Vinyl signs are an important advertising medium for any business. They come in a variety of applications include vinyl decals, banners and magnetic signs. They are letters or images that are pre-built according to your specifications.

They can be made to measure, any size or colour and fit for purpose. This means that an investment in sign vinyl can last considerable time and can be reused in both an indoor or outdoor advertising campaign. However, to make certain that you have a quality sign that will last you must ensure that you properly clean and prepare the surface that the sign vinyl will adhere to.

Sign Vinyl is a very durable product and can be applied to a wide variety of substrates including bare metals, painted surfaces, aluminium, vinyl banners and many others. Many applications include creating standalone banners or decals for cars, boats, trucks, windows, vans and storefronts. However you must ensure that the surface is clean, dry, smooth, non-porous and free from grease, dirt, silicones or other contaminants. Checking a surface for dirt or other contaminants is often very difficult so the best solution is to assume that application surface is contaminated. You will then treat that surface accordingly to have a successful application.

There are a variety of cleaning methods that include:

• Washing with a mild detergent solution, after which the surface should be rinsed and dried with a lint free cloth.

• Wiping with a solvent-saturated cloth, until all dirt and/or grease has been removed. A solvent such as isopropyl alcohol should be sufficiently mild not to attack the substrate.

• Before cleaning with a solvent, test on an inconspicuous area just in case it might damage the surface.

There are many commercially available cleaning or degreasing products available to you. Before cleaning you should establish the suitability of a product prior to actual use. In addition, the following factors should be considered prior to decal application:

• Bare metals can best be prepared for decal application by cleaning with a detergent solution, followed by solvent cleaning with a cloth saturated in solvent.

• Car wax and polish residues must be completely removed.

• Paint surfaces must be completely dry and hardened. On most baked paints, decals can be applied immediately after cooling down. Air dried paints and car repair paints require at least one week to ten days to dry out before decals can be applied. Solvent residues in painted substrates which are not completely dry may adversely affect decal adhesion, and can cause excessive shrinkage or blistering.

• Painted substrates that will act as a substrate for self-adhesive decals should be prepared according to the paint manufacturers instruction. Here, too it is important to avoid solvent retention. Paint system components (primer, filler, top layer) that are not compatible or that do not adhere properly to each other may cause paint to be lifted when decals are removed.

• Weathered paints or films may have to be treated with a (fine) abrasive pad to remove loose surface particles.

• After cleaning an irregular substrate surface (rivets, corrugations), any retained liquid may be removed by means of a heat gun.

• Damaged surfaces may result in different adhesion levels: serious consideration should be given to repair a damaged surface prior to decal application.

Cleaning and preparing your substrate ready for a sign vinyl application will help to preserve the longevity of your advertising campaign and will give you a longer lasting result.