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Are there any tricks to weeding vinyl, from you guys who have been doing it for 20 years ? I am totally new to this. Thanks for your help, guys !
Amy Billings joshieb3@juno.com
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Posts: 45 | From: Asheville, NC USA | Registered: Feb 2000
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Amy...LOTS OF PATIENCE!!!! And I have one of those clamp on lamps, with the arms, that can be positioned to suit your needs. (Like a drafting table lamp) I find that it is indispensible for weeding. I can position it so that it reflects off the vinyl allowing me to see the cut lines a lot better.
I also wash my hands and arms before I do ANY weeding. There is nothing worse than getting skin oil all over the vinyl. The masking paper doesn't stick to oily vinyl and when you go to apply, especially tiny little letters or thin lines, it won't lift them off the backing paper.
I have 2 exacto knives at the weeding table. One has a sharp blade for cutting weed borders etc. The other has a very dull blade for picking out the centers of letters.
And of course, did I mention, LOTS OF PATIENCE!!!!!
------------------ Dave Grundy shop#340 AKA "applicator" on mIRC "stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!" in Granton, Ontario, Canada 1-519-225-2634 dave.grundy@quadro.net www.quadro.net/~shirley "A PROUD $ supporter of the website"
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Its a real pain.....aint it? Apply vinyl over rivets for days in a row..then weeding becomes comparitively less offensive... Tips....make sure to always use a nice sharp blade in your plotter...and use enough pressure to cut the material...but do not use too much force..if you do..the silicone carrier will be cut and pieces will stick to graphic when carrier is removed... Make sure you have proper lighting.... Make yourself comfortable....this is important...for example...if you weed lots of small letters..get a stool or chair and sit comfortably...and make your weeding table a comfortble height..mine has a slight incline..I like that feature Cut "weed borders"...around small groups of letters....instead of trying to weed a whole page at once... On sandblast material....cuts are hard to see..rub a little charcoal powder over cuts...they will then be easy to see...this is messy but it works.... To weed tiny graphics...apply application tape before weeding..then lift off the entire piece of vinyl..invert...tape the piece on the edges..face down..and weed from the back side.....this will hold tiny centers and fine lines in place...we lettered radio controled race cars for a while...this trick worked good.... Someone posted here one time....refrigerate vinyl for a short time...to make cuts easier to see...i never tried this one..but remember it..cant hurt to try... Use a trimmer or straight edge to cut graphic to size...this will make the hinge method of application much easier..and graphics for customer application look much neater with nice stright edges..... Apply a temporary strip of application tape to ends of graphic and then fold them over to back side..this will keep corners from curling up....I do this to all graphics....I save trims from previous jobs..just tape em to your cutting surface....then you have a supply of tabs....free.... Practice..... Practice.................
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In time you will just be smokin'! I mean you will learn to go in a direction that lets you weed the E's and F's with ease instead of ripping them. Sometimes I make it a game to go as fast as I can. I like to spend more time designing.....and delivering (cruising around) instead of weeding. Have fun!
------------------ "surf" or "MoJo54" on mirc Cheryl Nordby Signs by Cheryl 206 300-0153 Seattle Washington
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with text i weed from right to left, with numbers i weed left to right.......on my cutter when i do script, i weed from lower right, across the bottom, then do the top right to left....i dont think anyones been doin this for 20 yrs..........
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I always put weed borders on my computer artwork so I dont have to do that manually, then the edge of the border also serves as a straight guide for trimming the graphic.
Weed borders also help when you are cutting several smaller identical decals. Say if you are cutting (20) 3"x5" decals, instead of trying to weed the whole sheet at once weed borders around each decal make it easier.
Make sure all the paths in your artwork are closed. It's pretty irritating when you are cuisin' along in that groove weeding, then you hit a spot where the path wasnt complete. Ya either rip the material or pull up a piece which then gets stuck to a scrap and wont let loose. =)
Wear safety glasses while weeding chrome material. =) The inside portions of small letters and such like to jump off the sheet. =) I've had many little chrome pieces jump up and get snagged in my hair (shoulder length) and there's little pieces stuck to the wall behind the weeding table as well. =) Not to mention how they get stuck in the carpet.. =)
Other than that, patience really is the main trick especially when someone wants small graphics done up. Occassionally I get requests for unusually small items and when that happens I dont even weed them. I put the transfer tape on 'em and send 'em on out to the customer and let them do it. OR I give the customer the option of paying extra to have me do it. It kinda depends on the customer really, some would rather pay a little more just so they dont chance messing it up (or just dont want to deal with it) and some would rather save the $5.
------------------ Mike Pipes Digital Illusion Custom Graphics Lake Havasu City, AZ http://www.stickerpimp.com
Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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A vacumn table is a great help! And usually the faster you peal the vinyl the better. At a Letterhead meet at Mike Shehan's Classic Sign & Mirror we had a 'Speed Weed Contest' 'if' the vinyl is cut well and is held down to the table, you can grab one corner and give it a quick yank and remove all the background without damaging a letter. I don't recommend doing this on every job but its worth a test try if your not faint of heart.
------------------ Larry
Elliott Design McLemoresville, Tn.
If you can't find the time to do it right, where gonna find the time to do it over?
Posts: 486 | From: McLemoresville, TN. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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We bought our Gerber 4B in 1983 - ALMOST 20 years Joe
------------------ Pat Neve, Jr. Sign Man, Inc. 4580 N. US 1 Melbourne, FL 32935 321-259-1703 signman@signmaninc.com Capt. Sign Letterville Constituent constituent: "One of the individual entities contributing to a whole"
Posts: 2283 | From: Melbourne, FL, USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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posted
What great responses, guys ! Really appreciate you sharing all your wisdom and experience. I hate to be such a "newbie", but if you are then you are, or at least until you're not !
Amy
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Posts: 45 | From: Asheville, NC USA | Registered: Feb 2000
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I work in the exact opposite direction from Joe. I weed letters from the left to the right so I'm not fighting the captured spaces in the E's. Most of our letters face that way, and our numerals are weeded in the opposite direction, as are reverse cut letters for windows.
Cut two rows of the same thing, and strip weed them each from differing directios and report back here which works best for you.
------------------ The SignShop Mendocino, California "Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"
Posts: 6717 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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ask them all the dumb questions you want amy. they're actually very nice here. when i started coming on 2 years ago, after a few months, i actually had the nerve to ask what weeding was....and no one made fun of me
and, boy, i've come a long way cuz of these guys....i'm not even a sign person
------------------ free to paint, day and night :) Gailforce Airbrush & Design Squamish, BC, Canada www.gailforce.homestead.com
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I'm with Joe, I turn my mostly text stuff upside down and weed left to right, but that is same as joe, only I'm right handed and it works better to just turn it upside down. I keep several 5/8 inch push tacks, I take a clothes pin, cut a little groove in it so the pushtack fits it well, tape it with vinyl scrap to make a handle, these are my center weeders, just stick it in the centers and lift up, keeps you from nicking the edges and that way you don't need a dull knife laying around either. All the tips were good ones. My nephew weeds really fast, but occasionally I have to cut him another letter or two. I believe slow and steady wins the race on weeding.Unless you are in a hurry LOL Bill
------------------ Bill & Barbara Biggs Art's Sign Service, Inc. Clute, Texas, USA Home of The Great Texas Mosquito Festival Proud second year Supporter of the Letterheads Website MailTo:twobeesusa@netscape.net
Posts: 1020 | From: Lake Jackson,Tx | Registered: Nov 1998
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