Many people don't realize the effects of the cold weather on vinyl. There can be significant consequences to installing your domed or regular boat lettering in the cold weather. In this point I'm going to talk about a few of the dangers of doing so.

Straight from the horses mouth. What temp to install.

Oracal 651 requires an install temperature of 46F. Also another vinyl we use regularly Oracal 3165RA requires the same 46F install temperature. So this should raise some flags if you are planning to install boat lettering in the winter time when the temperature can be well below this range. Since domed lettering is simply vinyl lettering with doming resin on top of it these same guidelines apply.

Why can't you install below 46F

The main issue you will run into the is the adhesives ability to bond properly to a surface. I'm not chemist, but we've all seen what happens when you take motor oil that has been in a cold garage and try to pour it. Usually it has a consistency of glue. Just like the viscosity of the oil is affected by temperature the adhesive of the vinyl is similarly impacted. There are three primary components to your lettering. The silicon coated backing paper, the vinyl itself, and the adhesive. All chemically quite different, but the important piece is the adhesive. The particular adhesive you will find on our vinyl is solvent polyacrylate. Again, lets not dig too deep into the chemistry here, but solvent implies an out gassing will occur and a bond will form once the solvent disperses. Effectively when applying a solvent polyacrylate adhesive below the recommended temperature range the adhesive will fail to bond properly (or at all). This will be very apparent in practice as you will notice immediately when you remove your application tape the vinyl might lift right back up!

Cold weather do and don't

Just to be safe, install your lettering when the temperature is above 50F. This will guarantee a strong bond. If you've ever had to remove lettering directly after installation (we have unfortunately) you will find the bond will not fully develop until up to a few hours after installation. This doesn't mean you can take it off and move it, but think of it more like glue (it is!). If you insist on installing your lettering in the cold weather be it on a boat, vehicle, or window make sure the surface is 50F or higher. To accomplish this for a vehicle or boat it is pretty easy, move it inside and allow plenty of time to heat up to the temperature of the room. As for a window, even on a vehicle resist the urge to apply heat with a heat gun or hair dryer. The results can be bad! When you apply direct heat quickly to a cold surface such as glass you will get a crack very quickly, maybe even shatter the glass. So just to reiterate don't heat up glass with a source of heat.

Oops, I just read your blog post and already installed my lettering

Well, if your installation went smoothly then there is really nothing else you can do. The problem is now that the adhesive will likely never be a strong as it would have been had you installed it at the right temperature. I have seen this is practice. The best thing to do is get the most life out of your graphic as you can and replace it once the edges start to peel up. You will likely not see cracking or fading first, but edge peel. You may be able to prolong this by using our seal it pen product, but it would be better to get a full replacement.

Conclusion

In short hopefully you got a good idea as to why you should not install boat lettering below the recommended 50F. Follow our guidelines/instructions and your lettering will stay on for a long time!