# MDP Flex vinyl not sticking to T Shirt



## TracyB62 (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi, I have pressed various vinyls onto a loads of different T Shirts over the last year or so and had no problems.
A customer returned a black T shirt to me saying when it was washed some of the letters fell of....i was shocked as this has never happened to me before. 

The shirt was Fruit of the Loom heavy and the vinyl was MDP flex. The design was all over the front of the shirt about 35cm X 48cm, i press the top part then spin the shirt around and do the bottom part, my press is 38cm square, this has worked all the time. 

The design had stuck all over the shirt well except for just under the neck about 17cm wide X 10cm. So i had the first letter S then the middle letters "outher" where unstuck and the last letter N stuck, spelling the word SOUTHERN. 

I pressed another heavy FOTL T Shirt with MDP vinyl and the exactly the same thing happened in the same place again, this time i had pressed the design sideways to see if my press was out, it is not. I tried pressing a new set of cut out letters onto the customers returned washed shirt under the neck, they would not stick. So if it was a chemical in this part of the shirt it had not washed out.

It appears that there is something in the fabric of this T Shirt under the neck not allowing the adhesive to stick. I tried lint roller over the area to see if it was covered in loose fibers, maybe it was only adhering to these and not the garment but i got hardly any fibers on the roller.

I took the mylar with the unstuck letters on it that was covered in black fibers from trying to press it onto the black t shirt and pressed that onto a waste piece of white t shirt and it stuck perfectly!! so it was not the MDP vinyl.

I tried another vinyl Verso pro, I cut out only the letters that were missing again and it stuck perfect on both shirts in the space under the neck where the MDP failed to stick. So now i have 2 perfect shirts.

I have come to the conclusion that the FOTL Heavy T shirts have some chemical in them under the neck that is not removed from them by washing that prevents MDP vinyl from sticking to them but not Pro Verso vinyl...enought to make you weep a little, so relieved ive sorted this problem out now.


----------



## BigJim (Dec 26, 2010)

MDP = the UK supoplier I am guessing so let me try to help.

1st questions. What is the exact make and model of your heat press? Also, what temperature/pressure/time did you use?


----------



## TracyB62 (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi, My press is a cheep one from ebay but it has served me well for the last year and has pressed shirts well since the above problem. Pressure medium, temp 150 and press time 10 seconds. The press as stated was ok on all of the shirt but not the area below the neck. The rib of the neck was not in the press!.


----------



## BigJim (Dec 26, 2010)

I will be honest and say that the most likely problem is the press, not the shirts. I use FOTL heavyweight all day everyday with MDP and xpres garment vinyls. Never had an issue, but my press cost over £1000. The ebay heat presses are dubious at best. I had one here to check for a colleague. The machine said it was at 165c. I checked it with a laser thermometer and the readings varied wildly on the heat plate surface from 129f to 183c! So, some parts were just right and others were too cold and yet others way too hot.

I would seriously look for a good used or preferebly brand new press. Choices for me would be another Secabo TC-5 or TC-7, both the same machine as made for Adkins (Clam press) or the Adkins swing press.


----------



## TracyB62 (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi, The letters that did not stick to the FOTL shirt stuck perfect on a white t shirt in exactly the same place on the press. Also in exactly the same place on the press the Pro Verso vinyl stuck to the FOTL shirt front. It was only on the one place on the FOTL shirts that it would not stick. I tried it on every side of my press, heavy, light presure, longer dwell time but it would not stick under the neck. I know the vinyl was ok cause it stuck on the white shirt. I think the shirts have some chemical in the frontstopping the adhesion, i was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? Thanks


----------



## Blue92 (Oct 8, 2010)

TracyB62 said:


> Hi, The letters that did not stick to the FOTL shirt stuck perfect on a white t shirt in exactly the same place on the press.


Was the white shirt the same weight as the other?

Might be a combination of the weight of the shirt and placement on the press.


----------



## BigJim (Dec 26, 2010)

Where did you buy the shirts?


----------



## cocothecat (Apr 29, 2010)

We have had similar problems with one or two vinyls from MDP we found if you let it cool down completely and remove slowly and then put the garment back under the press it tends to do the job


----------



## TracyB62 (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Big Jim, I cant remember where i purchased these shirts, i usually buy them from several different supliers as and when i need them based on price. Thats all about to change now as i have found a really good company with a huge book of stuff for sale and ive decided to only purchase from them from now on, there called Ralawise.
Hi cocothecat,
I know its cold peel, so that is what i tried first but the letters in the middle where staying on the sticky mylar and you could see some black fibers on the backs of them. I tried to press these letters on in every place on my press even putting sheets of A4 paper over it to make the contact even greater. It was just like there was something on the shirt below the neck that the adhesive simply would not stick to. When i took these letters to see if the adhesive was missing and pressed them onto a bit of waste t shirt they stuck perfect!! even when i hot peeled it and with the back covered in black fibers! so no problem with my press or the MDP vinyl. What is on these shirts below the neck dident even go when they where washed i got the same result!


----------



## Nick Horvath (Feb 26, 2010)

TracyB62 said:


> The design had stuck all over the shirt well except for just under the neck about 17cm wide X 10cm. So i had the first letter S then the middle letters "outher" where unstuck and the last letter N stuck, spelling the word SOUTHERN.


It sounds to me like you are not getting even pressure around the collar. I would try using something like a Teflon Pillow or Print Perfect Pad.

Your machine could have uneven pressure or a cold spot as well.

Best Regards.


----------



## ppts160 (Jan 16, 2011)

I had a similar problem once and it was a seam which was causing uneven pressure on the vinyl. It seemed ok when pressed but started to peel off after being washed. I would agree with Nick's suggestion


----------



## TracyB62 (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi, there are no seems in the press or the rib of the neck its just the plain T Shirt in the press with nothing else. But thanks for your sugestion.


----------



## ppts160 (Jan 16, 2011)

One other check does come to mind. Have you tried a different press? If the result is the same atleast it would rule out a press problem


----------

