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Application Fluid – what do you recommend?
APPLICATION FLUID
WHICH IS BEST TO USE?
AT THE MOMENT I AM USING ONE CALLED OVERLAY AND DONT SEEM TO BE GETTING ON VERY WELL WITH IT. IT DOESNT SEEM TO HELP, IF ANY THING MAKES IT WORST DOESNT STICK ON EASY.THANKS OWEN
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25 Replies
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Overlay is as good as any,
how exactly are you having problems?Peter
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HI
IT WONT STICK VERY WELL SOME TIMES NOT AT ALL.
THANKS -
Any application fluid is not “sticky” if you are using it in this cold weather, it will take a long time to dry, Can you give us more details?
peter
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THATS ALL I REALLY WANT TOKNOW IS THERE ANY OTHER STUFF I CAN TRY AS I NEED 2 GET SOME MORE IN NOW ANY WAY.
THANKS
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First, do me a favour, turn off the cap lock.
If you have problems with overlay, any other app fluid is not going to be any better, I am just trying to find out what problems you are having, then I or others may be able to suggest remedies.
Peter
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it doesnt seem to stick to the surface that well and when pulling app tape off vinyl comes off with it.
thanks
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the only thing I can think of is just to let it dry longer, also make sure you’ve squeegee’d as much of the fluid out as you can.
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I wouldnt use it at all, not in this cold weather anyway, To be honest, I woundnt apply any vinyl wet or dry in less than 10C.
Peter -
Yes, as Peter and Ramj have said.. It takes a while to dry, especially in the cold and even moreso on glass.. If it’s on glass even when warm you could wait 1/2 to 1 hour.
.. BUT, Rapid Tac 2 works extrtemely well in cold weather! You’ll be surprised how fast you can remove tape using rt2 in cold weather.
.. anyhow, practice dry application. The more you do Dry, the less you’ll wanna’ do wet.steve
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Thanks for turning off the caps!
I thought you was hollerin at me.
Steve is right, try Rapid Tac 2
http://www.rapidtac.com/
It is great stuff in cold weather.
Rapid Tac is also the cat’s pajamas.
Email Roger Bailey, the company owner, he sends out free samples.
Love….Jill -
hi
do you know if any where in uk sells it if so any websites email address’s
thanks -
quote Jill Marie Welsh:I thought you was hollerin at me.When I first read it Jill, I though it said “I thought it was the heroin in me” 😳
p.s. All Print Supplies sells it this side of the pond.
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APS sell rapidtac (all print supplies) dont have the www but google should find it, still think you should explore the reasons why you are having problems first though, app fluid may not be the answer,
Peter
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As newbie to this I’m using warm soapy water to position vinyl to acrylic – is this a faux pas in the sign world and would application fluid be a better alternative? and if so why?
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Russell, I’ve used both app fluid and soapy water. Both work. But with the water usually a tiny drop of baby shampoo is best!
Everyone has their own preferences. -
Thanks Marcella
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I avoid wet applications and when absolutely necessary, dish detergent in
water works just fine. If vinyl is not sticking, squeegee it back really well and use an ounce of patience. -
I am not sure if it is still the case, but some manufacturers will void warranty if the vinyl fails, and they find shampoo in the mix. 3M came out to do a test on stock that failed for me a few years ago, and they did take a sample of the failed product to see if I’d used additives in the water.
Most vinyl distributors sell application fluids that they are prepared to warrant, I’d stick with them personally.
As a bonus, they usually dry quicker that soapy water anyway.
In Oz we have a fluid here called quickstic which is the best I’ve used.
Avery suggest IPA in water as a fluid, but I have not had much success with it as a slipping agent.
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Owen have you tried “the hinge” method where you masking tape one side of the app tape,usually bottom edge, (once correctly positioned) peel whole graphic away. remove backing paper so that the glue side of the graphic is facing you, and the app tape is now being suspended by the masking tape. Pull back the app tape holding the graphic to it’s original position, slightly taught, until it meets the surface you are applying to, spread squeegie across the app tape away from the masking side, working out to decrease chances of air being trapped. Not sure if that will make any sense to you but thats how i fit my stuff if i’m being fussy or registration with colours is a priority. If your really stuck you can pop up the m4 and i’ll teach you everything i know!!! Should take about 6mins. Ha ha. Hope this makes sense to you owen, but once your confidense picks up you’ll be away. I’m sure most people on here will tell you that.
Matt -
Thanks for the advice Matt
Will try that next time. Im only doing signwrting on weekends for now a im still in school and been doing it for about year and a half now. Doing signwriting on race cars mostly as i do autograss racing and do cwait a few cars. Im just starting to get bissy now and i think after i do a few cars ill get the hang of it without doing to many bubbles lol. Just finished doing a 4×4 and didnt turn out to bad.Thanks Owen
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Are you in the “PAC” club by any chance?
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Cant fault rapid tac am usin it now for registration and applying shadows gets it perfect every time and works very well even at this time of the year I find you only have to wait for the last bit which you can fill in by tyding up anyway, got mine from APS (01753 696 977). Some mumble about the price but the amount you use per job may add about 50p to a £1.50 per job dunno what they are gripin about really.
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Hi Matt
No i am in the teifi autograss club. -
I tried to use Overlay this am on my first window job and got exactly the same problem – went to peel off the application paper and vinyl was having none of it just came off with application paper. It was in a warm office so left it for at least an hour but still came off. Had to do it dry in the end (which I know most of you will all approve of) but what am I doing wrong.
Thanks
Russ
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As a golden rule, don’t do glass wet unless you have a lot of time. Adding a slipping agent to water adds hours to the time before you can remove the app tape.
If you must do it wet, a fine mist of water is all I’d suggest myself, but dry should always be the 1st option.
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