3M are world-leaders in adhesive products

With significant investment in innovation, research and development, 3M materials allow us to offer our customers the most up to date technology along with the best quality finish. They have thousands of products, often used in combination for maximum impact. They understand the environment our customer is working in, then help us to recommend the best combination of materials for the perfect solution.

For example, we’re often dealing with fleets of vehicles, that are wrapped as part of large commercial contracts, particularly in waste management.

With large long-standing contracts it’s not uncommon for us to go in and inspect vehicle graphics with our customers once vehicle wraps are due to be changed. This is what happened in November 2021 when the graphics on a fleet of vehicles for South Gloucestershire Council were due to be refreshed with a change of messaging.

Inspecting 3M products with our customers

Clipboard and camera in hand, we met the customer to assess what needed doing for the next batch of vehicles due to be wrapped.

At a first glance some of the printed graphics on the sides of the vehicles were deteriorating in specific locations, around the areas where the recycling was thrown in. We were confident that the right products had been used as the graphics were still stuck, and were showing no sign of lifting or fading. These factors indicated that the material selection was right, the print was durable and the installation was good. So why were they looking a bit tired?

Expert technical advice from 3M

We had our own theories, but we called in the 3M technical experts for some additional advice and reassurance for our customer. 3M reviewed our photographs and reported seeing the same issues in the past on wrapped rail fleets. They advised that the primary issue was probably the use of TFR (traffic film remover), which is a powerful chemical cleaner that's used directly on the body of vehicles for cleaning purposes.

The TFR had over time damaged the laminate surface which then allowed the leachate, sugars and alcohol from the waste products, to cause permanent damage to the material and print underneath. Additional scrubbing with the TFR to try and remove the damage had exacerbated the problem and made it look worse! A vicious circle.

Recommended 3M solutions

3M came up with multiple different material options, as well as suggestions for 3M cleaning products. We were then able to suggest a couple of solutions to the customer around how to approach their vehicle wrapping going forward. They could adjust the laminate type and pay for something with additional durability, or they could stop using the TFR cleaning method and follow our recommended guidelines on looking after vehicle graphics.

It was our opinion, that they could install new graphics – using the same materials as before and simply extend their life by changing the cleaning method away from TFR to a citrus-based cleaner.

The 3M technical input was invaluable to our customer to help them make an informed decision. If you’d like us to explain a bit more about the 3M products that impress our customers then get in touch.