vehicle graphics: ulster bank

[Robert Lambie]

job looks good mate… ive never tried that sorta vinyl and although i read you didnt like it, it can be down various things on this scale of aplication.

was the vinyl a cast? if not what life?

you have done well for a bigginer as its a big job/application, cant have been easy..
can i ask did you fit it dry or wet?

thanks for taking the time to post your work 😀

[Marekdlux]

The quantum I have is a calendared vinyl. Not sure if they make cast.
-Marek
BTW, looks good!

[Patrick Donaghey]

the vinyl is American i think. I applied the navy vinyl wet and just melted it into the edges etc. I was a nightmare then when it was over stretched and ripped i had an are sol can mixed with the same co lour as the vinyl so i would spray a bit into the gap , found it to work well. the rest was ordinary 5700 image perfect vinyl. I didn’t make me any money as it took to long but i did learn alot from it

[Robert Lambie]

ahh i see, the problem here mate is that you used a wet app on such an uneven surface. all the rivettes, ridges etc act like a sorta dam and catch whatever left, right and centre. when you heat the vinyl it cant adhere, just gets hotter and stretches because of trapped water. this can cause those parts to burst and melt. giving you extra problems.
if you have someone that can help, try applying dry, get the person to remove the app tape and hover the surface of vehicle panel by pulling the vinyl taught as you apply towards it, smoothing it into position. when you come to the ridges apply over them like they weren’t there. once tacked. try heating and molding, should be much easier.
small bubbles and the odd crease are not the end of the world with this size of app, the job will at least stay put. trapped water can give continual problems.
anyway, for a newbie you did well mate. as you said, maybe never made much but the learning curve is just as important and gives you experience.

[Patrick Donaghey]

thanks for the tips this is a reeallllly helpful site and love using it now that i finally got round to using signing up as a paid member its worth every penny.

just out of interest to what price would anyone (mad enough to do this job) put on a job like that to the nearest hundred?

I quoted £650 and wish i had said £850 but I’m new so pricing isn’t to good at the minute

[Robert Lambie]

£650 is a good price i think, this varies allot due to location etc
how long did the application take you?

[Patrick Donaghey]

it took 2 people 2 full days and £80 was travel because we had to travel to the depot as the bus wasnt allowed out after hours.

[Robert Lambie]

ahh well thats different mate…
travel time i never took into consideration, fitting time… well hard to say because your fitting time is really down to experience here, so lets say if you were quoting against me doing same job ide be looking at 2-3 hours fitting. you of course 2 days… but should the speed of the fit allow for your extra charge? quick answer is yes, you have to make money at the end of the day, so charge by the hour, but… it will go against you with competition with a bit more exeperience as they will do it much faster. but like you said, its all a learning curve… dont under price your jobs just to compete mate, if its two days labour then charge two days labour… im just trying to explain why you could loose out on quote.

[Peter Normington]

Looks like the back end of a bus to me 😀
On a serious note though, and dont take this the wrong way, I may speak my mind but its without malice.
Rob gives very good advice, but he tends to not critisise to much because of pr and the boards.
In future, before taking on a job like this as a newbie, Ask For advice!
It would have been freely given here, and you would have done the job much quicker, had more satisfaction, and with all due respect, got it right first time. As it stand you may well have to go back to the job in a week or two to rectify faults..
Having said that we have all made mistakes, I always remember an old geezer saying to me, many years ago RTFB. (read the flipin book)
The book is now here on the boards, just ask
Peter

[Patrick Donaghey]

thanks for you honesty . I am now reading the topics on this site every time im on the net and its great. The only reason i took on the job i was kinda pushed into doing it as my banker manger was very helpful to me and had loaned me loads of money . So he wanted to see what i could do and he had bought this space on the bus as it was a city tour bus.