Ice Cream Van Wrap – advice required, please?

[Shawn Bentley]

hi Dilwyn,
is it a permanent wrap your doing on van?, i deal a lot with ice cream vans so know a bit about them and have wrapped some walls vans for unilever, the van in question is a full cowl van and so is fibreglass from the doors back, if this is a permanent wrap then the ij380 is a good choice and its great for the recesses etc on the moulds, the trouble i had at first was the fibreglass not holding the post heat process after application due to the fibreglass cooling down quickly, just post heat it well and 380 should be fine, hope this helps, anything else let me know,

[Shawn Bentley]

we did these with 3m ij180, very nice to work with and you get a really nice gloss finish with it,

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[Jason Davies]

These look fantastic but I can’t help thinking that all ice cream vans should be hand painted – it’s tradition 😀

[Shawn Bentley]

hi all, used to be like that but lots going down a different route now days I’m afraid, i signwrite loads of these vans and now lots are going down the corporate route etc because of the large events they attend and a lot are vinyl as easier to change if they have a knock instead of having to hand painting them again, there are lots still out there though that are still hand painted which is good to keep tradition 😀

[Robert Lambie]

1. Can anyone give me advice on the artwork, I can see issues on matching the hexagons where the bonnet and sides join ? How would you tackle the artwork to eliminate installation issues. Design tips appreciated.

"iF" i am following you correct, I wouldn’t concern yourself with the design marrying up with the front and rear with the sides. By that i simply would treat it as another canvas, so to speak. yes you can tweak and alter designs to "look" like its continual but it is never 100% and ive never come across a customer that is so anal about this, "they will pay" for the extra design work required.

2. Thinking of using 3m IJ380 Vinyl. Overkill ?

Its a very good digital film and will do the job. but you also have a strict application process in using it.
if you have used it before then you wont have issues. be sure to use a 3M pressure wheel, heat gun and laser temp gauge.
Other films that will do it are Avery 1005 EARS, Arlon (forget code) actually a few others that will do it no problem. but please keep in mind, "it is the method of application that is paramount" in any wrap media holding true.

3. I’ve initially priced at £2.5k + vat minimum – what would most people price ?

without seeing civerage, design work involved etc its not something you can just give a figure on.

4. Also learned that the more parts you can remove the easier the install.

Yes definitely, the more obstacles removed the better the finish and sped of application. However, faffing about with van handles and more can take as long as the wrap. not to mention if the vehicle is within 5 years old, you are actually voiding the vehicle warranty if you cant get it back 100%. better getting a local mechanic in to do it. not expensive to get some handles, indicators etc removed and replaced a couple of days later. just add it to the price of job or design "out with" these areas. meaning you don’t need to remove.

5. VOID
This question breaks board rules outside the appropriate forum

[Dilwyn Evans]

Thanks for the advice.

Shawn you are correct, van used more for events rather than anything else.

Nice pics also.

Thanks Rob, cleared a lot of my initial thoughts.

Will post Pics of finished vehicle once its booked and finished.

NO PICS – Job Cancelled :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Thanks Dil