homemade solution comparable to rapid tac2

[cegglestn 0]

Does anyone have there own secret recipe thats similar to rapid tac2?

Has anyone tried alchohol, soap, water?

[BannerJohn 1,324]

alcohol,soap and water is all that I use and I go through a gallon every two weeks. I trierd a bottle of rapid Tac and other than smelling better,couldn't see a difference. When I bought the rapid tac,the guy at the sign supply place told me I was wasting my money,that the recipe I use now is just as good. I wanted to see for myself,and I did. I haven't wasted any money since.

[dgreenh 9]

So you gonna give us your recipe for a gallon?  I hate wasting money too!

[BannerJohn 1,324]

One Gallon:

Fill gallon jug about 7/8 full. add 3 or 4 good squirts of sihwashing liquid soap. I use all kinds of brands,no one seems to be any better than the other. Add alcohol to fill rest of gallon. If you want it to smell like the expensive store-bought stuff,add some vanilla falvor.

Alternate,that I have used if you don't mind it being BLUE: (I got this from a sign guy with 40 years in the business)

3/4 gallon water,1/4 gallon windshield wiper solution. And the soap.

There are those who will say its not as good as the store bought stuff but I do amywhere from 2 to 5 signs and banners a DAY,every day,and mostly wet. I have NEVER had a proble with it. I am usually able to remove the tape after 2 minutes or less on glossy surfaces, about 5 minutes on banners that are not glossy.

Never a bubble,never a wrinkle. And I can tell you taht from having to REMOVE a few letters here and there(people do chaneg their minds)...the stuff does NOT affect the bond of the vinyl to the substrate.

Let me say one thing..I have a background in chemistry and there is NO magic ingredient in Rapid Tac or any other that makes it special. They like to say there is. But there isn't.

[jayben03 0]

Thanks Banner John we all can save some money with what you have just posted! Well at least I know that I can.  :you rock:

[Kimon 1]

When I mix my moonshine application fluid I do it by the quart -

4 drops dishsoap (less is better than more)

1/2 cup isopropal alcohol

3 1/2 cups water

use a fine mister spay bottle for the bast results.

Then paypal Poor Roger from Rapid Tac a couple of bucks so he can continue to enjoy his retirement.

Personally I preffer dry ap/ it takes a bit of practice but I go dry 90% of the time, the other 10 percent I use my own moonshine but most liquids that are not solvent based will work ok in a pinch. Some day I will tell the story of how fierce lime gatoraid saved the day!

[BannerJohn 1,324]

I can do dry on small jobs with no problem. But there's just me here and my arms won't spread 6 feet apart. I just never saw a reason for doing dry when wet does the job with less effort and less chance of bubbles or mistakes. I can climb a mountain (or could,back in the day) without safety ropes,but why would I?

I've gotten into the habit of looking at vehicle graphics and wraps when I see them in parking lots and I can tell every one whether it was done wet or dry. Even one bubble is too much for me. I was behind a phone company truck the other day that had a full rear window done and ot was pieced,and one section was off by just about 1/4 of an inch. But it was enough to make it look really bad. I would bet it was done dry,or by someone who just didn't care.

If doing it wet is not very professional,so be it. I'd rather it LOOK professional in the end. Thats what people pay me for.

So my advice to the newbees and others is..do it wet. You have much more to lose by doing it dry.

[Kimon 1]

Wet and dry age old debate, it has little to do with profesional and more to do with technigue and personal prefference. Weather conditions and temperature also play a key roll in "professional" results. Do what works for you.

[dgreenh 9]

Thanks for the recipes!  I always apply wet unless it it a very small decal.  Wet is much more forgiving and I need any edge I can get.  I've been using Rapidtac but I have to order it since there is no local supplier so homebrew would be much more convienent as well as a money saver.

Can you define a squirt?  I've always heard drops of soap when talking about homebrew stuff.  Several squirts could be a whole bottle depending on your grip. 

[BannerJohn 1,324]

well,about a teaspoon per gallon would be a better way to describe it. But,play around and see what works best for you.

[luckytots 0]

I have not tried this, but from other forums, I was told to watch out for "new" dishwashing detergents as they contain extra chemicals that could degrade the vinyl.  Stick to the plain stuff.

