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how do i go about doing a simple one colour wrap change?
Hi,
As I have to start somewhere, and given the recent plethora of wrap posts, I am joining a friend who has done signs but not wrapping and we are going to play with a car. (non-customer job).
Looking to do a straight colour change, red to gloss white.
All the vehicle wrap materials that I’ve seen mentioned in the flurry of wrap posts recently (Hexis CG6700, KPMF K88000, Graphiwrap) all seem to require a laminate. Graphiwrap even states that removal without a laminate will cause product breakup rather than easy removal. (graphiwrap manual page 16. I suspect other makes do the same)
Oracal 870 looked good but is £15+ a metre.
1. What’s would be the boards recommendation for a 5, 7 or 10yr vinyl that does not require digital printing, but will be left straight gloss white? It needs to be opaque or thick enough to hide a red car!
2. Is there something we can use (like the plain yellow taxis in Dorset) that appears to just goes on without a laminate?
3. Given lack of an immediately available laminator machine of sufficient width, is there any great issue with just wrapping and then using a coat of liquid laminator sprayed/coated on afterwards to seal it?
4. Whilst asking questions, why if cast is so heavily recommended for vehicle wraps do so many films designed for the job appear to be calendared?
We already appreciate and have the tools required and the fact that surface preparation is paramount, this is just a query on flood coating material choice.
Once done, I will of course post some pictures. Will bring back memories for some of you of when you started out!! 🙂
Kind Regards and Merry Xmas to you all.
Ivan
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20 Replies
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The thicker of the VWS materials from kpmf is OK. I have changed a red car to a white one with that. It doesn’t go into deep recesses as well as some of the others, but is very easy to work with. I don’t know why you would need to laminate unprinted vinyl ?
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Apologies, I am very much a beginner.
I was under the impression that lamination of unprinted vinyl for vehicle wraps would protect the vinyl much more from gasoline spills, scratches and accidental abrasive cleaners than leaving it "bare".
All advice welcome. Thankyou.
Ivan
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when you wrap a car, a cast vinyl is indeed the best way to go.
in regards of deep recesses and ease of working.why so much vinyl that claim to be suitable for wrapping are calandered is explained with the evolution of the media.
the evolution that has been going on and will go on in the future is that of cheaper media not that of better.
the bigger printshops use at least 20 rolls of cast vinyl (and 20 rolls of laminate) a month. so to be able to compete with them suppliers offer calandered vinyls that are very conformable and cheaper than a cast (if you buy small amounts)i hope this makes any sense.
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KPMF is a nice material to work with for wrapping and has a nice sheen to its finish, but isnt good for deep recesses. also, to the end of last year i heard a horror story where a London taxi firm banned the use of KPMF on their taxis due to (i think) removing paint work when the graphics were being changed.
would be interesting to know if anyone else had heard this?
Grafityp and Oracal dont do a solid colour in their Wrap vinyl range.
I dont know about Avery EZ-apply on solid colours but if you are finding the oracal expensive ez-apply wont be an option. that said, i think you are wrong on the price of the Oracal vinyl. you should be looking at about half what you quoted.
Mactac do a range of solid colour vinyl for wrapping, its called "Macfleet" but i would suggest asking for some samples to play with before using it because its not the easiest vinyl to work with if you are a beginner. ask for the wrap with the repositional adhesive, and make sure you are working in a moderately warm room. If you can work with this vinyl you will rest assured it will NOT pull back from your recesses if fitted correct. its a very good wrap vinyl, just a little temperamental to work with at times.
I could be wrong but you may want to ask the supplier if the macfleet comes with the ez-apply/bubble free adhesive. i know mactac offer this type of adhesive on their vinyls but not sure if comes on the wrap material.Metamark also offer wrap material but again, i dont think the offer it in solid colours.
if you are flood coating using a solid colour of vinyl, there is no need to laminate at all.
at the end of the day most good cast vinyls will allow you to wrap a vehicle as long as there isnt any deep/sharp recesses. the trouble with cast vinyl is the adhesives are a bit more aggressive on contact. once its down, its down!
Just my personal views and opinons of course…
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quote Robert Lambie:Grafityp and Oracal dont do a solid colour in their Wrap vinyl range.
!Actually Oracal 870 is the best option. You pay for what you get tho. Its the material they use in europe (Germany) to change the colours of Taxi cabs.
The oracal website describes 870 as: A fast and reliable way to fully wrap vehicles in solid, opaque colors. This highly durable and conformable film features a repositionable adhesive system, and is ideal for long-term fleet and motor sport applications. Screen, solvent inkjet and thermal transfer printable. No laminating film required. Available in 17 colors (additional colors available by special order).
I looked at specialising in the 870 here when it first arrived on our shores. Only issue was that I’d need to employ staff to get a job done in reasonable time, which was not really an option at the time.
I think it comes in 1560mm rolls, I could be corrected on that though. Much quicker and cheaper than spraying a vehicle tho. Really easy to work with too. I’d urge you to reconsider…..
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thats a new one on me mate, i asked on the oracal wrap course about the wrap vinyl coming in solid colours but was told there wasnt one. i guess thats just in the UK… probably be over here soon enough… 😀
then again, maybe it is now and thats what ivan’s been quoted on. still cant see it being £15 per metre though, but i could be wrong.
