krmnelson

I would say it is tenting. Post heating hasn't helped. The groove is about 1/2" wide by 1/2" deep and it kind of comes to a point. The other side which is doing better, isn't as deep and is more curved in the bottom of the groove. I used window cleaner and followed with Rapid Tac. As I said in an earlier post, I will use wax and grease remover next time I do it. I am sure it will need redone. The van didn't appear that it had been waxed in some time so I didn't think I needed to use the wax remover on it. Live and learn! I have used Avery in the past. This is a first time in a while. It was the only brand that matched the colors needed and had the 9 year life. What brand do you use? I can see rolling the vinyl with individual letters and a single layer. But, with a large solid graphic and layers, I can only imagine wrinkles and alignment issues. Do you know of any videos demonstrating this technique? Thank you!

The grooves have been heat treated several times during and after and after again. High performance vinyl is suppose to conform to curves and it does, normally. It would be a nightmare rolling the vinyl in the grooves. There are 3 layers and the first layer has a graphic 24" x 32". And there are 2 grooves within 8 inches of each other. I have never had an issue doing it this way before. Rivets are done this way. I am leaning towards the prepping. Thanks for your advice!

I heated the vinyl while I was conforming it to the grooves. It is high performance vinyl, so it really shouldn't have a memory. Intermediate does. Kristi

That is something I have been thinking about. It was prepped with Rapid Tac, but maybe there is something there that Rapid Tac can not remove. The van was vinyled before this owner had it. I can try using some wax and grease remover next time. My other thought is that since there was some paint chipping, more paint is being pulled off by the vinyl. Kristi

Hello! I am having bubble issues with some vinyl on a cargo van. The van has grooves where the windows should be. I am using Avery 900 and layering it, 3 layers in some places. In the grooves, the vinyl keeps pulling away and creating bubbles. I have re-vinyled one side, the side with deeper grooves, because of the bubbles. The first time I used application fluid because of the size and the heat at the time. I allowed the application fluid to dry 24 hours between the first and second layer. The second time I applied the vinyl dry. The vinyl still is pulling away in the grooves after a few days in the heat. I noticed a couple of places in the grooves where the paint was chipping, but the vinyl is pulling away in places where the paint is not chipped. After the first time, I went back a couple weeks later and tried using the heat gun and popping the bubbles with a needle. They layed down for a day or 2 and pulled back away. I assumed there was still fluid under the vinyl even though it appear dry after waiting 24 hours. I decided to just redo that side again dry hoping to solve the problem. The second time it layed down fine and a few days later it was pulled away again. Even in areas where there was just one layer of vinyl. I have not had issues with this in the past. Once it has been heated and conformed to the groove, it usually stays. Any ideas on what is causing the vinyl to pull away? Is it too many layers? The vinyl itself? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!