Sticking paper signs to plastic - for long term results

[TEAMYAKIMA]

OK, I know this is pretty basic stuff and with 57 years in the hobby I should know the answer!!

 

I want to stick paper signs (printed on 120gsm paper) onto the exterior of plastic kits.

 

I don't want wrinkles, I want a nice smooth flat finish and most of all I don't want them peeling off in 5 years time

 

I had been using standard pound shop double sided tape but after just a few months some of the signs are peeling in places

 

So is there a better double sided tape or should I go with a glue ..... if so which? Copydex? PVA?

 

If I was gluing to wood or card I would probably use PVA but this is plastic ... ideas?

[teaky]

If the ink is permanent then lightly coating the plastic with liquid poly before sticking followed by another wash afterwards works.

 

If the ink isn't permanent then PVA won't work either and you'll have to use something that doesn't soak into the paper like an impact adhesive perhaps.

 

Have you tried printing onto self-adhesive paper?

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Problems abound, you will need to test.

 

Solvent cement for the plastic will permanently bond on paper. I have forty+ year old loo roll providing weathered and failing 'canvas' texture on vehicle roofs as proof. But here it didn't matter what leached out of the plastic into the paper, nor if the solvent started mobilising dye stuffs on the paper.

 

Generally safe for ink jet and other printed images on paper, 3M spraymount. Not found any alternative as good. Holds for a long time, no idea of life but over 20 years seems likely on current experience bonding paper to mounting board. The problem in the proposed use is with the plasiticisers in particular in the plastic substrate. These can interact with other organic materials - such as thin adhesive films - and degrade them.

 

Of impact type adhesives I would incline to UHU. Good longevity, relatively benign toward ink jet and other print dyes, as the solvent evaporates very quickly from a thin film.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

 The problem in the proposed use is with the plasiticisers in particular in the plastic substrate. These can interact with other organic materials - such as thin adhesive films - and degrade them.

 

 

 

Hello 34C

 

you lost me a bit with the science .....  are you saying that something in the plastic might be re-acting with the double sided tape causing it to peel away?

[airwimp075]

Im no expert and the flood of 'that won't work because X, Y and Z' will prove me wrong and with your vast experience i am sure you can rip my idea apart as well as the next person ... but ... i have had some success using varnish (i generally use pots of humbrol enamel) applied with a brush in a thin layer to prevent saturation of the paper and the dreaded curling/wrinkling of the paper. I used it with success to attach home made 'battle standards' to masts when i used to dabble in war gaming.

Jason

[scanman]

Adhesive paper (label paper).  Works every time.  If you've tried to remove a price-tag from plastikard, you'll know how good the bond is...

[SRman]

I used to use UHU Stic to glue ordinary paper labels to plastic floppy disks (anyone remember what those were??). 20 years later, those labels are still firmly attached to the plastic and have no wrinkles.

Similarly, I have used the same glue to attach computer-printed paper number plates and bus destinations to models in plastic, resin or metal, and those also seem to have survived longer term.

[iL Dottore]

I've always found a Pritt Stick to bond paper to plastic quite durably. Some caveats however: it must be Pritt stick not an imitator, every single area of the paper must be covered with the stick and once applied the paper should be rubbed down onto the plastic to get a permanent bond.

 

What I learnt the hard way is coverage must be complete otherwise air gets in and - in my experience - the paper can lift

[allan downes]

I use ordinary Evistik impact adhesive applied in moderation to the back of the sign then whilst still wet, gently position it over where it's to be displayed then press it down firmly but, on the sides of rolling stock ?....well I'm not certain.

 

Cheers.

Allan

[milocomarty]

Have good result with 3M double sided..lots of companies that make signs use this stuff. It's the 358 if I'm right.

[Removed a/c]

Try Modge Podge , crafters use it for all sorts of applications such as gluing paper to glass and it works really well. 

 

I think Modge Podge is a brand name, I think the generic term is matte medium.