It’s that time of year again when ghosts and goblins come and visit you throughout the night.
If that isn’t enough to freak you out, I may have something that will. While it’s unlikely you’ll spot these scary things during the night, they are still frightening to witness in broad daylight. The best thing you can do is be brave and call in the Decal Ghostbusters. We send in our team to take care of the horrors so they never come back to haunt you again.
Here are the top 5 scariest things we have seen in our ghost busting adventures.
1. FADING
This is the number one in our adventure log. Printed decals are guaranteed to last 8 years. This means no peeling, cracking, chipping or fading of the print.
So, what leads to fading?
Inadequate print protection. For us, screen printed decals are typically clear coated and digitally printed decals are laminated with compatible laminates. Using these protections allow us to offer the warranties we do! From our chilling research, some graphic manufacturers either don’t use the correct laminate or clear coat or use cheap methods for graphic protection which is directly related to a decal or wrap fading after only a few years.
2. PAPER DECALS
If you’ve ever put a sticker on a toy or had one of those sticker books as a kid, you have used a paper decal.
Paper decals serve a purpose: they are cheap and easy to make! Combining safety messaging on a paper decal, installed in or on a transit vehicle creates a type of zombie you should run away from…quickly!
The result of using a paper decal is a dried out, faded message that is difficult to install and even more difficult to remove! They may be enticing to buy because of that sweet price, but this zombie decal is one to stay far, far away from by using the correct material for your application.
3. PEELING
Another one that makes the adventure log too frequently for our liking.
Standard adhesives usually are the culprit in this frightening sight. It may appear that the decal is blistering off or it may be so sad that it just starts to completely fall off. Some may say it’s substrate preparation issues or installation problems, but 99% of the time a more aggressive adhesive does the trick to keep the peely monster away!
4. INSTALL
Like a witch, an installer can cast a spell over you with making sure a graphic install looks great before leaving the job.
When the installer leaves and time progresses, that spell wears off and you start to see the fright firsthand. This can be poor trimming, overstretching, improper prep and insufficient post heating. We have found out the hard way by creating install spells ourselves a few times, but we no longer bring witches to our installs. Only the witch hunters!
5. SIKA JOINT ISSUES
Last on the list is a new one to our Ghostbuster team, but one the industry has been plagued by for many years.
Buses have joints that are joined together with Sika, a flexible, caulk like product that seals that joint from the elements. The plague comes when those joints are either painted, wrapped or left white. Sealing the joint with a custom color matched Conseal product stops this plague in it’s tracks.