What Is Oracal 651 Vinyl Used For?
What is Oracal 651 Vinyl used for?
So you’ve heard people talking about Oracal 651, you’ve seen it for sale with the best ratings and reviews, and your favorite blogger has been using it in her latest projects… but what is 651 vinyl?!
Oracal 651 Vinyl is a permanent adhesive vinyl that is applied with transfer tape to smooth, non-porous surfaces.
What Is Oracal 651 Vinyl?
Oracal 651 Vinyl on stainless steel water bottles
Adhesive vinyl is basically just a sticker. BUT, it’s a very strong and very sticky sticker! That’s why 651 is called a permanent adhesive vinyl. Once it’s on something, it can be tricky to remove, and it can withstand a reasonable amount of wear and tear.
When you buy Oracal 651, you will also discover it has 2 parts to it:
- there is the vinyl itself (which the design is cut into)
- and the backing paper
When working with 651 vinyl, you also need transfer tape. Transfer tape allows you to move the vinyl design off the backing sheet, and onto your surface -we’ll get into that a bit deeper below!
What Is Oracal 651 Vinyl Used For?
Oracal Vinyl is used for making custom decals, or permanent stickers. It’s used for text quotes and slogans on shop or car windows, designs for mugs and bottles, labels for kitchen storage, and so much more.
651 can be applied to all sorts of surfaces. As mentioned above, it is best if the surfaces are clean, dry, and non-porous. This will allow your 651 vinyl transfer to last a long time.
Use Oracal 651 Vinyl on:
- mugs & cups
- drink bottles (looks especially good on stainless steel!)
- shadow boxes
- plant pots
- walls (if you want the decal to be permanent)
- cutting machine decorating (a popular project!)
- plaques
- kitchen storage containers
- car window decals
- adhesive vinyl can even be used to wrap and customize chainsaws!
The list of what to put Oracal 651 on really is endless. Use your imagination and make everything beautiful with intricate designs. Also, check out these adhesive vinyl project ideas.
Buy Oracal 651 Vinyl
All three of the following retailers have a great range. Compare prices and get yourself the best deal on Oracal 651 Vinyl!
 | Amazon |
| View on AmazonFull Range on Adhesive |
| Expressions Vinyl |
| View on Expressions VinylFull Range of Adhesive |
| Michaels Stores |
| View at MichaelsFull Range of Adhesive |
| My Vinyl Direct |
| View on My Vinyl DirectFull Range of Adhesive |
| JOANNS |
| View at JOANNSFull Range of Adhesive |
It comes in a range of sizes, including different size sheets and rolls. And, of course, in a wide range of colors. I like buying the Oracal 651 bundles on Amazon, though I do end up with a bunch of colors I don’t really use!
Oracal 651 Vinyl Uses
I decorated this glass frame with Oracal 651
In order to use Oracal 651 vinyl, you will need to have a cutting machine. In my opinion, Cricut make the best vinyl cutters. I use both the Maker and the Explore Air 2, and can highly recommend them (you can see the best Cricut bundle packs here).
Here are the other tools and accessories you might need:
- a burnishing tool which is used for applying the transfer tape to the vinyl, and then the vinyl to the surface of your project
- weeding tools which are used to remove excess vinyl after you have cut out your design (this kit contains both weeding and burnishing tools)
- transfer tape to apply 651 vinyl (Oracal transfer tape here)
How To Use Oracal Vinyl
1. Choose a SVG cut file and upload it into your cutting machine design software. Because I am using a Cricut machine for this project, I’m using Cricut Design Space.
You will then need to arrange the file – sizing and positioning it correctly. You can learn more about how to do this and how to do a multi-colored adhesive vinyl project here.
2. Cut the design with your cutting machine, and weed away the excess vinyl.
3. Next, you use transfer tape to pick up the vinyl off the backing paper. This simply involves placing the tape over top of the design, burnishing it, then pulling it up carefully.
4. Then the transfer tape with vinyl is applied onto the project, burnished, and the transfer tape pulled away (carefully). Here are tips on how to apply vinyl to a curved surface.
So that is how to use Oracal 651 vinyl. As I said before, you can find out a lot more about the full process in this ‘how to make a custom water bottle‘ post.
What Is 651 Vinyl?
So, 651 Vinyl is a totally cool product for making unlimited awesome craft projects with. Don’t be upset if it’s difficult to use and apply the first few times you use it. It does take a little getting used to.
Comment below with any questions, or if there is anything else you would like to know.
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Can I use Oracle 651 on welcome wooden signs please
You sure can, Jacqui! Oracal 651 would be great for wooden signs. So long as it’s not would in the rain all the time (a covered porch should be fine) you’ll get many years out of it.
Can you put Oracal 651 vinyl on a wood sign that would have direct sunlight for majority of the day?
Oracal 651 is a great option as it is super durable. Depending on the texture of the wood you could also consider using HTV on wood as another way to really make sure it’ll stick (and stand up to being heated all day long!).
Hi Can I use Oracal to repair my faux Vinyl recliner sofa. I need help
Hi there Kranthi – I wouldn’t recommend Oracal 651 to repair your sofa. It’s not designed to deal with the stretching a sofa would have to handle. If the repair is on the back or side of the sofa (basically not anywhere that’s going to be sat on) you could give it a go. If it’s already got some issues you’re not risking too much by trying it out! Good luck!
