeegees to chase bubbles after premask is removed?
gnubler
Active Member
Yes, that's what I'm doing but it's just taking so much time. I figured I was doing something wrong. I'm going to try using a roller on the next strip and see if that helps.
The sign isn't going outside, it's about 30 degrees out right now.
gnubler
Active Member
Here's my overlap where blue meets yellow, it's about .125" all around. Is this acceptable? I put a flashlight under the polycarb to see what it looks like lit up.
I expanded my cut path by .125" and was able to register this piece dead one without having to trim.
JBurton
Signtologist
Here's hoping it comes back up sooner rather than later. I was just bullsh*tting with my main fab guy about a new hire. It's really hard to train folks when you're like, "here's the stud gun, this is how you use it", then 3 months later is the next time it comes up and they have no recollection of ever touching the machine.
