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happytree

What am I doing wrong??? Air bubbles keep coming back!

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I am new to vinyl wall art and am already getting swamped with orders! Which is great except that apparently I didn't do enough practicing first and now I'm in a pickle.  Every order I cut seems to cut fine and weed great, but when I apply the tape and squeegee, there's always at least one side of the design (a large section) that air bubbles just keep coming back.  I'm not talking about little bubbles, either, these are long "fingers" if you will.  We just keep squeegeeing over and over and they reappear right before our eyes!  Is that what is called "tunneling"?  My husband did vinyl graphics for 7 years and has never seen this before....he thinks its the transfer tape.  I am using R-Tape AT60 with the Oracal 631 vinyl.  I have seen all the threads on which tape to use with 631 and am no more educated than when I started!  There are so many different opinions....high tack/medium tack, which brand etc.  I don't even know that its the tape, but since my husband has experience and he can't make the tape lay down either, I'm thinking it is.  My husband HATES working with this tape because its so static-y, too.  I don't have anything to compare it to because I've never used any other kind.  I was thinking of ordering the R-Tape 4076 RLA.  The MyVinylDesigner website recommends R-Tape 4075, but USC doesn't seem to have it.

 

Also, when I roll it to ship, the "fingers" seem to get bigger.  Would a higher tack tape do better?  Also, will it affect the adhesiveness of the vinyl if it has these bubbles or whatever they are?  I'm just wondering if its just an eyesore or if it will actually affect the functionality.  Either way, I don't like it.  I want my stuff to be neat & pretty!  Thanks for any help!

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First stick to a paper app tape and ditch the clear - the clear will tunnel much worse.  a  high tack will help with the 631 also.

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Thanks so much for the reply.  Is the RTape 4076 RLA the kind you are referring to?  Or is there something else you would recommend?

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Guest manwayvan

Is it tunneling under the app tape between the graphic or is it once it is on the wall it is tunneling? This may be an issue with the adhesive not sticking well to the wall if your having trouble once applied. I have not had any issues like this so sorry I cannot help much but I have read that 631 takes a pretty tacky tape..Have you tried doing the same with 651 or another vinyl to see if it is the vinyl or the tape?

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The bubbles are under the tape between it and the graphic.  And sometimes it actually seems like the tape is shrinking and pulling the backing into a curl which then loosens the graphic from the backing.  No matter how many times I try to squeegee it down, it actually seems like it makes it worse.  I am concerned that once it reaches the customer it won't have any sticky left.  I don't have any other types of vinyl besides the 631 because I do strictly wall art.  I'm starting to think that the tape is not tacky enough from what I'm reading here.  That would make sense why it is pulling back up even though I've squeegeed it down. 

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