Film creasing once activated

Forsi · November 2016

I had something new happen today. I was dipping this blue skulls pattern and every time I activated it parts of the film "creased". I laid the film on the water as per usual, soaked it, and it looked 'normal' prior to activating it. Once I activated it random parts of the pattern "creased" (see photo). This is a new one to me so I am curious as to why this would happen; especially since the film did not show any creases after the soak time. Here are the details of the setup:

90 degree water
50 second soak the first time I tried (thought maybe soak time was the culprit so I did a 70 second soak the second time)
Hydrovator activator
1.8 tip

Thanks for any help; this one has me a bit perplexed...

PTC_HydroGraphX · November 2016

What pressure are you spraying at? Could you be pushing the film onto its self?

Forsi · November 2016

@PTC_HydroGraphX about 12psi at the gun and 30psi at the compressor.

Brian · November 2016

Do you mask your film

MidOhioHydrographics · November 2016

And was the film absolutely the correct way on the water?

Forsi · November 2016

@Brian if by "masking" you mean tape the edges, yes I do.

@MidOhioHydrographics yes, I double-check the film to make sure it is the correct orientation (sticky side down) prior to laying it on the water.

NotSoFast · November 2016

Forsi said:
@Brian if by "masking" you mean tape the edges, yes I do.

@MidOhioHydrographics yes, I double-check the film to make sure it is the correct orientation (sticky side down) prior to laying it on the water.

Try it without taping the edges. Set your dams about an inch from the sides of the film while hydrating, then move the dams closer, then activate. This will allow the film to expand while it soaks. Some films need room to grow while hydrating or else they bunch up on themselves. I have a carbon fiber pattern that does this every time. You can also use dry fingers to gently spread these wrinkles out at the beginning of the soak.

Brian · November 2016

I had exactly the same problem on the blue skulls. Don't mask and give it some room to expand

DeepSouthDippin · November 2016

I didn't have the same exact problem with them but I did have some issues with the blue skulls. Mine kept loosing its color after the dip.

Brian · November 2016

Stretching to much or over activation

Forsi · November 2016

Thanks so much for the good info and prompt replies @NotSoFast @Brian @DeepSouthDippin . I appreciate it and will give it a shot with leaving some room for expansion while not taping all sides. Thanks!

K2Concepts · November 2016

NotSoFast said:

Try it without taping the edges. Set your dams about an inch from the sides of the film while hydrating, then move the dams closer, then activate. This will allow the film to expand while it soaks. Some films need room to grow while hydrating or else they bunch up on themselves. I have a carbon fiber pattern that does this every time. You can also use dry fingers to gently spread these wrinkles out at the beginning of the soak.

This...

KwikBoyModz · November 2016

DeepSouthDippin said:

I didn't have the same exact problem with them but I did have some issues with the blue skulls. Mine kept loosing its color after the dip.

Rinse with cooler water

DeepSouthDippin · November 2016

@KwikBoyModz I always use straight out the tap water when I rinse. Can't get much cooler lol.

liquidconcepts · November 2016

I have seen this done before and most of the time it will be because it needs to sit on the water for a longer period of time. We have had some films do this and have had to wait 3 minutes to actually make them activate correctly. I would suggest doing a smaller 6x6 or 12x12 piece of film to test out at different times. I would start in 20-30 second increments and go up from the baseline that you had with the 90 seconds. Hope this helps!

Forsi · November 2016

Thank you so much everyone for your feedback. I have been able to take these suggestions and figure this particular film out and will get a picture of the completed project up here soon. Many thanks again!!!!

IceMaster · November 2016

@Forsi - so what ended up being the issue? Would be good to post what you found here, for future reference for others

Forsi · November 2016

I ended up taking bits of advice from the responses and I slit the corners of the tape and also allowed the film to soak a bit longer than original for the creases to work themselves out prior to activation. I noticed the film settled down more and then once activated the creases did not "stick" to themselves any longer and here is the result...a good hit and a happy customer.

Thanks for all the help and feedback everyone!!