Tips and tricks for contact paper?

[menace]

Anyone out there have any tips and tricks to install contact paper (ala home depot) without those annoying air bubbles and wrinkles?  I tried like a dozen times to lay that stuff down on my control panel and it always got air bubbles and wrinkles in it

[Lilwolf]

I didn't... but I cut mine down to almost the right size... lay it down from one side and slowly move to the other side... then find out it was a little crooked, and missed some on the top...pissed me off but pulling it off wrecks the wood in mdf... So I deal with it until I redo my cp... sigh...

But mine was vynle.  So I don't know if it was different

[hyiu]

can you tell us where are you applying the contact paper to ??..... (I mean... what kind of surface ??)

I think it applies best to metal panel...  if its wood.... I would not really suggest it as those self-sticking glues are not really strong enough in the long run....

I used it for the first joystick I build.... result is not satisfying.... (but just my personal experience....)
- oh... I was applying to plywood on that try... (which is the worst.... )

[SNAAAKE]

make triple sure there is something on top of contact paper(hint hint...lexan or plexi).
use MDF wood for best result and clean the surface(sand if you you want) the use some spary adhesive if the self sticking contact paper doesnt hold this in place.
                               

[RacerX]

Something you can do to get rid of small bubbles is to ---tallywhacker--- them with a pin and then flatten the bubble with your finger.  The air will escape through the tiny hole, and the bubbled up area will lie flat.

[TazMan]

Or you could try to use one of those little rollers for wallpaper - that remove airbubbles

[AGarv]

If you don't really care to have a pattern, and already have a plexi overlay, then don't bother with contact paper on the panel.  Just spray paint black the underside of the plexi glass.  Makes the panel look like polished obsidian, and you never have to worry about dust or dirt being visible underneath the plexi.

[Mike]

The key is to apply slowly. I used to apply adhesive vinyl at a print shop and it's basically the same thing. You want to peel a small amount from the back of the contact paper and use like an extra large putty putty knife or any straight edge to smooth it as you go. Just be careful and use something that won't tear the material. The key is to do small amounts at a time. Peel like an inch back off the contact paper and adhere it and smooth it to the control panel then peel another inch back and do the same thing. eventually you should have the whole thing applied wrinkle free. If you have any problem it should be on the first inch you apply so if you screw up your only out a small amount of contact paper.

[TaskyZZ]

I layed mine directly on plywood and didn't have any trouble.  The one guy that said the glue doesn't hold well on wood is right though.  What I did was always use a piece that was too long so that it would wrap off the edge of the control panel and around underneath.  Or, when I did the sides, I let it wrap around the back of the machine.  Then on the edges that were not visible, I stapled it.