Also, the alcohol was a no-no, but I do not remember why.

[stormy 5]

Alcohol isnt a no-no. It's an excellent cleaner, it doesn't eat up the adhesive. They've used it in the leading app fluids for quite some time now.

You are right about the chemicals degrading the vinyl, however. Many chemicals in cleaners such as 409, windex, etc. can eat up the adhesive on the vinyl causing the vinyl to have a shorter life and can cause premature fading.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

on the alcohol...DENATURED alcohol is the one that is a NO NO!!!!! regular rubbing alcohol is what you use. I use denatured to remove adhesive residue,so I'm sure uts not good for the adhesive on the vinyl.

[bowhunter012004 4]

thanks for saving me money

[BannerJohn 1,324]

since this thread has been re-opened, I think I'll give an update.

About a month ago I bought some RapidTacII just to see if it was any better. I did tests...same vinyl,same cut,same substrate. The results...I could not see that RapidTac did any better than my recipe...in fact on coroplast,it didn't do as well. Conclusion...I paid $8 for a quart of something that smells better than what I make myself.

[cegglestn 0]

When I mix my moonshine application fluid I do it by the quart -

4 drops dishsoap (less is better than more)

1/2 cup isopropal alcohol

3 1/2 cups water

use a fine mister spay bottle for the bast results.

Then paypal Poor Roger from Rapid Tac a couple of bucks so he can continue to enjoy his retirement.

Personally I preffer dry ap/ it takes a bit of practice but I go dry 90% of the time, the other 10 percent I use my own moonshine but most liquids that are not solvent based will work ok in a pinch. Some day I will tell the story of how fierce lime gatoraid saved the day!

Ive tried this recipe and works great, I added a bit more isopropyl (mint rubbing) alcohol and some vanilla extract and its amazing at 10-30 degree temprature, no problems yet with around a 2 min wait

[Booper 2]

Just tried the homebrew a few times on a window and no matter how much I squeegie or how long I leave it on there the decal will NOT stick to the window.  Some help please as Im supposed to be installing bedstripes on a pickup truck later on today.

Ben

[MikeMan 0]

Just tried the homebrew a few times on a window and no matter how much I squeegie or how long I leave it on there the decal will NOT stick to the window.  Some help please as Im supposed to be installing bedstripes on a pickup truck later on today.

Ben

You're not using clear app tape are you?

[MZ SKEETER 4,686]

Just tried the homebrew a few times on a window and no matter how much I squeegie or how long I leave it on there the decal will NOT stick to the window.  Some help please as Im supposed to be installing bedstripes on a pickup truck later on today.

Ben

did you clean the window real good?  like with alcohol?    What type/kind of vinyl?

[Dakotagrafx 7,293]

since this thread has been re-opened, I think I'll give an update.

About a month ago I bought some RapidTacII just to see if it was any better. I did tests...same vinyl,same cut,same substrate. The results...I could not see that RapidTac did any better than my recipe...in fact on coroplast,it didn't do as well. Conclusion...I paid $8 for a quart of something that smells better than what I make myself.

I can attest to Johns recipe working better than rapid tac with 751 on my truck!

[Booper 2]

Nope, its paper tape, Oracal 651 and I cleaned the glass with the same solution, wiped it down with paper towel, did it again, sprayed the glass, sprayed the decal, applied it, squeegied the everloving @$^@ out of it until I couldn't see any more liquid coming out, let it sit for a half hour, squeegied it again, sprayed the app tape to release it and the whole decal comes off.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

I pull the tape after 2-3 minutes. Never any problems/ On a vertical surface, I don't spray the tape..the spray wants to go back under the decal. But after 30 minutes, I guess the tape had dried to the point you had to spray it.

[Booper 2]

Only thing I can think of is I bought the alcohol from the dollar store and it says on the bottle 50% alcohol solution but the ingredients are just alcohol and water.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

that's about right. You can buy 90% but usually at drug stores only and more expensive. That's what we used to clean tape heads years ago.

[Booper 2]

Would using an empty Fantastic spray bottle that I rinsed out mess it up?