Advice on Wrapping & Door Handles please?

[Rob Sidwell]

I was told on this board that’s its not recommended to remove handles as it could invalidate warranty/insurance 🙁 🙄

[Robert Lambie]

quote David Hammond:

Does anyone have tips, or tutorials of how best to approach this problem.

As you will know, we advise NOT to remove them. we give you a list of ways to go about it in training, but the bottom line is "you are not a mechanic" and you will never qualify as competent to remove these type of vehicle parts on a modern vehicle.

I did a van wrap with a reputable wrapper that i have no doubt has removed hundreds of handles and the like. he joked with me that i didn’t have my tools or knew how to remove handles easily. In a way he was right, i didn’t, but through choice. I have been installing vinyls for over 25 years and i have never once stripped down a door to remove a handle or whatever from a commercial vehicle. why? because i have never had the real need to. if i have, i get a mechanic to do it or have the customer sort it out for me at their own expense. for the record, the van we were fitting ended up with 3 in-house qualified mechanics struggling to get the handles off. the whole doors got stripped with windows removed… now what would have happened if we had done this??? 😉

You said it yourself, a £150k truck… now seriously… put yourself in the customers shoes.
You spend £150k on your new vehicle. in comes the guy to put the "stickers" on… and he strips the door fits the vinyls and puts it back together. soon after the window doesnt work correct, or the handle is not locking correct, or the handle is loose. who does he get to fix it? YOU!
BUT… you cant, so you need to pay someone and now its coming right out your back pocket because you need to pay directly with the truck dealer to have it done correct. your customers warranty is void, your insurance will not cover you for this. and why should they?

it is about educating your customer of the plan of action and costs incurred. you leave the decision of action and costs in their hands to make the choice. there for if the finish isnt just 100% sound as he would like, he knows why and YOU will NOT be to blame.

I know many horror stories from sign companies and freelance wrappers that take the removal into their own hands to either speed the process up or save the customer money. only for it to come back and bite their back side. when i am talking here, its about the bog standard transit vans type scenarios. Never mind farrari’s, Bentley’s, Porche and the like…

Just as an example, Lets look at some things if you decide to remove the two handles of that truck.

You will spend some time looking at the door thinking there is an obvious quick solution. there is none, but you spend 30 minutes trying.
Your next stop is google and youtube. searching and watching videos. how long, maybe an hour or two?
Back to the truck, you try and get so far only to have a half stripped door and wires every place.
back to Google and youtube for an hour or on the phone trying to locate someone to help or someone with tolls you need. another hour minimum gone…
all this while the clock is ticking, your stress levels are going up and you have yet to fit the "stickers" that you are actually there to do in the first place.
and how much do you charge per hour of your time, what’s it worth? a minimum of £50 at over 3 hours and nothing yet done. so your at least £150 down and yet to start!
I know some maybe reading this thinking "nah, nothing like that" but of course it does… UKSG has trained hundreds of people and its one of the most common discussions. "their horror stories" :yikes:

I personally am not immune from similar stories. i have the t-shirts in a variety of colours. but i learn from it and it is what i am trying to do here, advise you on the correct procedure. if this losses you the customer then sorry, but i am not going to give a quote on graphics then be stung for huge repair bills to miss fitted parts.

do not get me wrong here, indicators and many door moulds and the like are simply unclip. or a screw or two out and then come off easy. i will do that… but as vehicles become more and more complex, the minefield gets denser.

I have a gripe with so called wrap tutors and wrap courses teaching you "oh you just do this and that!" bull-sh1t, its not easy. its maybe their practice, but every car, van, truck is different. they are there to show you how to fit vinyls, not a crash course in screwing up someone’s vehicle.

[David Hammond]

Cheers for the reply Rob.

We didn’t remove the handles, didn’t even attempt too. I think I need to practice my technique working around such obstacles

The customer is happy, just me who’s not satisfied I know it could be better.

[Simon Worrall]

I get the mechanic next door to remove and replace the door handles, lights, windows, etc. It takes him about a tenth of the time it would take me. I just include his cost in the quote.

Simon.

[David Mitchell]

i have a spraypainting background. and often had to remove trims, handles etc,

trim clips door cards etc, i dont know anyone who hasnt had toruble removing or refitting, the clips are designed to snap so the dealerships make a fortune when they charge an arm and a leg for a wee bag of plastic clips.