How would you do this?

[Shane Drew]

John, I’d overprint and trim on the vehicle.

Gives you the best chance of a perfect fit, as long as you have a steady hand.

Cheers
Shane

[Mike Grant]

I don’t like cutting on the vehicle so I always make a paper template from the vehicle.
I don’t trust vehicle outlines, havn’t yet had one that is really true to scale.

[John Harding]

Thanks Mike and Shane, Shane I presume you stick the vinyl down and trust your pressure on the knife not to go through the paintwork, do you run the blade around against a straight edge or purly freehand?

John

[Shane Drew]

Hi John,

To be honest I just do it freehand, but having done this type of thing for over 10 years, I accept that I may be more experienced than others.

A straight edge is good, but you do run the risk of it slipping unless it has a rubber base.

If you are a bit worried about getting a ‘smooth’ line, I would run some sign writers tape around the area you are thinking of cutting. When you are happy with the line, use it as a guide.

Use a new blade, and a very light pressure. To keep the cut as smooth as you can, try to cut faster rather than slower. The slower you go the less likely you are to have a clean line. (every time you stop you will tend to go off line or dip)

Hope that helps John.

Just remember, with a new blade, you will require almost no pressure for it to cut. Let the blade do the work.

Cheers
Shane

[Chris Wool]

strips of magnetic help os a edge to cut to with panel edge cutting

[John Harding]

Thanks Shane & mr sticker I was quite confident anyway, but these tips alleviates my concerns as to whether I was approaching this the right way.

John 😀

[Shane Drew]

Sorry John, didn’t mean to come across like you did not know what you were doing.

Please accept my apologies, it was unintentional. It is nearly midnight here, and I am keeping an eye on the boards while I work 🙄 Think I should call it a night and get some shut eye 😥

Cheers
Shane

[John Harding]

hey shane no offence taken, your advice is invaluable, thats why I like signboards, I work alone most of the time and its nice to know I am tackelling projects the right way :thumbsup:

Thanks again