Need Help Vehicle Wraps

[Dark Horse Signs]

Hello All,

Just recently joined with this forum. Am a fairly new yet quickly growing sign business in Houston. I have always been interested in Vehicle Wraps, but am slightly unsure of the process. I would be using 3M IJ-180CV3 for the wrap and then printing on it.
My concern is in the installation. Have seen hundreds of videos but can't seem to do it properly myself.

What can I do to improve my wrapping technique? Are there classes I can take? Is someone in the area okay with me sitting in on their wraps to learn? More videos to watch?

Thanks in advance!

 

[papabud]

well youtube is a great starting point. there are some classes which help. but the number one thing is practice practice practice.
its a lot of working the vinyl to get it where you want it and how you want it to be.
and there is all the technical aspects of producing your wraps from start to finish that helps.
you didnt say you was laminating your prints. its easier to work with if they are laminated.

 

[Dark Horse Signs]

well youtube is a great starting point. there are some classes which help. but the number one thing is practice practice practice.
its a lot of working the vinyl to get it where you want it and how you want it to be.
and there is all the technical aspects of producing your wraps from start to finish that helps.
you didnt say you was laminating your prints. its easier to work with if they are laminated.

How do I get in the practice? I don't want to ruin anyones car!

 

[JTBoh]

How do I get in the practice? I don't want to ruin anyones car!

Wrap your own vehicle. If it looks bad, wrap it again. Repeat until it looks good.
You gotta be one with the vinyl. Feel its energy. Stretch it... tenderly. And make sure its hot.



LOL

 

[papabud]

And make sure its hot

but not to hot or it becomes a hot mess.
wrap your car, wrap a buddies truck. wrap a helmet a skateboard a filing cabinet a storage locker a wall
basically work with the vinyl till you get a feel for how its going to react to your movements.
with everything you wrap you should get a little better each time. and never put a knife to a painted surface.

 

[ExecuPrintGS]

Wrap your own vehicle a bunch of times before touching a customers car.
3m, avery and oracal all have wrap training classes, i highly suggest before touching a customers car.

For now if you want to sell wraps but don't know how to install, subcontract the install work out to someone who does know what they are doing. Watch them, learn from them and with the classes. Install along side them and learn before tackling it on your own.

 

[AKwrapguy]

Hello All,

Just recently joined with this forum. Am a fairly new yet quickly growing sign business in Houston. I have always been interested in Vehicle Wraps, but am slightly unsure of the process. I would be using 3M IJ-180CV3 for the wrap and then printing on it.
My concern is in the installation. Have seen hundreds of videos but can't seem to do it properly myself.

What can I do to improve my wrapping technique? Are there classes I can take? Is someone in the area okay with me sitting in on their wraps to learn? More videos to watch?

Thanks in advance!

A few questions
What type of laminate are you using? What type of printer are you printing on? Both of these will effect the material differently.

Best piece of advice is take your time. Wrap you own vehicle, remove it, wrap it again. repeat a few times. Than wrap a friends vehicle, if your not comfortable with that, go get a rental car and wrap that. This way you can practice on what ever type of vehicle you want.

I'm a huge fan of 3M I enjoy the IJ180 CV1 and CV3 with a 8518-8520 series laminate, I'm 3M certified installer but sometimes other films might be a better fit. Avery, and Oracal/Orafol both make a great film and these are other manufactures such as Hexis that also make great films. But remember that not all material is the same and each one has it's own pro's and con's.

Don't be afraid to ask for sample rolls from local dealers or reps.

Like most things, proper prep is also key. Are you cleaning the vehicle properly, are you setting your self up for success or failure? Think a little bit ahead when doing the set up. Is the area clean and well lit? The the ambient temperature too hot or cold?

What type of tools are you using? Heat gun or torch? What type of squeegee? Are you using magnets to hold the material or masking tape?

What are some of the problems your having? Are you overstretching, panels not lining up, creases, bubbles, etc.... Do you have pics?

Also all material manufactures have training classes as does Geek Wraps, Lowen, and a few others. Often your local dealer will have some sort of introduction class available as well at times.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Practice. It's a physical skill that you need to learn... kind of like welding. Anyone can attempt to weld but it takes time and skill to be a good one. The vinyl has all sorts of behavior and time and practice will let you understand it. I've wrapped 100s of vehicles and I am still finding out new things and coming across new problems.

 

[millersigns]

Hello All,

Just recently joined with this forum. Am a fairly new yet quickly growing sign business in Houston. I have always been interested in Vehicle Wraps, but am slightly unsure of the process. I would be using 3M IJ-180CV3 for the wrap and then printing on it.
My concern is in the installation. Have seen hundreds of videos but can't seem to do it properly myself.

What can I do to improve my wrapping technique? Are there classes I can take? Is someone in the area okay with me sitting in on their wraps to learn? More videos to watch?

Thanks in advance!

My biggest and most helpful advice would be to not start learning to wrap with 3m. It does have a huge learning curve to work with it. We use a ton of Avery MPI 1105 and Avery Colored wrap vinyls just for the fact that anyone I have working for me, whether they have alot or very little experience can put Avery on any vehicle.

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

As all have said above. However I'm going to put my 2 cents in here so please don't be offended.

I don't begrudge anyone wanting to get into doing wraps. However, a lot out there seam to think "I can do that!" Sure you might be able to do it but to DO IT PROPERLY!!! That is another thing. I'm in the process of re-wrapping several vans for a client. Horrible install skill level/techniques. Lifting, cuts in the paint causing rust (yup client was pleased about that!), poor alignments. Take the time to learn how to do it properly, how to fix a potential mistake, how to work with various parts of the vehicle. I can guarantee that wrapping the door is much simpler that doing the bumper of a mustang.

