Laminate or Paint when Applying Art

[CWorley]

With how much laminate costs compared to painting (or neither), I'm curious why some people use laminate (or paint) on a stand up cab but then cover it entirely with graphics?

If the entire side is going to be graphics, why laminate or paint underneath it?  What are the benefits?

I'm just curious and want to be prepared when I can finally do a stand up cab.

Thanks!

[jennifer]

       It gives the sticker a nice surface to bond to, Laminate isn"t really necessary unless you need the fill [to meet up with the Tmoulding]
Paint [usually my choice] needs to cure well before applying The art, Or you"ll get solvent pops [Bubbles under your new sticker]
Stencils are also a option [Depending on what game your building]. The games that put vinyl directly on the wood,[ Sega, enduro racer comes to mind,]
didnt fare so well, As far as adhesion goes.

[Le Chuck]

Barewood to vinyl will fail months before vinyl on primer and years before vinyl on paint.  Vinyl to laminate when applied properly is near permanant for adhesion yet still removable if necessary.  Bare wood, even if it feels smooth, is overly porous for any longterm adhesion and will make application a ---smurfette--- as most vinyl shops advise wet application for the best results on a large piece.  If you browse some signmaker forums they are full of this topic and go into stuff like adhesive formulas and vinyl compositions but all the average hobbyist needs to know is:  The better prepped the surface the better the result.