First install today! Tips?

[Ewan Chrystal]

First of all, good luck, the first few are always very nervy. Secondly, i would suggest bubbles are more to do with your squeegeeing technique. App tape can be removed immediately and if applied properly shouldn’t leave bubbles. Hmmm, now your going to want me to tell you how to squeegee….I can show you but its kind of hard to explain….ROOOBBBBEEEERT 😆

[A.Kordowski]

Good luck, take a spare set of graphics just in case…… :thumbsup:

[Derek Heron]

quote Mark Naylor:

Morning all

Very excited and a bit nervous about my first install today! 2 colour vinyl on the doors of a land rover defender.

Have practiced at home and got a million bubbles, but think a) I didn’t leave enough time for the vinyl to stick before removing the tape (too keen) and b) pulled the tape away from the substrate rather than back across itself and lifted little bubbles in to the vinyl as I went – glad I tested, good learning curve.

Got all my tools sorted, have read so many posts (very lucky to have you guys posting stuff all the time, this site is a hugely valuable resource…) watched youtube videos until my eyes were sore…

Any last minute tips you could give the new guy on the block?

Weather is glorious in sunny Cornwall today, so all pointing to a job well done in the end.

Thanks :smiles:

$this->BBvideo_pass(‘$8’, ‘$4’, ‘$7’)
one of the simplest and best techniques in my humble view

good luck take your time

derek

[Robert Lambie]

quote Mark Naylor:

Weather is glorious in sunny Cornwall today, so all pointing to a job well done in the end.

Do NOT install in direct sunlight.
the cooler the vehicle panels are the easier the install.
Heat promotes adhesion, if this is the first go the last thing you want is a hot surface.
If outside installing, turn the car away from direct sunlight. at least the side you are working on, then turn it.

use tape or magnets to help hold it in place.
clean surface multiple times and then just before placing the vinyl, wipe over with your clean hand.
also wipe the rear of the paper before sitting it against the vehicle.

as this is the first go, there is no point trying to use this as a tutorial/test. just make the procedure as straight forward as possible.

[Mark Naylor]

Ahh, you guys are the best!
Thanks for the tips, all really useful, will post some pics when I’m done

Have a great Friday!

Mark

[Peter Johnson]

Make sure you have a dry run (in your head). Visualise what you are going to do and talk to yourself through the whole process before actual application.

Then, when you do actually start the installation, take your time. Remember, haste makes waste.

And make sure you have a pin/needle available to remove any biggish air bubbles that may appear.

Good luck.

[Mark Naylor]

…while I have your attention…

here’s a photo of the ‘millions’ of bubble I got after removing the tape:

Application was fine, cleaned with IPA before, flat as a pancake before removing the app tape. The bubbles appeared and seem to be pulled up at the edge of the application tape as I was peeling it back – stopped and gave it a bit more squeegee to see if it would improve for the rest of the graphic (peeling from right to left), but it did it all the way across the vinyl, assumed I was pulling the tape up at the wrong angle or not leaving the adhesive enough time to adhere beforehand.

Incidentally the word ‘Cornwall’ there is perfect, there is also a web address out of shot that went on like a dream, white vinyl though for that.

Appreciate you are all busy but interested to hear your thoughts…

Thanks

[Ewan Chrystal]

When you say pulling the tape UP do you mean up and away from the graphic? You should be keeping the tape almost flat to the surface and pulling it back across itself, hope that makes sense?

[Mark Naylor]

Yep, exactly as you describe; kind of figured it was that as soon as I’d finished, pulling the tape away from the face of the substrate too much… of course EVERY video I’ve seen online since shows the tape being peeled/rolled back on itself keeping it as flat as possible to the substrate, guess thats the secret right there – should have paid more attention, but thats the point of the practice go I suppose.

Thanks for looking, will let you know how I get on.

[David Hammond]

That looks to me like dust under the vinyl.

If you pop one of the bubbles does and press on it, does it disappear?

When it’s air, I usually get larger bubbles & with poor squeegee technique I tend to see longer bubbles in the direction of squeegeeing.

Not saying it couldn’t be air, but do it the same again and remove the app tape back on itself see if it’s the same?

[Phill Fenton]

I wouldn’t worry too much. They will all disappear in a few days. You just need to practice a bit more to get a perfect result.

[Gary Birch]

quote David Hammond:

That looks to me like dust under the vinyl.

If you pop one of the bubbles does and press on it, does it disappear?

When it’s air, I usually get larger bubbles & with poor squeegee technique I tend to see longer bubbles in the direction of squeegeeing.

Not saying it couldn’t be air, but do it the same again and remove the app tape back on itself see if it’s the same?

I’d agree with David. Could you have put the graphic on the floor (allowing it to pick up dirt) before applying. Did that a few times myself when I first started. :blushing:

[Glenn Sharp]

they look like bubbles to me…

A good tip I heard many moons back (could very well have been from Rob….one of those obvious things that you sometimes need to hear)….always make sure the vinyl comes into contact with the substrate through the squeegee……never let the vinyl contact the substrate first and then squeegee over the top

The letters have probably worked purely down to their size…not enough surface area to get air bubbles trapped in

My guess is that you have placed the image on the van and then squeegeed over the top rather than starting at the top and working down whilst holding the graphic off the van until the squeegee passes over it

[Neil Guppy]

Any little dents or notches in the applicator edge? It needs to be perfect.

None of the material should touch the vehicle unless it is applied with the applicator, as mentioned above.

Some colours show up imperfections more than others- gold being one of them.

[Mark Naylor]

Morning all

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the tips on Friday, the install went really well for my first go :thumbsup:
Peeling the application tape solved my bubble problem.

My customer was very happy with the result so thats all you can ask for I suppose.

On to the next one!