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Advise required on lorry wraps
Looking for some advise on a small problem that every now and then pops up. LITERALLY.
To date i have fitted around 90 18T lorrys and fitting them is kind of part of my sleep pattern now lol.
The issue i seem to have is happening 3 or 4 weeks after install. sometimes even longer than that.. Latest one is around the 2 month mark!
Upon fitting i use quite a bit of pressure on every overlapping stroke, application is very good. very rarely do we get any bubbles when fitting.
On panel overlaps we pay special attention to the actual overlap itself too.. going over it 2 sometimes 3 times with a very rigid hard squeegee. ( down the seam of overlap)Yet the issue we have is at the bottom of the print (80 – 120mm from bottom) a massive 100mm dia bubble filled with water… Now the thing is its not the print thats lifting off the lorry.. its the actual laminate!
We have recently replaced our laminator to try resolve this issue as i am convinced its down to that but looking for other people opinions on this one too.
I have already had 3M out and they have watched how I fit lorrys and have told me that both guys fitting is as it should be and that there seems to be no reason for the issues directly from how we fit..
Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue? or what they do on overlaps for finishing 🙂
Material used is 3M IJ40 and relevant laminate.
cheers
stu
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13 Replies
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The only thing I can think of is whenever there are overlaps always ensure the upper section of vinyl is on top of the lower section . This ensures any rain water can’t flow into the join.
(The same principle is used in roofing with roofing felt). -
That’s exactly as we do 🙁
We have a 20mm overlap on every panel..
Yet somehow water is running down the seam… Its tiled vertically btw.
I have stood and watched how another company do it (when they are fitting next to us) and they dont even bother going over the join.. they simply line up, and fit as normal.. yet we deliberatly run down the line thats visible on the overlap to seal it and get issues.. (sometimes)
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So it’s a delamination issue rather than a fitting issue?
If 3M came out to watch you fit what did they suggest the problem was?
My guess would be out gassing if its a solvent print.
These kinda problems are annoying though!
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Not out gassing issue… Material,sits for two weeks prior to lamination….
3m watched us at the start of year when,we had a few issues with conformability stuff and advised us that everything we are doing is correct…
i will ask them,if they can come look at the current issue again with me tho.
prob is it don’t happen all the time…. Talking 1in 10 lorrys and only on the join at bottom… Its deff water running down seam but how its delaminating is bafling me
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How dense is the ink on that area of print? Is it on one particular section everytime or does it vary? What colour is the print?
Just thinking if its heavy coverage then there is a higher risk of failure or if its happening even on blank/white sections then its a material issue, I.E. the material isn’t up to the task.Have you thought of trialling a different material to see if you get the same issue?
2 weeks between printing and lamination should be enough!
One final thought, Could it have been a bubble on the seem and then pricked it could suck water back in?
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The material,used is what is generally always used on these lorrys…
its happening in a white area with no ink,at all…
as for bubble idea, again its something we,don’t,get many off anymore….i will upload a pic on Friday if i can get one tomorrow as in fitting three of them….
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I know material suppliers always blame the sign maker when there’s an issue because the manufacturing process is extremely rigorous.
It sounds to me like the material can’t cope with the step effect of the overlap.
What’s your gut feeling on it, you know better than anyone as you’ve fitted loads of them!
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Never found the reason for it but that happened on a set of mag signs I did and could have been ij40 as that was about the time we changed to arlon due to price hike.
Never heard or seen of it before or since feel for you
This was several 25 mm water bubbles. They say that if vinyl is fitted wet then the moisture dry out through the material and edges perhaps it can go back in.
As you say it’s fairly near a join possible you could put a strip of extra laminate over the join -
Hmmmmm
my issue is that its the same,material used by previous company that had the contract :(.
they didn’t have this problem as far as i know…
the material is what has been specified by the customer so changing is not an option either…
my gut feeling is that its a lamination problem tbh.. The previous laminator in my opinion simply wasn’t up to the job.. Its fine for small runs but the rollers had seen better days and it didn’t seem to laminate flat. Had a bit of a crown in it…
if will get pictures of what we are fitting etc and see if that explains things better..
basically when,we took contract on we just continued where the previous company left off.. Same material, same set up etc…,
if anything we take more care in fitting them due to us only having two guys that can fit them unlike previous place who have loads and use sub contactors etc…that’s what baffles me the,most ha ha
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Hi Stuart,
I take it you mean the flat sides of the lorry and not the cab ?
When you fit vinyls to flat sides with overlap like on the 18T or big trailers you need to do a 20mm cut at the very bottom. On the overlap. It is a water problem and have had the same issue myself. Do the cut and it will solve your problem i’m sure.Cheers
Ewan. -
Funny you say that Ewan,because that’s what I’m,doing just now….. 🙂
I think I have found the problem tho….
will know for sure in three weeks time (as that’s the time cycle on lorry turnarounds)
when the lorrys are being built, they are using a sealant along the top capping plates… They then do a bead along the panel edge…..but on refurb lorrys they don’t have this bead …..
basically the vinyl is failing on the overlaps because of the sealer and water is running down the seam.. Eventually causing a,blister at bottom due to reflective tape stopping the flow.
what I am doing as a test is cutting 5mm short on top and also making a small slit on overlap half way down panel to try stop any water flow…..
so far its been ok… I have fitted 8 like this last week so I will check them,when,they go for delivery soon. 🙂
in other news.. Done my first double night trailer ….
Christ its big!!! 11 drops 4.5 mtrs each….:-)
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quote Stuart Drynan:didn’t seem to laminate flat. Had a bit of a crown in it…A lot of laminators have what is known as a crown roller – the bottom one, so this may
not have been the issue…. -
Deff not that bud…. The laminator is gubbed…
it needs two new rollers …
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