Scratchthejeepguy

Thought I'd show off my biggest job to date. It went on both sides of a 21' racing sailboat. It was almost 20' long and almost 24" wide. Used black and red 751 and cut with my SC2. Turned out great and the customer was very happy! Before: After: I was (am) concerned with how long those very thin lines will stay as he told me he hits driftwood, dead fish, docks, buoys and other boats regularly, but he also said that if most of it is still there by the end of the season, he'll be happy. The last decal he had on there which was about half as long, started getting knocked off right away also.

Because of circumstances, I have a nearly endless supply of old 4x8 voting signs made of coroplast. I also have 20 acres of hiking trails, off roading trails and a private gun range that I make signs for, so I use those old signs since they're just for me. I tried a bunch of different methods of painting the coroplast with not very much luck until I found that if I use Rustoleum's plastic primer first, then plastic paint over that, it seemed to last and not peel off. But in my case, I could still see some of the screen printed lettering on the voting sign and didn't really like that, so now I just cover the entire sign in whatever vinyl color I want for the background, then layer the vinyl letters over that. Here is a recycled trail sign covered in brown 651 then white for the lettering.

I have a job coming up that will go on the side of a racing sailboat. It's a somewhat complex design with a lot of thin pieces on it. All black. Should I go with Oracal 751 or better?

I have an SC2 (the 28" size) and have had it for about 10 months or so. Keep in mind that I've never used a vinyl cutter before and have no experience with any of the better quality models out there, (and yes, I completely agree that there are better quality models out there) But I was up and running in minutes with mine, and haven't had any problems with anything. I keep mine in my sunroom, on the carpet, and keep all the vinyl stored below it. Never done anything to treat static, and have never had any problems. Most of my work is about 12" square or less though, but I have had a few jobs that were 4-6' long. I have no desire to own a better unit, and my only complaint about this is that the stepper motors are noisy enough that I can't do any cutting late at night because my wife will hear it sleeping. I'm using the included VM software and love it, and have no plans to upgrade yet. From the complaints I hear online, the SC2 is the lowest model you would want to purchase. I'm so happy with my SC2 that If this were to get stolen and I got insurance money to replace it, I'd have a hard time deciding if I would upgrade to a better machine. (but I probably would...)

I'll play... This is from last summer on a camping trip.

Oops missed that. Good catch.

I have no complaints about my SC2, but I have nothing to compare it to either.

I use to use Corel, but now I think VM has a much easier to use vectorizing feature.

Id stay away from the bundles as well. Except for their sample kit of different vinyl colors, I do suggest that. I'm a big Amazon buyer but I have noticed that a lot of stuff I thought would be cheaper on Amazon, was actually cheaper buying from US Cutter.

Welcome from another Cheddarhead!

Sounds like you've already made up your mind and are planning on getting the SC2, so Ill add to your decision. Keeping in mind that this is my first experience with a vinyl cutter so I don't really have any other experience.... But my SC2 has been super easy to setup, use, and has given me zero problems at all. My only complaint is a pretty weak one... The loudness of the stepper motors. I have my cutter in an area of the house where it seems to echo all over the place. It doesn't bother me, but it does the rest of the family. Not enough for me to wish I spent more money on servos though. They all complain when I'm making decals for other people, but they don't seem to complain about the noise when I'm making decals for their Hydroflasks or bedroom walls... I haven't used contour cutting and have no plans to yet, but should be able to struggle through manual setup when I need to, and as far as size goes... I have the 28" which I'm happy with. I don't do a lot of larger stuff, and actually most of my stuff could be cut on a 12" roll.

I was hoping for more of a short description of instructions. Something like the PDF you showed. Thanks!

I'm trying to write installation instructions for my customers and would like to see how you all word yours (if you have them printed up) Anyone want to share their customer installation instructions?

Id steer clear of the MH cutters. ive seen lots of posts about people with problems with them. I'd say the lowest you'd want to go is the SC cutters. i also think the VM Cut software (which comes with the cutters I think) should be perfectly fine to start with.