Permanent Vinyl

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Hey Yall! I’m working on a welcome sign and trying to get my permanent vinyl to stick on the wood is seriously giving me the blues! :tipping_hand_woman:t4: I prepped the surface with shellac and even used a little adhesive spray beforehand, but whew — it taking forever to get all the letters on there. So frustrating!

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to make this process easier? Any advice for getting vinyl to stick better on wood would be so appreciated!

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Sorry to hear you are having problems with your vinyl sticking to your wood, in some cases it can be very difficult especially if the wood has been treated.
I haven’t used shellac on any of my wood pieces, but I have used other varnishes. When choosing a varnish make sure it doesn’t state “easy to clean” has these have properties in them to make them non-stick. It’s also important to give the varnish enough time to dry and seep into the wood properly before applying the vinyl.
I’ve never used adhesive spray either, normally the adhesive glue of your vinyl is enough. If the adhesive spray is wet, it might be hard to initially stick down your vinyl.

My process is

  • Clean the wood surface thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Dirt and oily fingerprints can make your vinyl not stick
  • Let it dry completely.
  • Weed out my design and apply transfer tape. I have found it easier to use transfer tape that I have previously used for another project as it’s not as sticky.
  • Place the design down and burnish everywhere over the design
  • Peel off the transfer tape very slowly. I find removing the transfer tape at an angle also allowing the transfer tape to almost fold over completely to the other side of the transfer tape works well for me.
  • As you peel the transfer tape off, monitor your design and if any parts that stick to the transfer tape, press them down again and burnish. Then peel again slowly.
  • After you removed the transfer tape from your design let your wood sit for 24 hours so it cures properly. If you are worried about it lifting off, you can use a heat gun and apply a little bit of heat to your vinyl. This helps the glue to attach to the wood. I normally don’t add any sealer over the top as the vinyl can sometimes bubble and curl because of it. Also, a safety note, most adhesive vinyl’s are not food safe and are not recommended on products where food is prepared or served including drinkware, where your lips might be in contact with the vinyl.

I have this video which shows how I placed this Easter design on this wood blank. Project starts at 15:57

If any other tips come to mind, I’ll add them down below. Good luck with your vinyl wood craft. I hope it gets easier for you.

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Wow thanks soooo much…

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Thanks so much one thing I do like you is weed and cut the access off…I love your patience I have to get there lol… I also subscribed to your channel. You made that weeding process look like a piece of cake.

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I like to use htv on wood too!

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Thank I didn’t even think to try HTV

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Oh thank you very much for subscribing :heart_eyes: yes HTV is good too. I did a video on that as well. Make sure you give it enough pressure when pressing htv. Makes all the difference. Some wood can discolor from the heat as well, so I advise using a Teflon sheet even if the htv carrier sheet covers the wood.

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