Rapid-tac, Sign-Prep & Overlay. opinions please?

[Lorraine Buchan]

Rapid tac – have tried a sample of it and thought it was good, but they will tell you you need rapid prep, rapid this and rapid that too!

Overlay – I tried to get some from europoint, but alas it was one of those products that europoint london doesn’t sell

Sign Prep – I like this stuff great for all round work, most of my stuff is done dry but if it’s wet i use sign prep

Rapid tac http://www.rapidtac.com/
UK suppliers:
All Print Supplies, Slough
http://www.allprint.co.uk/ Tel:01753-696977
Solaview Supplies Taverham, Norwich
Tel: 01603-261543

Overlay
UK Suppliers:
Signmaster, Market Drayton
http://www.signmaster.co.uk/ Tel: 0845 130 5565
Selected Branches of Europoint Display

SignPrep
UK Product Supplied by Star Signs
http://www.starsigns.co.uk/signprep/index.htm Tel: 01932 571313

Hope this helps

[Steve Lamb]

Sally

Sorry to hear your having problems with dry application in the cold!?
You shouldn’t be applying vinyl wet in the cold you will get even more problems.
As for all those fluids, I wouldn’t waste your money. Our method is as follows:
Cleaning: Lightly soapy water
Degreasing: Meths (sometimes white spirit first if required)
Application: (If at all wet) Water with a drop or two of Fairy anti bacterial

What sort of substrates are you talking about to be cold? or have you got a cold workshop? Is it vans your having trouble with? What type of vinyl are you using? And what type of squeegee? Is the application paper good?

The best thing for applying vinyl if its cold is heat! use a heat gun or hair dryer. Gently blow over the area of vinyl your about to apply just before you apply it, not to much though! Also try to keep your squeegee to a tight angle — about 70 – 80 degree angle to the substrate with firm (but not to hard) pressure. This should help.

Other things to consider:
Make sure you keep the vinyl flat when peeling away the backing paper of the vinyl.
When applying, hold the tansfer taped vinyl firmly with one hand whilst applying with other keeping a fairly low angle (close to the substrate) but make sure it does not touch before you apply.

I hope this helps

[Robert Lambie]

good advice steve….. 😉

Hi sally..
I wont bore you with my lectures of apply dry, apply dry!
If you feel you must apply wet then do so. In the cold… eeekk !

I did a wee test a month or so ago after getting a free sample of rapid-tac from all print supplies.
I took a piece of painted aluminium. Applied on strip of vinyl dry and left it dog-eared.
I then did the same with tap water only & the same again with rapid-tac 2.
All applied using a nylon squeegee in the exact same way with same amount of pass-overs and all left for 5 mins.
I then took my thumb and index finger and gently started to tug back on the ear of vinyl. The dry gripped well as I thought it would.
The rapid-tac? although not as good, did a damn good job and biting.
The water? it had almost no grip.

The metal wasn’t warm by any means, but it was cold.

Ok so rapid-tac changed my mind a little on flat surface wet application.. But it hasn’t made me think it’s the better alternative. That’s up to you to decide whats best for you!

I reckon 99% of the fluid applications these days are like kev says.. Fairy liquid dressed up in a new bottle.
That being the case then steves method has to be the least exspensive.

p.s. dry dry dry ! 😆 😆 😆 ok i said it 😉

[Steve Lamb]

Rob

Does it feel strange calling me Lamby then? I don’t mind what name people use but I don’t think many here will remember whate my real name is. Maybe I’ll tweak my profile a little.

[Robert Lambie]

😆 😆 😆
in a way it does mate.. hard to explain for me.. some of my mates call lambie also..

bit like you saying how do you do that lambie? i reply, just hold you squeegee like this lamby… 😆 😆 sounds/feels weird to me.. in a funny way of course.

oh never mind. im not making any sense again. 😆 😆 😆

ill call you lamby from now on 😉

[Steve Lamb]

😀 😀

Ok Lambie

I actually met another bloke called Steve Lamb a couple of years ago at a party. I thought he was a bit of a K**b. 😀 😀

[Robert Lambie]

ah yeh.. i met a guy at sign uk selling some kind of fibreoptic or led perspex sheet.. im rure he was rob lamb.. 😆

[Bob Gilliland]

quote sally:

Any reports from you pros? I want something that helps apply in the cold.

Sally,

Not sure what the Pro’s use, but for cold weather wet applications, I don’t dare go on site without my RapidTac II!! 😉 I’ve grown to like it so much that most all of my window applications, cold or warm conditions, are now done using RT II.

Not sure what constitutes a “pro”, just giving you one report “from the field”.

Ask Roger Bailey about applying vinyl to ice using RT II!! Ice, now that’s COLD!! 😮

[Henry Barker]

Am I missing something here? Why use an application fluid in cold weather? I can understand those that feel more confident using it in warmer or sunny conditions to give more chance to place or misplace.

But here in our cold climate vinyl goes on a treat bubblefree etc in colder temperatures….I haven’t applied to ice Bob 🙂 but not far off it last week -8 21 windows covered in Avery 724 blue vinyl and then white vinyl on top all dry would have been there all night doing it wet 🙂

I know Rapid Tac is supposed to activate the glue but if you go over with a heatgun after a cold but dry application aren’t you going to achieve a better and more secure end result??

I have some Rapid Tac here but never really bothered with it thats Rapid Tac as opposed to RT2

[elitesigns]

I’m with rob on this topic, apply it dry, if you struggle with dry applications learn to overcome it, i believe its far faster and better result, plus you don’t need to carry loads of fluids etc.
With reference to sally’s original problem with little bubbles, this can occur if the tape is too high a tac or removed too early, it pulls on the vinyl before the adhesive is bonding suffiently.

[Jill Marie Welsh]

Sally,
I am first a painter. But I do have to stick dat demon vinyl.
Sometimes I do it wet.
Sometimes I do it dry.
But Rapid Tac is better than a home brew.
And it smells GREAT.
I always dab a little behind each ear.
But no matter what I do…I get those @#$!! bubbles.
Love-JILL 🙄

[sign-on]

Sorry for this only being my first post. I only got activated 2 days ago.
Will say hello properly soon.

Cheers for the help rob, I forgot to put my address, I know.. you’re a star mate! 😳

Overlay is ok, nothing special. But ok! 🙂

Sign-prep, my mate gave me his when he bought rapid-tac. My views on it?
After a year I still have half a bottle. Applications using it are no better than that of soap & water. 😕 guess that is why he gave me it. 😆

Rapid-tac is best, but costs more. 😛 pitty! 🙁

I am trying to apply dry more these days, so I agree. If you can, do it dry!

Great site you have here. Best I have found in ages. 😉