Hello! Can this be removed with a razor if I’m going to sell my vehicle and need it removed?
Yes, you can use a razor blade to remove Oracal 651 from glass windows. I wouldn’t recommend putting anything on the painted portion of a car because it’s a bit dicier to remove and you might scratch the clear coat. The glass windows on a car are great spots for decals made with Oracal 651! If you find there’s any residue left behind you can use some rubbing alcohol to take it right off.
Hi, can I use the 651 on an outdoor flag? If so, can it be layered as well??
Hi Donna, sorry for not getting back to you sooner, we were on vacation : ). I’d recommend using heat transfer vinyl on an outdoor flag assuming the flag is fabric. It’s going to be more likely to adhere well with HTV than adhesive vinyl like 651. For future projects where you are able to use 651 it can absolutely be layered!
Can you use Oracal651 on the front pocket of back packs?
Hey Candace – assuming it’s a fabric backpack you’ll want to use some type of heat transfer vinyl such as Siser Easyweed, not Oracal 651 that’s adhesive. The only type of backpack you’d want to use Oracal 651 on would be if it is made of clear plastic like one of those bags they allow in stadiums now.
I have made my son a large decal and I cannot get the transfer tape to stick with out tons of mostly small bubble. I have tried several transfer tapes and methods and it all does the same thing. I have burnished till my hand gets sore. Any ideas??
Hiya Susie, large decals can be trouble! It depends how close anyone will look at the design but here are a few things to try. First, when doing large designs always apply the vinyl in small sections. You can use parchment paper to block a majority of the design so you are only working on one section at a time. This allows you to get rid of bubbles while the ‘edges’ are nearby. You can use a hair drier to warm the vinyl for about a minute and then press the bubbles towards the edges of the vinyl with your burnishing tool. Another way is to use a tiny pin and poke a hole in the center of a bubble and then burnish it to push the air out of the hole. It’ll leave a tiny mark but if you’re more than a foot away you won’t see it. Hope one of those tips helps!
Would this product work on the bottom of a pool? If applied correctly will it stay underwater?
Hi Lynne, that’s a fun idea, I hadn’t thought about adhesive vinyl on a pool! I’m imagining a plastic kiddie pool in which case I think it would work great. I’d just make sure you give in 24 hours after application to really adhere before adding water. If it’s a concrete pool I don’t think it would stick well enough due to the bumpy surface. Hope that’s helpful!
Can I use 651 on silicone?
Hi Dianne, I don’t think you’ll have any luck getting Oracal 651 to stick to silicone. Being non-stick is one of silicone’s major properties so I wouldn’t think it would work very well, sorry!
Can I use this on shirts?
Hi Karri – no, Oracal 651 is an adhesive vinyl that’s only permanent on hard, nonporous surfaces. For shirts, you should go with heat transfer vinyl. Here’s some more info about the differences between adhesive vinyl and HTV and when to use each. Let us know if you’ve got more questions!
My husband wants the decal applied to the inside of his side glass so it would be smooth on the outside. Can this be done?
Hi Lisa, I can totally understand him wanting the smooth look from the outside! I think with certain adhesive vinyl it could be done. Obviously you’d want to make sure that the vinyl is the same color on both sides and you’d need to mirror your image before cutting. If it’s on a car I’d consider the tint too. If I were you I’d make the cut, weed it, peel it off on transfer tape, and then stick it to the cover of one of your cutting mats. Hold it up in the window to see if you like the look of it before you stick it on. Good luck!
I have takeya Bottle. can I use the Oracle 651 on that?
Yes! It should work great. Use rubbing alcohol to clean the bottle before applying the 651 and then handwash to make it last. Have fun!
Can I sublimate on top of 651 vinyl? If so, what would be the time and temp. I want to make decals.
Hey Lori – You can! Be patient as it might take a bit to get the results your looking for but it’s possible. 350 at medium pressure for 25 seconds should be a good starting place.
Can I use the 651 on a leather wallet?
I can’t think of why not!
Can you use Oracle 651 on a neoprene can cooler?
Unfortunately we don’t think it would work very well. There are some neoprene coolers that can be used with Sublimation printing, but because of the soft texture we believe permanent vinyl would have a limited life span on a the can cooler!
hi once i’ve put my 651 onto my mug do i need to heat press it, if so what temp and for how long?
many thanks
Hi Beverly, no you don’t need to do anything else. You cannot heat press Oracal 651, it will melt. As long as you hand wash the mug it will last for many years without any further action.
I’m having issues weeding lettering on Oracal 651. Is there a specific setting I should use when cutting on the cricut maker?
I just use the vinyl setting but if it’s not cutting through enough then increase the default pressure. Get in touch again if that doesn’t help!
Hi. Once oracal 651 is on a mug, can it go in the microwave? Thanks
Hi Melissa, it’s best for it not to go into the microwave – it’s not designed to, but you probably would get away with it if you had to!
can you use the 651 on tshirts
No, you can’t use 651 on t shirts. Think of it as a sticker. You need heat transfer vinyl for t shirts.