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how do i prepare a vehicle before signwriting it?
hello there!
ive been asked to signwrite a van for a plumber, which will be a bit of a first for me. all he wants is the name and telephone number on the sides, rear and front of a despatch/relay van.
the van is fairly new, with no vinyl on it and he will put it through a wash before it comes to me.im ok with the lettering but not sure if i have to prepare the surface with anything. im going to use one shot paint.
the other question is what sort of price should i be quoting him? there wont be any fancies on it just a neat name and number (not sure if he wants the front in reverse)
cheers
aaran (?) (?) (?) -
2 Replies
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Hi Aaran.
I usually make sure that the client brings the vehicle to me clean.
Any areas to be painted, I clean with either Rapid Prep or wax & grease remover, then I clean again with window cleaner (the blue stuff)
Make sure to paint it in a garage if you can, the sun really affects drying time.
Also, if you letter outdoors, you can get bugs or dust in the paint.
I paint with 1-Shot. They have their own line of reducers, but I only thin as needed with turpentine. Mineral Spirits can take the gloss out of your paint.
For a van, just simple, I think I’d charge about $500 minimum to start. Maybe as high as $750.
What you describe, even with no fancy stuff, will still take you the better part of a day or even a weekend to paint.
I charge $200 for two truck doors, simple two-color with a name and phone #. Takes me about an hour and a half to two hours.With paint, your material costs are quite low.
What you are charging people for is your talent.
And a vehicle is a more valuable substrate, people are willing to pay more for it.
(think of how much someone pays to get a motorcycle pinstriped!)
If they balk at the price, ask them what they are paying per year for a yellow pages ad.
Then they start to see the value of good vehicle lettering.
Love….Jill
PS
remember I quoted in dollars not pounds. -
many thanks thats great!
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