This is YEARS of experience talking here. Make sure you know what you are doing! Otherwise you will only end up hurting your business and the industry as a whole. As I say this is my profession not my job!

I'd be more than happy to help anyone that needs it. Training, phone calls, emails.

 

[Dark Horse Signs]

I'd be more than happy to help anyone that needs it. Training, phone calls, emails.

Hi Ron! I would appreciate if I could get in tough with you personally. I'm not sure if sending personal messages is a feature on this forum but if possible, could you please give your contact info and I will follow up? Thanks!

 

[AKwrapguy]

My biggest and most helpful advice would be to not start learning to wrap with 3m. It does have a huge learning curve to work with it. We use a ton of Avery MPI 1105 and Avery Colored wrap vinyls just for the fact that anyone I have working for me, whether they have alot or very little experience can put Avery on any vehicle.

There is no additional learning curve on 3M over Avery or Oracal. 90% of the time it's a simple preference issue. I prefer the more aggressive adhesive of 3M, while you might prefer the Avery's lighter adhesive.

Use what you feel comfortable with and fits the project.

 

[papabud]

i been using 3m for years and love it. its easy to work with and can be very forgiving at times.

 

[Dan360]

I learned using 3M almost exclusively for a while, can't say I wish I started with anything else. Eventually you have to learn to work with everything.

 

[T_K]

Practice. It's a physical skill that you need to learn... kind of like welding. Anyone can attempt to weld but it takes time and skill to be a good one. The vinyl has all sorts of behavior and time and practice will let you understand it. I've wrapped 100s of vehicles and I am still finding out new things and coming across new problems.

I'd add that it's also a matter of observational skill (what's the vinyl doing) and muscle memory (I've done this motion so many times I can practically do it in my sleep). And patience. I don't know how many people I've seen screw up laying down a plain rectangle because they had no patience for working with the vinyl. I've also lost count of the times someone's watched me working with vinyl and said "I don't have the patience for that." Lucky me! I've got job security.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I'd add that it's also a matter of observational skill (what's the vinyl doing) and muscle memory (I've done this motion so many times I can practically do it in my sleep). And patience. I don't know how many people I've seen screw up laying down a plain rectangle because they had no patience for working with the vinyl. I've also lost count of the times someone's watched me working with vinyl and said "I don't have the patience for that." Lucky me! I've got job security.

I feel like I generally don't have patience..I like change and doing different things and don't like boring tedious tasks... BUT wrapping is a fun challenge. I've learned fast doesn't work and the vinyl conforms better with slower/smaller strokes. I guess to the regular people .. the sight of seeing someone slowly apply graphics and take hours to put sheet by sheet on may look boring and slow... but there is a myriad of thoughts and muscle control going on there.

 

[WorxMedia]

I took the 3M training class for vehicle wraps. Its pretty pricey but worth the cost. Im also based out of Houston. If you need any help with vehicle wrap installs, I would be glad to help you out.

 

[TimToad]

As all have said above. However I'm going to put my 2 cents in here so please don't be offended.

I don't begrudge anyone wanting to get into doing wraps. However, a lot out there seam to think "I can do that!" Sure you might be able to do it but to DO IT PROPERLY!!! That is another thing. I'm in the process of re-wrapping several vans for a client. Horrible install skill level/techniques. Lifting, cuts in the paint causing rust (yup client was pleased about that!), poor alignments. Take the time to learn how to do it properly, how to fix a potential mistake, how to work with various parts of the vehicle. I can guarantee that wrapping the door is much simpler that doing the bumper of a mustang.

This is YEARS of experience talking here. Make sure you know what you are doing! Otherwise you will only end up hurting your business and the industry as a whole. As I say this is my profession not my job!

I'd be more than happy to help anyone that needs it. Training, phone calls, emails.

I think you touch on a massive issue for those of us with many years of experience and wanting to share our knowledge and skill base, but on the premise that people care about more than just whats in it for them immediately. Many of us have survived major technological changes, industry consolidations, commodification of a learned craft, etc. and are still in the trenches every day slogging through trying to do the best work we can and be creative about it. I'm happy to share any and all I know, but not if it means some dabbler is going to pollute my market with substandard work before they are ready to compete on a similar professional plane. We have a nearby competitor who prior to dumping and running out on the company demolished the market with substandard profesionalism, low ball pricing, no laminate prints, no permit electrical work, etc.

We're reaping the benefits of that now with all sorts of disgruntled folks coming to us, but at what cost to the trade as a whole in the eyes of the customers?

I belong to several other groups and sign painting support groups and see a huge influx of new folks wanting to gain skills and try different aspects of the craft, but in the end I wonder how many of them are unselfish enough to look past their own self-interest for the sake of the industry? I'm not suggesting the OP is of that mindset, but I think the craft has an awful lot of what i call "dabblers and dabbers" taking an interest in secotrs of the industry that evoke a sense of "I want to run before i learn how to crawl" mentality. I'm seeing people wanting advice on how to lay gold leaf on glass before they even know how to letter a straight line of copy.

 

[BigfishDM]

What kind of printer do you have?

 

[Gino]

Wow, I actually agree with the toadster..............

To add to that, it not only pertains to this industry, but any industry or way of life. In order to understand things as to why, how and whatever else may be in question, one should first learn the basics and fundamentals of whatever it is, they are asking or inquiring. It's far better to learn the way you learn your alphabet, arithmetic and geography from the basics on up. You can't just learn to do calculus from u-tube or spell outrageous words without knowing and understanding how things are made and then built upon.

The idea of wanting to do something and ruin a potentially good living is not only bad for the perpetrator, but also for those who survive the stupid onslaught of dumbness. People now walk around with a bad taste in their mouth due to some numbskull's inability to do his/her job.