recently sprayed van

[Peter Normington]

Depends on several things.
If the van has been sprayed properly, and baked then it should be ok after 24 hours, This time of year I would leave it a couple of days though unless you are doing it in a heated w/shop.
I did a van today, it was sprayed last week and it was still tacky!
A good test test is to put some masking tape on the van in an inconspicuos place, leave for 5 mins then pull it off, if you get a kind of blooming effect the paint is still not dry.
Any form of heat is better than none, a hot are gun does the job, but can take a long time to warm up all the graphics. I would not apply any vinyl if the temparature is less than 10 degrees without using some form of heat.

[James Smyth]

Just be careful as last year just before christmas i had a friend of mine give me his car to put a graphic on it which was recently resprayed by someone who others regard as been good. Anyway the car was a silver 3dr astra and just after i cleaned down one side with isopropanol it reacted with the lacquer and the thing turned a LIGHT BLUE…

With my mate standing there with his heart out on the ground i made a few calls to some other friends which resulted in 3 hours with a heat gun first then a small portable heater going up and down the side of the car until the proper colour came back.

This problem was due to fast setting lacquer, isopropanol and cold weather. As well as that a week later on the other side, back when i used to apply wet i was taking back off the application tape on the paint and lacquer came with it. This i presume was the worst case scenario that anyone would come across.

[Stephen Morriss]

I now generly refuse to do any resprayed vehicles unless they have been done for a couple of weeks or have been in the oven.
Even then I tell them that there is a possibility of the transfer tape lifting the paint.

This comes from pulling off a patch of paint on a newly sprayed Toyota pickup, it had been done for nearly a week but the paint was still not completly hard, and it was near the end of summer so the weather was warm.
You can get an idea of how hard the paint is by trying to mark it with your finger nail, if it’s hard then you’ll not leave a mark.

Steve

[Martin Pearson]

A lot depends on what type of paint has been used and how well the van has been prepared.
Most vehicles are now sprayed with 2k paint and baked, you can normally apply graphics after about 48 hours. But some places still use cellulose which takes up to about 3 weeks to cure and gives off gasses as it cures so even if it seems dry be careful.

I always ask the customer to check what type of paint has been used, I have even seen them sprayed with dulux gloss!!

Test an area as has been said above, I always warn the customer that there is a possibility of the paint lifting if the van has not been sprayed properly just to be on the safe side.

In this sort of weather if you dont have a heated workshop to get the van in then placing an electric heater inside the back of the van can really help

[Shane Drew]

quote solution signs:

Can anyone give any advice on applying vinyl to a recently re-sprayed transit van. I ve also read other posts about heating vinyl after application in cold weather..any advice appreciated. 😀

cheers
Jon

Mate the advice here is good.

From my own experience, unless I am doing a job for a panel shop and it ‘must be done’ , depending on the size of the graphics etc, I usually ask the client to come back in two or three weeks just to be sure. Being a hot sunny climate here, we don’t have the same issues as you do with the cold weather (a cold day here is 24 deg c).

If you are using a cast, outgassing will not be as big an issue as with a polymeric, or a monomeric tape, but it will be of real concern if you are using reflective.

Cheers
Shane

[John Harding]

Hi Shane, – I’m confused now so can you explain, I thought outgassing was from the paint so how do the differing grades of vinyl have different effects?

John

[Jill Marie Welsh]

ALWAYS wait a minimum of two weeks.
Just heard a new one & it seems wise.
If you can still smell the paint, it’s not cured.
To cover your butt, make sure the client signs off
on a paper saying that you are not responsible
for lift-off of paint or bubbling from outgassing.
Better safe than sorry.
Love….Jill

[Shane Drew]

quote John Harding:

Hi Shane, – I’m confused now so can you explain, I thought outgassing was from the paint so how do the differing grades of vinyl have different effects?

John

Hi John.

You are right mate, outgassing is from the paint.

Cast material, being so thin, will have less problem in the short term because it ‘breaths’ better. That is why the finer bubbles lef in a job with cast material will disappear in a day or two in the sun. Outgassing is no different. The gasses will ‘escape’ thru the material much easier, so will be less likely to do long term damage.

