Does anyone have any good experience with putting vinyl letters on concrete and having it stay put outside? The concrete is as rough as the typical street curb. Any brands or product info would help. www.prestonmccall.com Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
Hi Preston, I remember reading recently about a new tool that I believe 3M came out with, to be used in conjunction with a heat gun, that will allow vinyl to be installed on very rough surfaces. I'll see if I can find it, or maybe someone else can get in here.
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
Hey Presto....a heat gun and a rivet brush will do it.
Use cast vinyl and heat it enough so that the rivet brush drives it down into the nooks and crannies, then a lil more heat to kill any memory. It will look just like you painted it.
Posted by Gary Boros (Member # 8487) on :
It's 3M IJ8624 with 8524 Luster Laminate. This is the new product designed to be applied to concrete or other textured surfaces. They also have an application kit that I believe you must purchase with it that contains high heat resistent rollers. It supposedly works well though I have not tried it yet.
Posted by Dawud Shaheed (Member # 5719) on :
hmmmmm, sounds interesting. I'd love to find some clients that would be into something like this. I guess I just gotta go find em!
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Over sixteen years ago, I lettered the curbs on five handicap parking spaces at our Kingdom Hall when it was built. I painted the curbs blue and put white high performance vinyl (probably Calon) on the curbs. With five congregations using our Kingdom Hall, the spaces get used daily. After countless impacts from tires since 1991, not one letter has come loose. I've been quite pleased (and surprised) with the results.
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
did anyone ever apply vinyl to unpainted concrete?
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
I am thinking that I need to lay down a paint base, too, but paint does not hold to cencrete well. Maybe with SW Metal latex? Add isocyanate hardener? Then add the vinyl? My vinyl guy got me some high teck vinyl and I applied it to a curb pices I sequestered for the test on 11.23. The clear and the vinyl letter are definitely not holding up in less than a month even after helping the adhesion on 65 degree concrete with a leather mallet as a helper to gain adhesion. The white high teck stuff seems to be holding, but I am dubious.
Back to paint and then vinyl?
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
Cut an overall mask of the design and paint into it with a good quality paint or clear coat made for concrete surfaces. Then lay down the vinyl over the painted area.
One more way to skin the kitty... Rapid
Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gary Boros: It's 3M IJ8624 with 8524 Luster Laminate. This is the new product designed to be applied to concrete or other textured surfaces. They also have an application kit that I believe you must purchase with it that contains high heat resistent rollers. It supposedly works well though I have not tried it yet.
We played with that at the SGIA show this year. The heat gun/roller thing was pretty cool and the stuff looked painted when you were finished.
Posted by Rich Stebbing (Member # 368) on :
Years ago at Sign Shows they used to "demo" vinyl applications on brick/concrete block/stucco and other surfaces. The substrates appeared to be uncoated.
Posted by Anne McDonald (Member # 6842) on :
We applied the new 3M product to a roughcast vwall outside about 6 months ago, it still looks great and hasn't shifted anywhere. They have a video instruction that you can request from their website....it's very cool stuff
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
I don't know if or how well isocyanates will mix with latex, Preston. But if you check with SW, I'm sure they'll have a paint that will stick to bare concrete just fine. That'll give a much better substrate for the vinyl to adhere to.
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
Watkins Glen race track ordered some vinyl (from Britten Media) that is made for concrete applications. It was on for a year. Then, NASCAR banned all vinyl from Pit Walls & Retaining walls. Great for us as we had to paint logos on 2,000 feet of Pit Wall! The problem was getting the "Stuff" off!! Track maintenance crew worked for days try to remove the vinyl! Here they are pressure washing the "loose" remaining vinyl that would come off. Notice the missing paint that was pulled off by the vinyl & Rudy's shoes
. We ended up painting over most of it! What a MESS!!
Posted by Gene Golden (Member # 3934) on :
You can lay a VINYL MASK onto the concrete, and heat it and press it into the nooks and crannies.
Roll a coat of paint onto the concrete area that is either CLEAR or a color similar to the gray concrete (ClearStar makes a few nice clear products that should work well http://www.clearstarcorp.com/coatings.asp ).
The reason you would use this "primer" is to sort of SEAL the edges of the mask. Whatever clear or gray that happens to seep under the mask will prevent the final color from seeping under and looking like crap.
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