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It is listed here Rob…. http://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=11685%5B/url%5D
ORACLE 870 cast
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well there you go… i was completely unaware of it and it was "me" that loaded that info on Europoints behalf… but that was back in 2005 😕
i see it is listed as a repositionable cast though, rather than actual wrap material.
i was right about it being half the price of what ivan has quoted. so i got something correct. :lol1: :lol1:ill have to give it a go at some point… not doing much single colour wraps these days.
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This is something I’m interested in trying. My daughter recently passed her driving test and now has a maroon coloured Ford Fiesta. A couple of day ago she scraped the front wing against a pillar in a multistory car park. 😕 So the scrape needs painted to stop it rusting. She would prefer the whole car to be black so I suggested to her that we could have a go at wrapping it. Good training for me – covers up the damaged wing, and she gets her car in the colour she wants.
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Try to talk your daughter into white or silver Phill.
Solid black is probably the most difficult wrap you could do.
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i used 870 to 3/4 wrap a big van. but i struggled with the cold and it kept snapping. however get it the right temp and worked very well.
chris
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quote John Childs:Try to talk your daughter into white or silver Phill.
Solid black is probably the most difficult wrap you could do.
Just to resurrect this thread as we’ve been asked to price doing a full wrap on a LWB hi-roof Master to be done in black.
Why is black the most difficult colour to do?
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quote JonM01:Why is black the most difficult colour to do?
‘Cos every little microscopic scratch from your squeegee will stick out like a sore thumb.
With a solid colour, the darker it is the more pronounced the effect, with black, naturally, being the worst. We’ve never used felt squeegees, but lots of folk swear by them, and this might just be the job to use one on.
Your problem is customer expectation, and if he is expecting a black wrap to be as good a finish as factory paint he is going to be disappointed, and you are going to have an unhappy customer.
Can’t you talk him into buying a black van? With one we did recently the image is wrapped from the front of the side loading door backwards, but the cab is original paint. All the lettering is applied vinyl afterwards. When I delivered it I parked it next to one of their existing vans, which was a completely wrapped white one, and it was the difference between night and day.
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Apparently, Renault Master’s aren’t available in black.
I am wary of doing these sort of jobs though. I’d be biting my nails hoping the dealer didn’t call up to say the customer won’t pay as it doesn’t look like a paint job.
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quote JonM01:I’d be biting my nails hoping the dealer didn’t call up to say the customer won’t pay as it doesn’t look like a paint job.
It gets worse. You are being asked for a colour change by the dealer because he thinks it will be a cheaper option to a spray job.
Is this a newish van, and what is the current colour?
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I think it’s a customer ordering a new one. Probably white I imagine.
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quote JonM01:I think it’s a customer ordering a new one. Probably white I imagine.
So the customer is ordering a brand new van and is therefore expecting a factory quality paint job. You are going to give him a wrap. With the best quality wrap in the world you are going to give him something with white showing through the door shuts and the odd unavoidable bits of dust underneath the vinyl and scratches on it. It ain’t gonna work mate.
You have two choices:-
1. Charge them plenty and get paid up front. The customer WILL complain, rightly in my view if he thinks he is getting a factory paint job, and you will have trouble getting the dealer to pay after the event. You will get no more work from that dealer and will be bad-mouthed by both the dealer and the end user. Your price should reflect that damage to your reputation. £4 to £5k would be about right.
2. Run a mile, run another mile, don’t look back, just keep running.
I know it can be painful turning down work, but my choice would be number 2. It will stand you in better stead in the long run.
Sorry, I know that isn’t what you wanted to hear but, seriously, this job is best avoided,
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quote John Childs:quote JonM01:I think it’s a customer ordering a new one. Probably white I imagine.
So the customer is ordering a brand new van and is therefore expecting a factory quality paint job. You are going to give him a wrap. With the best quality wrap in the world you are going to give him something with white showing through the door shuts and the odd unavoidable bits of dust underneath the vinyl and scratches on it. It ain’t gonna work mate.
You have two choices:-
1. Charge them plenty and get paid up front. The customer WILL complain, rightly in my view if he thinks he is getting a factory paint job, and you will have trouble getting the dealer to pay after the event. You will get no more work from that dealer and will be bad-mouthed by both the dealer and the end user. Your price should reflect that damage to your reputation. £4 to £5k would be about right.
2. Run a mile, run another mile, don’t look back, just keep running.
I know it can be painful turning down work, but my choice would be number 2. It will stand you in better stead in the long run.
Sorry, I know that isn’t what you wanted to hear but, seriously, this job is best avoided,
Thats very good advice John. Reasonably obvious you are speaking from experience too…. 🙂
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quote Shane Drew:Reasonably obvious you are speaking from experience too…. 🙂
That’s true Shane. But fortunately not my own.
The smart man learns from his own bad experiences. The smarter one learns from somebody else’s. 😀
But that’s what this board is all about. 😀
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Again, good advise although I would add why not be transparent if they cant get the van in black it is an alternative. I just educate my customers in what they can expect and its limitations, so they can have a good idea what to expect. The wrap should always work out cheaper than a respray especially for resale value and its a trade of between availability, downtime, cost and finish. I have found this by experience !
Run back to them but watch your back!
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