getting air bubbles out of vinyl

[pjoseph]

I just finished my diy sub picture attached.
I painted the front only and wrapped the bottom sides and top with one piece of black vinyl.
In order to get a clean edge around the front I folded the vinyl in half and glued it to itself and then glued it to the box.
The thing is now that it is glued to the box i see a few air bubbles in between the folded piece of vinyl.
The only solution I can think of is using a syringe filled with glue and pushing the needle into the air bubble and squirting some glue in there.
not sure if syringe is the correct term but I am thinking of the needle a doctor would use to give you a shot, I tried to get one at CVS but they would not without a script.
Does anyone have any other solutions to remove the air bubbles, or does anyone know where i can get a needle from?

thanks

 

[highfigh]

I just finished my diy sub picture attached.
I painted the front only and wrapped the bottom sides and top with one piece of black vinyl.
In order to get a clean edge around the front I folded the vinyl in half and glued it to itself and then glued it to the box.
The thing is now that it is glued to the box i see a few air bubbles in between the folded piece of vinyl.
The only solution I can think of is using a syringe filled with glue and pushing the needle into the air bubble and squirting some glue in there.
not sure if syringe is the correct term but I am thinking of the needle a doctor would use to give you a shot, I tried to get one at CVS but they would not without a script.
Does anyone have any other solutions to remove the air bubbles, or does anyone know where i can get a needle from?

thanks

Vinyl, as in the kind used for upholstery? What kind of glue? Sherwin Williams paint stores sell a syringe- look at it to see if the needle diameter is larger than you want. If the bubbles aren't seen when they're in place, it shouldn't matter.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Medical needles are probably too thin for the viscosity of glue.

To prevent that in the future, make small cuts on the edge where you fold the vinyl over.

I uploaded some pictures of a little gauge pod I just applied vinyl too. They are high-resolution, so instead of posting them here I'll just post links. They are 6MB, so it will take a bit to download, but should help you see what I mean.

Back

Front

Notice around the corners I made small cuts to allow the vinyl to sit flat where it folds over. On the front of the pod, for the gray piping, I made a bunch of triangle cuts. This helps the vinyl go over the geometry and lets the air out. If you look on the other side, you can see some bumps and so forth, but its fairly flat. Without the little cuts, it would be impossible to upholster to that shape without it having some aesthetic issues.

For long runs, I will make some intermediate cuts also, because if the vinyl isn't cut perfectly straight it will tend to 'buckle' and that makes those little air pockets

Hope that helps.

 

[KEW]

Often you can make a hole with a needle and simply squeeze the air out. It is certainly worth trying before you get into anything more elaborate!
Good Luck!

Edit: If you do try to inject glue, be sure to put some of the Blue painters tape down and inject through both. That way if you get glue squeeze-out, it is less likely to get all over the vinyl.

 

[highfigh]

Depending on the type of glue, you can sometimes poke a tiny hole in the vinyl, cover the blister with a wet towel and put a warm iron on it, so the heat can reactivate the glue. This may work for contact cement and definitely works for wood glue.

This link shows what I was referring to before:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10564&filter=glue bottle

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Just for reference, you don't need a script to buy syringe/needles. If they ask you next time, just say you are a drug addict and and your stuff is really dirty and you are going to share it with 10 people later in the night. They will give you some.

You can also just say you are going to give your dog his shots but that's not much fun.

 

[pjoseph]

Thanks for all the tips.
I already tried poking a hole and ironing the spot but it came back later that day.
I will try to get a syringe tomorrow I think that is the only solution I can think of.

If that does not work I am sure I will eventually replace the vinyl hopefully it is not that hard to remove. I used 3m rubber and vinyl spray.

I would need to first come up with a full proof plan on how to fold and glue a piece of vinyl which is about 10 feet by 2 feet without any air bubbles. That was the part that I definetly under estimated and still am not sure how to accomplish that.

 

[smcgov34]

try a hair dryer very carefully where you poked the hole.