Reaction GFX
New Member
Let me preface this by saying I don't do wraps.
I have a customer that has 5 of these small drop boxes that he wants partially wrapped. Wrapping the four flat sides is a no-brainer. The challenge is wrapping the front panel, which is basically a hinged door with rounded edges. The boxes are made from MDF with a melamine laminate. Those familiar with using a router know that when rounding edges and you get to a 90 degree corner, you're going to end up with that hard edge going down the center of the corner, if that makes sense. Perhaps my photos will adequately show what I mean. The corner on the left I attempted to wrap smoothly by applying a little heat with a heat gun. It started to go down okay, but the further down I got, the more excess vinyl I had to deal with. Ended up heating too much, stretching too much, color got messed up, have a few small wrinkles, and I still have a small wad of vinyl there that just wouldn't shrink up enough to go away. The other corner I did a relief cut, poorly, so now you can see some of the white underneath. This is really just a test to see if I can actually do this. Is it even possible to smoothly wrap a corner like this or am I relegated to making a relief cut in each corner? Either way, any tips anyone might be able to share with me as to the best way to approach this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Vinyl is IJ180CV3, with an Arlon cast overlaminate.
I have a customer that has 5 of these small drop boxes that he wants partially wrapped. Wrapping the four flat sides is a no-brainer. The challenge is wrapping the front panel, which is basically a hinged door with rounded edges. The boxes are made from MDF with a melamine laminate. Those familiar with using a router know that when rounding edges and you get to a 90 degree corner, you're going to end up with that hard edge going down the center of the corner, if that makes sense. Perhaps my photos will adequately show what I mean. The corner on the left I attempted to wrap smoothly by applying a little heat with a heat gun. It started to go down okay, but the further down I got, the more excess vinyl I had to deal with. Ended up heating too much, stretching too much, color got messed up, have a few small wrinkles, and I still have a small wad of vinyl there that just wouldn't shrink up enough to go away. The other corner I did a relief cut, poorly, so now you can see some of the white underneath. This is really just a test to see if I can actually do this. Is it even possible to smoothly wrap a corner like this or am I relegated to making a relief cut in each corner? Either way, any tips anyone might be able to share with me as to the best way to approach this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Vinyl is IJ180CV3, with an Arlon cast overlaminate.