“Baby it’s cold outside” go the lyrics. A good reminder this time of year that installed fleet and vehicle wraps should remain indoors for 24 hours before being exposed to severe cold elements. Other good advice from Avery Dennison before applying vinyl decals:

When vinyl is delivered, it’s likely it was sitting in the back of a truck for a day or two. The material needs to be acclimated before printing, cutting or applying, so let the film rest until it returns to the ambient temperature. A too soon application can result in poor ink adhesion or brittleness in cutting.

The average minimum temperature for applying vinyl to a substrate is 50°F. Since adhesives don’t like cold temps, applying vinyl to a cold surface can cause the adhesive to be less tacky and create a risk of it not adhering.

Avery Dennison vinyl films have a minimum application temperature range. Look for it on product data sheets available in the Literature Library of their web site www.averydennison.com.

For example, with the MPI 1005 film series the minimum temp is 45° F for a flat surface, but 50°F if it has rivets, and 60°F for complex curves and watercraft. 

Once vinyl is applied, be aware of the service temperature it can be exposed to. The range for MPI 2126 and MPI 1006 is -40°F to 180°F, compared to MPI 1005 series films which can tolerate -50°F to 180°F. Exposure to temps outside this range can cause premature failure of the vinyl.

Contact Modagrafics for a list of films, data sheets and ordering options.