By now you've seen our claim that the Oracal Premium Cast Vinyl Film we use lasts longer than the vinyl used by most other decal sellers, but there are still some sceptics who believe our vinyl is poor quality due to the extreme thinness of the vinyl film.
In our blog post "Why Buy from TVD Vinyl Decals?", we describe in detail the difference in the manufacturing process between the premium cast vinyl film that we use and the economy-grade calendered vinyl film that most other decal sellers use. In a nutshell, calendered vinyl starts out as a block of vinyl that is run through a series of rollers to stretch and flatten it out. This stresses the vinyl, and over time it wants to return to its original shape. The result is curled, cracked, and peeling decals in as little as four years.
Below is an example of vinyl decals made from the popular Oracal 651 calendered vinyl film from a different vendor that were applied to a boat about six years ago. They have been exposed to the harsh marine environment everyday since they were applied and are clearly in poor condition.
In contrast, cast vinyl film begins as a liquid that is cast into sheets and UV treated. This process makes a very thin, fade-resistant, highly conformable vinyl film with virtually no stress. As a result, decals made from cast vinyl lasts much longer than calendered vinyl.
We made these paw print cast vinyl decals below for a customer that applied them to the same boat as shown above at the same time as the CF numbers. As you can see, they show no signs of peeling, curling, or cracking after six years of being subjected to the same harsh marine environment.
When shopping for vinyl decals, you want quality decals that last. Judging the quality simply by the thickness (or thinness) of the vinyl is not appropriate. The quality should be determined by how long they last on your vehicle without peeling, curling, cracking, or fading and we hope this article has proven the quality of our vinyl decals. At TVD Vinyl Decals, we stand behind our claim that our vinyl decals are guaranteed to last longer than decals sold by anyone else and provide a lifetime warranty on all of our decals to prove it!
Find out for yourself and order yours today!