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Roller Shutter door on van, advise please.
Hi There, i wonder if you guys can help me.
Ive got a roller shutter door to do on the back of a New-ish luton van to do with large Basic lettering and phone numbers.
Could you give me some advise on how to apply, wet or dry? Cut short of each shutters curve or wrap over the edge slightly?
Any any hints and tips would be greatly appreciated as I’ve not done one before.Also what is the lowest temperature you recommend to apply vinyl outside?
Ive been putting off this job for a couple of weeks as ive got to do it outside, and the temperature hasn’t got above 3c in the frost and snow !Thanx
Phil -
4 Replies
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Hi phil,
i dunno how cold is too cold, often wondered how those in colder climates cope when fitting outside! I recently fitted signs to a van as sleet was falling (wasn’t when i started i hasten to add), I find that as long as plenty of heat is used before and after removing the app tape, that you’ll have no problems though you must fit dry, never fit wet when it’s cold, if it freezes the moisture will expand and the vinyl can fall off!
as for the shutter, how big are the gaps and the slats?
wide sections with thin gaps… trim just back from the edge or better still, measure the slats prior to cutting and allow for them!
wide sections and wide gaps i apply over and simply cut out the spare,
narrow sections with gaps you can only just get a scalpel blade in between… then i simply slice it and hit it with hot air,
hope this helps.
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As Hugh says plus you’ll need to really degrease in between the slats and heat the edges down. After slitting in between there’s such a small amount of vinyl trying to cling on to the curve, it can lift easily if not well stuck.
On slats with a wide gap I slit twice, with the knife angled towards each slat in turn. This avoids having too much to "tuck in".
Tip~ when slitting, do it in one fast movement. Stop and you’ll get a jagged edge. -
if its a roller shutter on a Luton I would clean the slats properly, then apply the vinyl dry, slit with scalpel and use a rivet brush and heat gun to work straight into the grooves
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Many thanks
As the lettering is large i was just going to apply it dry and slit each individual slat.
I might make up a tool with 2 scalpel blades to combat the gap as they are only narrow gaps, and heat up with my trusty hairdryer as i go.
Thanks for the tip, i will de-grease each slat.Yes i learned the hard way when applying graphics in the cold, Large rally graphics on a Subaru that the customer insisted he wanted doing, They had to be applied wet, and it took ages for the water to work out and get a good application even with heat.
The customer was happy, but i wasn’t, it took twice as long !Keep up the good work
Phil 😀
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