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Old Feb 12th, 2002, 03:25 PM   #8
Apial
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I fitted them and I know what you mean. Vinyl will bend around a curve in one plane, but only a limited amount in two.

From the outset I planned the squares to fit with the least amount of bend needed. To reduce the front corner problem I planned the edge of the square to meet at the corner of the roof. The remaining vinyl would only have to bend down in a forward direction. Also as the corner square is cut to a thin point it will bend easily. The centre front was also a problem as a bend went both left, right and up/down. This problem was reduced by leaving a blank perimeter of about 2 cm to border the chequers around the front and side edges of the entire roof.

The aerial square was also planned to be blank.

The squares were cut with 22.9mm sides. A very dilute mix of water and washing -up liquid was used. This was carefully misted on. Too much and too strong and the vinyl will not stick down. I used the wax side of the backing paper to rub the hard plastic squeegee on. This prevents scratching to the vinyl and roof.

It is important to squeegee with a fairly hard pressure to remove all the trapped water and air. Bubbles spoil the job.
I would suggest that you should also ideally use a wax remover to aid adhesion if you find that they will not still stick down.

I found out the hard way. I ended up having to replace nearly all the squares due to this problem. The old squares effectively removed the wax. The new squares stick perfectly.
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