Wrapping Mini Mirrors, advice please?

[Simon Worrall]

Dave
Have a look at this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fl1WUNofPs

Simon.

[Dave Harrison]

cheers simon.. this is exactly the same technique I was taught, and the technique I am using, but not having much success… I am pre stretching, but not noticing the film shrink back once on the mirror. there is a simular video from arlon too.

[Jon Marshall]

Maybe try the ‘old’ way but use a nice big piece of material.Also get most of it on then remove the cap and tuck it inside

[Robert Lambie]

different media have different levels of stretch capability. 5%-50%… some promoting more!
regardless, how far has he stretched that bit of vinyl?
I don’t know and nor does he… it could be way over stretched from the outset, only for him to reverse shrink it onto the mirror. but how far back to its original form has he took it? again its a guessing game.

so lets say he has done it "correct".
but he uses a bit of yellow, or white vinyl on a black car.
that pre-stretch technique will have thinned the vinyl too much making it much more transparent on the flat areas and darker around the reverse shrunk areas. so you will see a significant colour shift.

again, lets say he does it "correct".
now lets take a bit of carbon fibre, brushed aluminium, snake skin… whatever 3D textured wrapping films.
same thing here applies, the pre-stretched will stretch and distort the 3D pattern, but around the perimeter where it has been shrunk back will be smaller and undistorted.

again, lets say he does it "correct".
now lets take a bit of digital print vinyl. same thing applies again but both the above issues "in one"… i.e. colour shift + distortion of image.

do not get me wrong, relaxing the media around the edges of a stretched obstacle is correct and should be applied in every instances. but this technique (pre-stretching) is too flippantly pushed these days as the solution, but as i listed above. it cannot be applied in all cases and even when it can be used, there’s no real way to know if you haven’t over stretched it in the first place. leaving you wide open to a fail.

my opinion is its something an experienced wrapper should keep under his belt to be used as and when it can be used. it is not something new comers and the like should be taught as the proper way to wrap, but it is!

i can just see all these newbies around the world taking their film, heating the hell out of it and several people all pulling back on it, with the vinyl now resembling something like a trampoline! 🙄

[Martin Pearson]

Ok so taking that a step further Robert, say you are using 1080 & don’t use this technique to fit to a mirror, week or so down the line you have a failure. How would you stand with some sort of claim for the failure, first thing that happens is 3m say you didn’t follow their recognised technique for fitting to mirrors :lol1: :lol1:

Course even if you did do it that way & had a failure they could always get you by asking how much you stretched the material & it is unlikely you would know, 3m reckon on 25% for 1080 but don’t know what Avery or Arlon recommend for their materials.

[Ghais Din]

I’ve never got my head around the pre stretch method, tried it a few times, just never had a successful wrap using the technique,

I would try the standard method and use loads of material, ive seen two ways of people wrapping these kind of mirrors.

One is you have the mirror cap removed and fastened down to a table (not sure how you have it fastened) and have two people hold the vinyl tight, so it looks like a drum skin, give it some heat and then pull down and have it wrap around the cap

another way is to wrap the vinyl with adhesive facing up, around the top of a drum or large bin, give it alot of heat from the middle of the vinyl and then push the mirror cap towards the bottom of the drum/bin the vinyl should have wrapped itself around the cap

Never tried these methods myself, but seen demos

[Martin Pearson]

I’ve never got my head around the pre stretch method, tried it a few times, just never had a successful wrap using the technique

No neither have I but then I have problems in general lol, I would imagine it is suited to some shape mirrors better than others, there probably isn’t a one size fits all method for something like that when they come in such a wide range of shapes. I’m not really sure when I should be relaxing the film with heat or just how much it should be relaxed 😥

Not seen the other 2 methods you mentioned but can picture how it is done, bit like the put your fist in the vinyl & see how much it stretches after a bit of heat. [/b]

[Ghais Din]

heres a video of one method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFEvctCEYq8

[Simon Worrall]

Hmmmm…

[Robert Lambie]

