DPF 8000™ Ultra Tack

Preparation & Installation

General

DPF 8000™ Ultra Tack owes its very high bond to the softness of the adhesive. The trade-off for high tack and adhesion is to expect higher visible shrinkage than normal. As a result, it is best practice to not leave the printer unattended when printing to avoid headstrikes due to adhesive build up on the film edges over time. Click here to see the WrapItRight video: Preventing Adhesive Build-Up When Printing with Arlon DPF 8000™ Ultra Tack. When decorating DPF 8000™ Ultra Tack with screen or digital printing the solvent involved will penetrate both the vinyl and adhesive at the time of printing. If the printing solvents aren’t completely removed before installation the resultant graphic will show very high shrinkage and edge curl. When printing this product be vigilant about drying the finished decal completely before laminating, top coating or installing.

Concrete, Masonry, and Tile

The surface should be entirely dust free: high-pressure TSP/water wash is the easiest method. The surface must be sealed with a complete coat of paint or concrete sealer and allowed to dry. If the surface is not sealed there must be no loose paint, grit or chalk present.

Sealing porous surfaces creates three benefits:

• Moisture cannot wick to the adhesive surface from within the matrix of the wall.
• Dust due to ablation cannot develop under the vinyl.
• Removal steps are much easier as the adhesive will remove more cleanly and if any adhesive remains, the surface will be cleaned of residue more easily.

The surface temperature must be above 10°C. To assure highest adhesion the graphics will benefit from a final installation pass using a soft roller and heat source in combination. The film should be heated to a point of softening. Wait until the vinyl becomes “tack-free” and then roll the film tightly into the texture of the wall.

Plastic

These surfaces benefit from slightly roughening with sandpaper before installation or surface oxidation with flame. For many polyolefinic surfaces, once the oily skin of the plastic is modified bond will improve dramatically.

Addition of heat during removal will make the process much cleaner and faster. Where possible allow the surface to reach 27°C or more before removing the film. Where ambient temperature is not that high use either a very “soft” flame-type torch or heat gun to bring the temperature up. Arlon recommends getting the film and underlaying adhesive above 100°F/38°C.

Due to the porosity of certain types of plastics (i.e. PP, PE), plastics exposed to gasoline from tanks will migrate through plastic and interfere with vinyl adhesion to the plastic. We do not recommend wrapping gasoline tanks or similar plastics exposed to like fumes.

Graphics Removal

Remove the film in a continuous smooth motion at a shallow angle for the fastest separation. Where it is practical, two people on the removal make the job go far faster than using just one. With one person working the heating unit in front of the second person who is peeling film, the job proceeds at a uniform and consistent pace. Where only one person is working there will be constant starting and stopping in addition to the problems of the heat being very inconsistent.

Removal Recommendations

• Temp range 13°C or higher. If the environment temperature is lower than 13°C, heat gun or blowtorch should be used.
• Film removal angle >90 degrees from vertical wall.
• Removal rate: slow (1 in/sec) and constant pull of graphics towards the ground.

Special Considerations

Because of the porous nature of all masonry and its general roughness, Arlon does expect water, snow or ice to seep between the film and wall and collect on the upper edges of the applied graphic. For this reason, an edge seal is recommended for applications that have very rough surfaces. Rough surfaces may not carry the standard warranties.

Standard warranty applies to vertical applications only. Vertical is defined as +/- 10° from the vertical. Non-vertical applications are not warranted for this product.