help please have a few wrapping questions?

[Robert Lambie]

I don’t want to come over as being blunt, but from reading your post, you are not ready to give wrapping a go. yes, we all have to start some place but if you make a bad job of your own van, it can only damage your companies reputation. (that’s if you don’t strip it again after, of course)

without going into the whole process and make up of cast/calender.
in short, calander is a cheaper, shorter life vinyl. it is normally used for flat panel work, though some of the 7 year calanders do do a decent job on concave and slightly dipping recesses.
cast normally has a 8-10 year life, has greater UV stability and has a more aggressive adhesive. its thinner, stretchier and doesn’t shrink like calander vinyl will if stretched. hense why it is used on recessed panels and the like, where calender vinyl will pull back out and snap in a matter of hours-to-weeks, depending on the grade.

if you are printing and wrapping i would buy a proper 2 part wrap, i.e. wrap and "equivalent" laminate. see link for more info:
http://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=16563

as for the 5 year metamark black calendar, ide say no, do not use it.

what ide advise is to practice using scraps of vinyls on an old van rear door. try wrapping it in one go and see how you get on. you dont need wrap vinyl to practice but you will need to practice with the wrap vinyl you intend using nearer the time to familiarise yourself with its characteristics as they do vary.

i wouldnt advise laminating by hand if you intend wrapping with the vinyl.
maybe better using a liquid laminate instead.
if laminating, remember to allow a minimum of 24 hrs for outgassing.

[John Childs]

That’s good advice from Rob Viv.

It might be that your post comes across wrong, but it doesn’t sound like you have a lot of experience in fitting ordinary vinyl. Of course we all have to start somewhere, but plenty of basic experience will go a long way to helping you with a wrap. Get that experience, then to do a wrap course, is the best advice I can give.

On the bright side, the Trafic is a nice easy van to start on. 😀

[Ian Bingham]

Agree with rob 100%. but i wrapped my new shape traffics bonnet and grill with hexis 5 yrs 350, no problem, but practice practice practice!!
did some on back door and it poped in 2 weeks
good job = right tools!
Ian

[Ian Bingham]

own van

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[Robert Lambie]

Newer shaped van bonnets do tend to be a bit more forgiving because they seem to be getting flatter these days, well sorta. 😕
when you have a large area that gently progresses to slope off in a different direction the vinyl and adhesive can cope much easier as there is no severity in the shape so no real stress on the vinyl in any onel area.

you may have spotted me mention recently in another post about the massive failing of KPMF wrap vinyl on london taxi’s? (i am not sure why or if it was a costing issue) but once that happened the wrappers/printers switched switched to using Metamark MD5, and from what i heard all was well for the time they needed the vinyls to last. (how long that was i do not know) not long after that Metamark released their "own" wrap vinyl, which i think is called the MD7?
My point in mentioning this is back to the gentle dips, swoops of the van bonnets, a bit like the hackni-cabs body panels. i.e. all concave surfaces, so again, not stress on the vinyl in any one place.
Regardless of my MD5 story, I have to say, I still never advise to go this route, always use the correct materials for the job. It can only come back and bite you. Not forgetting that proper wrap vinyls are actually much easier to work with than forcing a calender to do the job.

[Vivienne Hennessy]

Thanks for the advice lads …

Yeah i know everything takes practice and its something im willing to do. Making mistakes doesnt bother be too much when you are learning sure its all part of it . if i knew what proper materials to buy and what proper tools i need to get me up and running it would be a great start. I could have them all here and just figure it out. I would like to do a wrapping course something i may call roland about.

Obviously with the printer here i want to find out how to use it and use it to its full potential . I agree with all that ya say though about using right materials and tools for the job no point messing about. My van is going to be the guinea pig. I wouldnt be wrapping customers vans for a long time yet but let the learning curve begin….yeah its a 03 trafic so it shouldnt be too bad to start with all fairly flat and straight forward (famous last words).

hey rob you werent sounding blunt… its what i understand best 🙂

Thanks again for the replies..

Viv.