Cabinet decal shrinkage

[insx]

Hi Folks

Has anyone else experienced vinyl decals shrinking back and exposing the adhesive layer at the edges? I've only just noticed it so I'm thinking it might be due to the hot weather. Maybe it's the cabinet that's grown?! It looks pretty awful anyway and the glue is picking up dust and fluff.

 

[K1ngarth3r]

I've not experienced that before, but highlights the need to scan these decals so they can be preserved.

 

[J69]

Yep, happens with vinyl decals if you leave cabs in direct sunlight for too long

 

[big10p]

Doesn't need to be in sunlight. I've noticed some shrinkage on my repro CPOs and think it might be a downside to using a dehumidifier or something. In hindsight, I should have folded the CPOs over the edges instead of trimming them.

 

[muddymusic]

All vinyl has a shrinkage rate, it varies depending on the climate, storage, application etc. Usually a percentage, in most instances it's years before anything it noticable but in particularly dry or hot conditions it will speed up the process massively as the moisture from the vinyl and adhesive are lost.

If you look at a lot of original cab art you'll see a mark where the art has shrunk back exposing the adhesive, or bare wood by the t-molding. On most cab restores I've done I've had to fill in all along the outer edge with a sharpie to fill in the gap.

I've got a few bits of nos art with some quite extreme shrinking, this Sega Rally seat piece is almost 5mm smaller than where it started on one side.

 

[insx]

It must be down to the type of materials used, I've never seen this on a pinball machine with original decals and I did a pinball restore once and didn't see this issue at all.