darcshadow

Calendared Vinyl, Curved Surface?

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I know calendared vinyl is not ideal for curved surfaces but is there any tips/tricks that can be done for simple curves?

 

I thought I read on here someplace about heating vinyl then letting it cool before applying it, something about resetting the vinyl memory. I can't seem to find that thread though and don't recall exactly what all it said.

 

I have a couple of buddies that race motorcycles. They had a hell of a time trying to put their number plates on and were not real happy with the person they bought them from. I told them I'd be happy to make what they needed but since I only have calendared vinyl currently I'm afraid it'll be even more of a pain then what they were dealing with the first time.

 

Any advice other than buying the more expensive cast vinyl would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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The heating to reset the memory you read about is when applying a cast wrap material to deep recesses and compund curves - you heat it after install to reset the memory.  on the name plates depending on the curves you may get it to work with a little heat but the biggest problem can be the low energy plastics they make them out of is hard to get the vinyl to stick to - for printed items we have to use convex material.  Bottom line is you have to use the right vinyl for any job not try to make any vinyl work for all jobs or the wrong jobs.  Knowing what material to use and using the proper material is part of being a vinyl professional.

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Im not sure what talking about. Are these number plates the white plates on the front and sides of a bike? Those arent bent or are they? They have a very slight bend if they are. Cal vinyl should be able to do that. Well a fresh roll of oracal will bend if you apply it slow.

 

Id suggest buying a roll of black cast. Its amazing to work with. It wont be a waste.

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Cool, thanks for the info.

 

The term number plate is a little misleading. It's not really a plate, they put the numbers and white or yellow background directly on the bikes so the vinyl needs to conform to the shape of the bike. The front number usually isn't too big of a deal, it's the tail section that has the problems.

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Can you identify calendared vs. cast vinyl by looking at it closely? I'm curious as to what type of vinyl was sold to my friends, and if their trouble putting in on was a result of it being calendared vinyl.

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cast is thinner and conforms better - if it doesn't have an identifier on the backing paper it could be hard to tell a 3mil calandared from a 2 mil cast other than experience using them.

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