Little advice needed for Dually wrap

[SSG_SIGNS]

I have a Dodge Dually coming in next week for a wrap and I was just needing a little advice on doing the flares on the bed. Is it best to do the bed & flare as one piece or do them as two different pieces to keep the stretch factor down to a minimum? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Just Me]

i did a chevy dually last year man what a pain in the azz needless to say i have not done anymore of them, maybe you will have better luck.

 

[SSG_SIGNS]

How did you go about doing the flares?

 

[jay*doc]

Just my 2 cents, I normally would tackle a dually by starting at the top edge, where the bed is still just a bed with no flare. Then work it out and over the flare. You wind up with pockets at the fron atn rear of the flare, but you can work that out with some diagonal pulls down and away from the flare. Make sure to design friendly for the dually bedm stay away from straight lines and text!

jay

 

[SSG_SIGNS]

That was actually how I was thinking about tackling it, done plenty of wraps with plenty of curves, but this is a little different that your everyday norm. Thanks for the input.

 

[SSG_SIGNS]

does nobody have any other advice for me on this subject?

 

[Sparky]

Start with three guys.

Remove all the backing for the entire panel.

One guy on each end and one guy in the middle with a squeegee in hand.

Hold vinyl taught and let it sit against the top-outer edge of the flare and squeege a hard line along that top outer edge.

Follow that line around back to the regular bed and then continue to the front/rear of the bed at that same level.

Work the upper slowly and with some heat (small strokes at a time)

Work the lower in the same slow fashion.

This way works for me because I am not trying to stretch the heck out of a small piece of vinyl. The trickiest area is at the base of the flare where it meets the bed - that is the most stretched area - be careful.

The other way is to pull it tight all along and bridge the fender. Once you have your registration lined up, pull it tight at the other end and wrap it around to the back/front.

Before you start to squegee anything, take your torch and heat the entire area from the where the fender starts to go in and the where the vinyl comes back in contact with the bed. The key is to stretch a large area rather than getting all the stretch from a small area. Once stretched be careful reheating as it will want to shrink back to its original size.

Hope that helps. Both work, the first easier, but more time consuming. Good luck!

 

[TheSnowman]

Man, I did one at Fellers wrap class, and that was THE WORST. All I know is make sure you charge enough to cover your butt. I was just using white vinyl, but I was stretchin that stuff for all it had. I can't imagine if it had an image on it.

 

[SSG_SIGNS]

Thanks for the advice & yes we are covering ourselves cost wise so we have some room to test a little.

 

[ProWraps]

charge accordingly and watchout for ghosting. i would do it in pieces or you will ghost, and you will stretch the adhesive to thin and there will be failure/s.

 

[SSG_SIGNS]

What do you mean by ghosting? I probably know what you are talking about but we just call it something different.

 

[ProWraps]

you pull the color out. if you are using ecosol it will be even worse than a full solvent.

 

[SSG_SIGNS]

Gotcha, yeah we call that thinning, doesn't happen often but it does happen. Thanks

 

[petepaz]

never did one but i would think you would be best to do 2 pieces
depending on the graphics i don't think you can strech it that much
i would think it would destort too much (but could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time)
and if you do in 2 pieces i would do the flare first and bring it up the bed about 3/4 of an inch and them overlap the side panel graphics over it and then put a little edge sealer on it

 

[mzick]

Here is my 2 cents on the subject....been wrapping Dodge dually's for the last 5+ years for a rodeo promoter in Athens, Tx. The design has to be such that it can be done in pcs. I prefer the material to be 3M 180cv3 w lam. I do the bed and the fender in 2 pcs. I will actually take the bed panel and split it in half in the middle of the bed and give it a small overlap. I install the front portion of the bed first..making sure I match the bed to the cab that is already installed. Next I will work on the fender. Remove the marker lights and lightly prime all the body lines and all edges of the fender where it touches the bed. A second set of hands would be good for the initial set of the panel on the fender.Make sure you have oversized your fender panel....you are going to need it. One you have it in place, squeegee the large flat portions of the fender first...keeping your squeegee strokes in a good level horizontal pattern. Don't try to go to far around the curved portions back towards the bed. If you go to far, you will get into a bind in another area of the fender. Work the lower portions of the fender and slightly feed the vinyl into the body lines...just enough to get it started but not to cause fingers to form below. Now for the wadded up mess you have on the top...take the excess vinly that you have and pull it up and lightly tack it to the top edge of the bed. this will keep the material up and off the fender itself untill you are ready for it. Work back and forth..left and right..a little at a time. I tend to use a heat gun on this because I get more even heat over a larger area. You have to stay pretty even across the top of the fender. Work the vinyl back toward the bed and release the vinyl, that is tacked, once it gets taught. Keep doing this till you make it back to the bed. Let vinyl rest then reheat and rest again before you trim. Install the back half of the bed and post heat the entire graphic.

Feel free to call if you have any additional questions...good luck and hope this helps.

M
817-456-2840