Because it looks like I stuck my hands into the reflecting pool.
Cracked Sticky Base Coat
Cracked Sunlit Moss
Alchemy Lacquers Emotional Support Taco
BKL Love Reading
Cracked Midnight Phase, painted onto glass first and then scraped off and placed onto nails.
Seche Vite Top Coat
In a tough spot today. I thought this birch grove turned out pretty good. It really pushed our capabilities, and considering the material limitations and production speed I was confident that our team nailed it. But the customer is unhappy, and is concerned about longevity and the craftsmanship of the wood trim.
We had 11 days to produce and install 7 polycarbonate panels with 2nd surface direct to substrate printed graphics. The panels are 114”h x 40” wide. Our flatbed is only 48x96, so we tiled the graphic vertically and horizontally and printed 38” h tiles. The seams are very nearly perfect, they are difficult to see even up close.
Customer says that it absolutely could not be a decal or sticker, it had to be bullet proof because this is in the cafe of low income housing. There are two snap in monarch metal cleats at the top and bottom to hold the panels to the wall. And those thru bolts are hidden behind the wood trim. Trouble is, the cleats are 1/4” thick and the polycarbonate panels naturally flex. So if you lean against it, there is some movement.
We used pvc sintra as a spacer between each seam to mitigate this flexibility. But the double stick VHB we used, failed against the ultra high VOC anti-fungal paint that was used on the wall. And so while they are pretty secure attached together, the panels are not sticking to the wall.
Install was very tricky, these french cleats have 0 tolerance and once they are snapped in place they don’t come out again very easy. Monarch Metal, I would not recommend for a project this big.
Another big problem, are the electrical outlets. These weren’t considered at all. And when we did the initial survey, I drew up the designs to show clearance holes to allow access to these. They were meant to be bigger than the outlets, and are trimmed out in pvc spacers behind the panels so you can’t drop anything in there easily. But panel 6 got mistakenly flipped in production, front became back, and the hole doesn’t line up with the outlet perfectly. Good thing I made them big enough, and so there is still access.
And then the wood trim was a home depot special and did not match the existing trim well enough. It’s secured with some more VHB and silicone, but the wall itself is bowing and the wood is bowing and the competition between the two left gaps.
There is nothing more that we can do except add mechanical fasteners thru the panels and into the wall at each seam. Which sucks because they didn’t want visible fasteners at all. We also printed cover plates for the outlets and will just cover those completely.
I am going back in tomorrow, since there is only a couple days left before tenants move in, to add some fasteners in the middle. Anyone have any better suggestions? Feedback welcome!