First Wrap Questions

[westpointsigns]

I want to wrap my truck. It's my everyday driver as well as shop vehicle (2001 Dodge Ram 1500)

It has some rust spots on the side of bed and also starting on the bottoms of the doors. No cancer spots or anything that has rusted through yet.

1. This would be my first wrap. I have been doing a lot of studying on wrapping and think I want to tackle this before winter.

2. Is it OK to wrap over these spots and is there any special prep I should do where it is rusting?

3. Is there any special prep for paint chips?

 

[SlightlyChilled]

I will say it like this, what ever you put into the job you will get out of it. So no don't half ass it. I'm not telling you to redo the truck just get it fixed the right way then have at it.

 

[HulkSmash]

I'd sand it down, remove as much rust as possible. Shouldn't be a problem.

 

[mikey-Oh]

Prime after sanding?

My 2001 Dodge Ram's a little beat up as well

 

[qmr55]

If you can do body work, bondo it, sand it and prime it.

If you cant, sand it as well as possible and get some rust encapsulator and spray it on all rusted spots before you wrap it but after you sand off as much surface rust as you can.

Edit: Use this stuff by eastwood, you can get it in a spray can and shoot it right on, nice and easy.

 

[Border]

If you can do body work, bondo it, sand it and prime it.

If you cant, sand it as well as possible and get some rust encapsulator and spray it on all rusted spots before you wrap it but after you sand off as much surface rust as you can.

Edit: Use this stuff by eastwood, you can get it in a spray can and shoot it right on, nice and easy.

Good advice for this particular case. Cheap fix and that stuff will allow your wrap to stick well to those bad areas.

 

[MikePro]

Frank Fellers also recommends using reflective vinyl as a patch for dents/cracks/rust holes and then apply your wrap over the top!

 

[MikePatterson]

I want to wrap my truck. It's my everyday driver as well as shop vehicle (2001 Dodge Ram 1500)

It has some rust spots on the side of bed and also starting on the bottoms of the doors. No cancer spots or anything that has rusted through yet.

1. This would be my first wrap. I have been doing a lot of studying on wrapping and think I want to tackle this before winter.

2. Is it OK to wrap over these spots and is there any special prep I should do where it is rusting?

3. Is there any special prep for paint chips?

We are a full service shop. We have a paint and body department, fab department, and vinyl department. So I kinda know what you are wanting to do here.

Answer to:
Q:2 No don't wrap over anything but a good stable finish. Be it paint or primer. Rust, dirt, wax, etc. will set yourself up for failure. You need to get rid of the rust period. It might be superficial now but after cooking under a wrap for a few years it will be growing like cancer. You need to grind, media blast, or sand down to bare metal. Blasting is the best solution because you can never grind or sand all the rust from the metal. Treat it with a converter product like the one in the link, or check with a steel supply and they have products for phosphate rust conversion. Then do whatever bodywork is needed aka bondo filler. Then prime with a 2K urethane primer. Wet sand the entire panel with 600-1000 wet/dry paper and repaint or wrap over that.

Q:3 Paint chips can be scuffed around with 400 grit then filled with bondo type filler. Make sure it is a filler that uses a hardener and not some cheap lacquer glazing puddy. Then prime and refinish the panel like above.

There is no easy way around it if you want to do a quality job.

 

[D2S]

How long should you wait after using bondo and priming it? I know when you paint a truck you want to wait until lettering or wrapping is it the same with bondo and primer?

 

[CreatedDesigns]

We are a full service shop. We have a paint and body department, fab department, and vinyl department. So I kinda know what you are wanting to do here.

Answer to:
Q:2 No don't wrap over anything but a good stable finish. Be it paint or primer. Rust, dirt, wax, etc. will set yourself up for failure. You need to get rid of the rust period. It might be superficial now but after cooking under a wrap for a few years it will be growing like cancer. You need to grind, media blast, or sand down to bare metal. Blasting is the best solution because you can never grind or sand all the rust from the metal. Treat it with a converter product like the one in the link, or check with a steel supply and they have products for phosphate rust conversion. Then do whatever bodywork is needed aka bondo filler. Then prime with a 2K urethane primer. Wet sand the entire panel with 600-1000 wet/dry paper and repaint or wrap over that.

Q:3 Paint chips can be scuffed around with 400 grit then filled with bondo type filler. Make sure it is a filler that uses a hardener and not some cheap lacquer glazing puddy. Then prime and refinish the panel like above.

There is no easy way around it if you want to do a quality job.

This and only this will yield professional results. must of the time if you see a rust bubble it is already too late and has more than likely rusted through from the back side to the front. When you start sanding you will find veins of rust spreading in all directions, You must get rid of all of the rust. Blasting and or panel replacement is the only way to assure that you have gotten all of it.

Also note that Bondo brand filler is junk I would recommend Evercoat Brand. If you want to fix it correctly I can help.

Here are a couple sites that may help those wanting to learn the proper way to refinish panels.

www.refinishnetwork.com , www.autobodytoolmart.com www.coastairbrush.com, http://www.kustomkulturelounge.com/forum/forum.php

I belong to all of these sites(except the supply sites) and they have information to help every single member on this site.

 

[phototec]

We are a full service shop. We have a paint and body department, fab department, and vinyl department. So I kinda know what you are wanting to do here.

Answer to:
Q:2 No don't wrap over anything but a good stable finish. Be it paint or primer. Rust, dirt, wax, etc. will set yourself up for failure. You need to get rid of the rust period. It might be superficial now but after cooking under a wrap for a few years it will be growing like cancer. You need to grind, media blast, or sand down to bare metal. Blasting is the best solution because you can never grind or sand all the rust from the metal. Treat it with a converter product like the one in the link, or check with a steel supply and they have products for phosphate rust conversion. Then do whatever bodywork is needed aka bondo filler. Then prime with a 2K urethane primer. Wet sand the entire panel with 600-1000 wet/dry paper and repaint or wrap over that.

Q:3 Paint chips can be scuffed around with 400 grit then filled with bondo type filler. Make sure it is a filler that uses a hardener and not some cheap lacquer glazing puddy. Then prime and refinish the panel like above.

There is no easy way around it if you want to do a quality job.

Don't be a hack, the world is full of them, follow ALL the instructions above and do a GOOD job that will last and at the same time show your customers how professional you are by them judging how well your personal vehicle looks.

DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, and you will never have to do it over!

 

[Bretbyron]

Use an Epoxy primer, other primers are porous. Make sure you clean your edges well.

 

[MikePatterson]

man this thread got dug up from the past.

 

[CreatedDesigns]

Thread age does not matter one bit if any information can be added it would be better than starting a new thread.

 

[D2S]

Thread age does not matter one bit if any information can be added it would be better than starting a new thread.

That was my thought I was searching if it needed to be wait and if so how long if so, Wasnt able to find and answer but figured this was close enough rather not start a new thread and be told why didnt you try the search feature. Thanks

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

Frank Fellers also recommends using reflective vinyl as a patch for dents/cracks/rust holes and then apply your wrap over the top!

Thanks for putting a smile on my face. oh man...good one.

 

[jtiii]

Thanks for putting a smile on my face. oh man...good one.

Thanks for posting that comment - I was thinking "wow, that sounds crazy, but I guess if it works, great!"