2
Warning: my bumper sticker fonts were peeling after 3 years because I ignored the vinyl type
I used glossy vinyl for a batch of 50 stickers back in 2021 and they looked great until last month when the sun turned them all yellow and cracked. A buddy at a craft fair pointed out I should have used matte outdoor vinyl for anything that sits on a car bumper. Has anyone else messed up their choice of vinyl and had to redo a whole order?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
spencer6641mo ago
Glossy vinyl for car bumpers" is basically asking the sun to wreck your stuff. You might as well have printed those on wax paper and taped them on. I learned that lesson the hard way with a batch of band stickers back in 2019. They turned into crispy yellow leaves within a summer. Matte outdoor vinyl is the only way to go for anything that's gonna sit in the sun all day. You're lucky your buddy told you before you ordered another 50 of the wrong stuff.
1
johnh821mo ago
Oh man, you are so right about that. The glossy stuff is a total trap, looks all shiny and nice for about a week then bam, it's a faded, cracked mess. I see people at car meets with those glossy decals that are already peeling and turning that gross yellow color and I just want to shake them. You put that on a bumper which is basically a heat magnet and yeah, you're basically cooking the adhesive off. I did a similar thing with some clear vinyl for my taillights once, thought it'd be fine, but it got all hazy and brittle within a few months. Matte outdoor vinyl is seriously the only thing that holds up, the UV protection is way better and the texture hides the eventual wear and tear. Your buddy probably saved you a big headache and a lot of wasted cash on that one.
6