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Looking for advice on wrapping the roof of a car?
Hi im new to this as well, I wrapped the roof of my own car as ive got asked quite alot about doing this. I got it spot on the first go but i done it wet. How do use do it?? and any poniters or tips for me??
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18 Replies
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Do it dry…
tape into position and try applying using the hinge method.
use only a good cast or vehicle wrap vinyl.
if struggling with dry application use an air escape/bubble free type "wrap" vinyl. 3M, Oracal, Avery and i "think" Grafityp now do their own variations on bubble free/easy apply vehicle wrap vinyl. -
quote Nicholas.Gormley:Hi im new to this as well, I wrapped the roof of my own car as ive got asked quite alot about doing this. I got it spot on the first go but i done it wet. How do use do it?? and any poniters or tips for me??Hi Nicholas – Rob is bang on, do it dry and the hinge method is a good way to do it. When working with an air release vinyl we tend to remove all the backing paper and put it "down in one" when doing a roof but its handy as there are usually 3 of us in the workshop to do that!
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depends on the roof. not always needed to use a cast vinyl, in fact some will be hard to use if you are not used to it, air release vinyls should never be applied wet, but are not always the be all and end all,
and are usually more expensive, so you have to consider the advantage your competition have, if they are using a cheaper vinyl, but can fit it quickly and without problems. their profit margins will be better than yours
Peter -
I tear the backing paper about 2 inches wide down the middle so there is vinyl exposed from the front to the rear of the vehicle. I then position and use this as my hinge. I can then pull the backing paper out causing the vinyl to stay off the vehicle until I squeege it down. Its useful to have magnets to place on the vinyl over the backing paper so it keeps the tension for you.
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I’ve seen that done but don’t you find you get little bits of paper fibres on the vinyl when you tear the backing like this?
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Not if you score the backing paper first. Or have a snitty tool you slide in between the vinyl and the backing paper.
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If you did your own car wet then I am guessing that it is a pretty flat roof, if you are going to do vehicles for customers wet then be very careful which cars you do because the curves on some models will make it impossible for you to get the vinyl to take the right shape and stay in place if done wet.
Jason, I am guessing that a snitty tool is like a paper slitter, the other thing that has always given me problems when trying to apply vinyl the way you have said is trying to prevent getting a noticeable line when you first start to apply the vinyl. I will apply the first thin strip of vinyl but when I remove the backing paper and try to continue applying I find it very difficult not to get some sort of line which is noticeable especially on wide areas.
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bearing in mind im in northern ireland and my suppliers are very limited (we can only get metamark, avery & imageperfect of the shelf and the mainland suppliers are looking a fortune for delivery, even tho im still GB what would be the best vinyl for car roofs etc?
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quote Jason Xuereb:Not if you score the backing paper first. Or have a snitty tool you slide in between the vinyl and the backing paper.I have to ask jason, what is a "snitty" tool? 🙂
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It’s a tool that you can use to slide across backing paper to cut it without damaging the vinyl. Some prefer to turn the vinyl over and tear down the paper backing but the tear can go all over the place.
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It’s the plastic enclosed knife thingy you use to cut vinyl off the plotter 🙂
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quote Rod Gray:quote Jason Xuereb:Not if you score the backing paper first. Or have a snitty tool you slide in between the vinyl and the backing paper.I have to ask jason, what is a “snitty” tool? 🙂
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= … %26hl%3Den
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£34 for that????
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karl that is for ten (i hope) 😀
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quote Chris Wool:karl that is for ten (i hope) 😀
But why would you need 10? The blades are removable. Just seems like a hard sell up sell to me.
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I use something like this:
I quickly modified it by shortening the pointy bit then sanding a smooth curve onto the bottom so theres less chance of it snagging the vinyl. They cost about 50p each from staples.
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quote Karl Williams:quote Chris Wool:karl that is for ten (i hope) 😀
But why would you need 10? The blades are removable. Just seems like a hard sell up sell to me.
When you expand your business Karl and have lots of fitters!
Peter
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quote OwenTaylor:I use something like this:I quickly modified it by shortening the pointy bit then sanding a smooth curve onto the bottom so theres less chance of it snagging the vinyl. They cost about 50p each from staples.
These are ok but for some reason we found that due to the narrow nature of them – they can produce a cut which forces the hand sideways , we use the traditional handled snitty and have done for years, apart from changing the baldes regularly they are trouble free and its the safest way to cut print off a laminator I know.
Oo
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