There’s a great article by my friend Rob Ivers over at SignWeb. In it, he talks about how to use squeegees with purpose. Here’s an excerpt:

Proper squeegee technique helps you avoid common application errors – bubbles, wrinkles and zippers. Understanding root causes is critical to developing methods that prevent mistakes.

Bubbles are trapped air. The primary causes of bubbles are nicks in squeegee edges, pre-tack (vinyl adhesion caused by simple contact before it’s been squeegeed or even touched, which prevents all of the air from escaping), incorrect squeegee pressure, and improper squeegee technique (which pushes air towards previously squeegeed areas).

Wrinkles result when vinyl adheres to itself. They may occur when the vinyl has slack, or when pressing your squeegee too hard. Zippers comprise a series of parallel lines (wrinkles and/or “long” bubbles), appropriately named due to their resemblance to one side of a zipper. The most common reason for zippers is pushing air (and, sometimes, excess vinyl) against adhered areas.

From this, I learned squeegees must have smooth edges free of nicks and imperfections. Pay careful attention to the amount of pressure applied. Use too little, and the vinyl won’t adhere well. Too much pressure stretches the vinyl, which creates excess that leads to wrinkles or zippers. When vinyl tends to pre-tack, don’t let the graphic contact the surface prior to squeegeeing. Pre-tack occurs because the film has an adhesive with high initial tack, or because the surface temperature is hot. Proper technique pushes out all of the air. It never directs air towards areas previously adhered.

Be sure to check out our e-books that cover a lot of these same topics in-depth when it comes to vehicle wrapping and other vinyl installations.

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