Yes I saw that video some years back, but No, I would not advise on this with car parts…
it works to get the vinyl completely around the object, that’s obvious, but without going into all the negatives. right at the end where it cuts off, he tells you he tapes down the edges to hold it in place. by that, he is probably folding the vinyl inside the helmet. then taking some form of high tack tape and taping the vinyl down. this preventing it pulling back and failing.
he will then hide all the taping when he inserts the foam and padding into the helmet and replaces all the studs and strap fixings.

this is obviously not possible on the likes of a wing mirror or similar.

further more, i would not advise this on a helmet in the first place.
going back to i was a teenager on my bike, it was always advised never to put stickers on helmets as the adhesive can cause a weakening reaction on the helmet shell.
Those following the Michael Schumacher accident will have learned that specialist investigators looking into the accident say that his helmet split where he had stuck his GoPro camera on top using a double sided adhesive tape.

[Robert Lambie]

quote Martin:

Ok so taking that a step further Robert, say you are using 1080 & don’t use this technique to fit to a mirror, week or so down the line you have a failure. How would you stand with some sort of claim for the failure, first thing that happens is 3m say you didn’t follow their recognised technique for fitting to mirrors :lol1: :lol1:

You are correct Martin.
Just because 3M are 3M, doesn’t mean they are right, and I stand by my personal views and opinions based on my own 25 years of experience. This is not the only wrapping application method 3M promote that I disagree with. But then again, I am not trying to sell anyone vinyl. 😀

[Simon Worrall]

I totally agree with you there Rob.
Thiis dustbin method puts all the stretch exactly where you dont want it – at the edges, where it will creep back over time.

[Martin Pearson]

Robert, I’m not saying that because it is 3m it must be correct for one minute, personally I don’t have the experience to be able to form my own opinion though so have to go by what the vinyl manufacturers suggest most of the time.
I know you have been doing this a long time & with different types of vinyl, I remember the tutorial you did for chevrons with the back of a toyota pick up covered with yellow 551. I say 551 but it was actually 751 before Oracal changed things around lol

Problem I have with mirrors is that I am never sure if I should be stretching or relaxing the film, but then as said previously I have problems in general, mainly with corners you can’t get at properly.
Don’t have a problem with printed advertising graphics on vans at all but colour change wraps I let myself down with the detail that’s required for finishing.

[Jon Marshall]

You can always use a normal cast vinyl for the mirrors. We wrapped a mirror on my MINI when I had one, in KPMF cast material and it never had a problem. Wouldn’t surprise me if these new air release vinyls would struggle with the same job.

[Dave Harrison]

Thanks for all your input and comments guys. I thought i’d update you all on the job and how I got on with the mirrors.

Well after my third attempt, I decided that they looked better in their original white and left the bloody things 🙂

Seriously, this is the problem of clients pushing you on time, I was supposed to have this car for 3 days and ended up with it for 24hrs. I removed all the lights and trims the grills etc, but did not have the time to remove the door handles. ( this involves removing door cards and side window glass on the mini. ) I made a small error when carefully going around the door handles, meaning I ended up having to cut the wells out. (Simply did not have time to redo)
The brief was to colour change and brand a car which then has to be decommissioned in about 30 days. I feel I achieved this, the client was over the moon with the result.

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[Dave Harrison]

And another..

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[Simon Worrall]

Lovely job Dave, mirrors or no mirrors. 😀 😀 😀

[Robert Lambie]

looks great in the matt finish, and the mirrors are fine as they are! 😛

thanks for taking the time to reply and show your work mate.

typical customer error, 3 days condensed into 2hrs… not the done thing so yes, if they play with the man hours in this fashion they must accept the cut out recesses and so on.

[Jon Marshall]

Oh, it was matt orange? In that case you could have just done the mirror in two pieces as the film would probably have glossed given the amount of stretch needed to do it in one bit.

[Robert Lambie]

quote Jon Marshall:

Oh, it was matt orange? In that case you could have just done the mirror in two pieces as the film would probably have glossed given the amount of stretch needed to do it in one bit.

just another reason why pre-stretching wouldn’t work. 😀

[Bryan Guest]

I do this everyday

Get a peice bigger than you need and start from the middle out. Heat and stretch as you go. When your near the edge. Crack them off then wrap underneath to stop it coming off

Then snap them back on. If it’s the brand new 14 plate. Has to be done in two halfs

Bryan