Poly and moly materials are much thicker, and due to their different manufacturing process, will take much longer to let the trapped air or gases go. They don’t ‘breath’ nearly as well. Leave bubbles in these materials and you’ll find, even in the sun, they take days longer to disappear. The materials will trap the gases longer, and may cause damage in the long term if applied to uncured paint.

Reflective will be even less likely because it, as you know, is basicilally a sheet of crushed glass, with a resin top. This will trap the air or gas, and look like the lunar surface within hours of application. Removing the reflective will almost certainly damage the paint if the paint has not cured. It is best not to use a wet application on reflective too, as it is so thick, it takes an eternity for the water under the tape to ‘dry.

The absolute no no is applying mylar to uncured paint. The chrome or gold material will not breath at all which is also why you should refrain from using water to apply.

Hope that explains my comments better mate. I have researched this extensvely several years ago, as the bulk of my work is signing heavy transport, and they are nearly all given to me straight out of the booth.

Had more than my share of ‘issues’ with uncured paint I can tell you 😕

[John Harding]

Thanks shane – now its all clear now so I can go to bed happy

btw whats mylar? 😕

John

[Richard Urquhart]

another point after reading some replies is that no matter how long the paint has had to harden if the new paint has not keyed to the old by means of proper prep work then the vinyl and or application tape will very easily pull the new paint off the old !!!

[Rod Gray]

We apply graphics to freshly cured paint 60 minutes after it comes out our oven.

Baking takes anywhere from 40 to 60 mins.

so thats basically 2 hours after proper paint application.

[Shane Drew]

quote John Harding:

Thanks shane – now its all clear now so I can go to bed happy

btw whats mylar? 😕

John

No worries John.

Mylar is the mirror materials and feels like a thin metal film. Mirror Gold or Mirror chrome is mylar.

Cheers

[Shane Drew]

quote McRod:

We apply graphics to freshly cured paint 60 minutes after it comes out our oven.

Baking takes anywhere from 40 to 60 mins.

so thats basically 2 hours after proper paint application.

I do too, but it does not change the fact that some panel shops try to ‘push the envelope’ with curing, with little regard for our application.

I did a bus the other day, and was assured it was cured and ready to sign. I had not even finished the job when outgassing was apparent. Little bubbles evreywhere. It turns out that the apprentice mixed the paint.

Took over a week for the outgasing to stop, and the paint went to crows feet under my tape.

This panel shop is one of the best in the business. They learnt a lesson from it tho. They will have to pay for the removal and respray, as well as the re-signing.

Does not hurt to wait a fortnight or so if the panel shop is not familiar with the requirements relating to our trade.

Cheers

[Jon Fields]

Thanks all for your replies..very informative.. im not certain how long ago it sprayed but i ll find out for certain.

Jon 😀

[Jon Fields]

it’s made me now wonder..is this the same principle for new..out of the showroom vans..or are there any other pitfalls to avoid?

Jon (?)

[John Childs]

No, you’re fine out of the showroom. Practically bomb-proof.

But aware that even on a new van the dealer may have damaged, and repaired, the van before you get it.

[Bill Dewison]

quote johnchilds:

No, you’re fine out of the showroom. Practically bomb-proof.

True, but there is never a bomb around to test the theory 😕

Watch this, the special services will come and break my door down and put me in Guatamo Bay now 😮

Cheers, Dewi

[Richard Urquhart]

good point from john,out of 20 new cars and vans i paint 2 of them any thing fom a small local to poor factory paint
so any one in surrey watch out just in case i did it 😛

[Adrian Hewson]

Bomb Proof out of the showroom, I dont think you do too many lorries mate.

In the last month (about four weeks for you english guys) two Ford dropsiders (un registered prior to customer delivery) , cab perfect but on back panel application tape taking paint of right to base metal (lorries back to Ford) customer pissed off but happy that we painted it out before we signed the van.

Very large Mann dropsider, same scenario but customer just said so what put vinyl over it..

Bodies tend to be painted in different way from cabs, very rarely as quality a job, test an area before applying vinyl, BE VERY CAREFUL OUT THERE

[John Childs]

No, we don’t fit many trucks. Just a few local operators.

We do supply the graphics for some national companies, but rarely fit them these days. Those we do have to fit are mainly Volvo or Scania and we have never had any problem with factory paint finish on them.

Our only customer that uses MANs has them sprayed black before we see them, so I can’t comment on the quality of the factory paint on them.