posted
Please Help..Is covering rivets with large panels of vinyl an impossible task. Text is no problem..put large body shapes or panels almost impossible. Has anyone have tricks for reflective as well?
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Posts: 139 | From: Midlothian, Virginia | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Applying large panels of vinyl over rivits is not "a piece of cake" but it is not that herd to do with a little practice. The best , and most entertaining , explanation I have seen on the net is by one of the regulars here Mark M.(sorry I can't remember how to spell yer last name Mark!!!! ) It is located at http://www.us-uck.com/rivetron.html Take a look!!!
------------------ 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@odyssey.on.ca www.odyssey.on.ca/~dave.grundy "A PROUD $ supporter of the website"
posted
Actually I think it is easier to lay larger pieces over rivets as they do not distort as bad as small text. Make sure you are using premium vinyl and ask your supplier if it designed for going over compound surfaces. Control tac is the best (Iknow 3M makes one as well as avery I believe). Make sure it is clean and dry around the rivet heads. Apply vinyl ignoring the rivets - do not try to conform them as you go, just squegee right over them and leave it alone until you have the whole piece down. Now go back and pop a few holes at the base of the rivet, DONT SLIT or it will be real ugly when you heat it up. push the air towards the rivet until it is almost all out. Get out my least favorite but commonly used heat gun and heat up the rivet slightly. Use either a rivet brush, torpedo thingy, or just your burnt fingers to conform the vinyl over the rivet. Just 499 more to go.... Have fun.
------------------ Brian Stoddard Expressions Signs A few puddles east of Seattle
Posts: 790 | From: Redmond, WA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I really gotta add hinging to that tutorial... For large pannels it's all the difference for me. *First make sure your masked vinyl has a nice straight edge an inch or so beyond the vinyl. *I usually first tape the whole pannel in place, in the four corners so the peice is as tight and flat as possible, *then tape all along one edge, *make some marks on the oposite side to mark where that end is (tape or stabilo), *flip that end back *and on the hinged side peel the backing paper back a foot or two *flip the whole panel back to where it started (the marks we put on) so that the backing paper that you just pulled back fold under forming a kinda roll, holding the vinyl up (no vinyl should be touching the truck at this point) *tape that opposit end back down tight *now set the vinyl nice and even on the hinged side and work it as you normally would (center out), pull back another couple feet of backing paper, work it, pull, work it, yadda yadda (kepping it tight with the backing paper holding the vinyl up is like an extra set of hands) *after it's all on go back and do all that other caressing, poking, heating, caressing, poking, heating, caressing....uh... stuff
hope that helps... somewhat ... gotta work that into my next graphic version
***NOTE*** this only works for big solid pannels not large pannels of individualy cut letters, if the corner of a letter fails to release from the liner doing it this way it really sucks but works for me on big'n's did one last week by my self one handed/left handed (I'm right handed but it's broken right now)
hhmmmm.... Don't think I've ever put reflective over rivets... I think Dave has though ... Dave?? ------------------ Pierrepont by day. SlamGrafyx for play. http://www.us-uck.com
posted
Reflective works great on rivets. In fact I would rather apply reflective (premium, not the engineer grade) than premium. Weedings a different story but then thats, well a different story. Just apply the reflective like the premium, and I agree with Marks hinging - the center hinge is key with large graphics that cannot be hinged on the edge and cut into smaller sections.
------------------ Brian Stoddard Expressions Signs A few puddles east of Seattle
Posts: 790 | From: Redmond, WA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Yes I have applied reflective over rivits, but not large panels, just large lettering. I kind of agree with Brian, in that the heavier the vinyl, the easier it is to work with when dealing with rivits. Less likelihood of wrinkling. But the heavier the vinyl the harder it is to conform to the rivits. And of course the calendered and reflective vinyl's don't "lose their memory" when heated like cast vinyl does. As with any endeavour, "practice makes perfect" or at least it makes things easier!!
------------------ 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@odyssey.on.ca www.odyssey.on.ca/~dave.grundy "A PROUD $ supporter of the website"
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