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Whats the least expensive option for a potential customer.

S

StopSignGraphics

New Member
I met a potential customer the other day. He bought a late 80's step van that he's going to use for a food truck. The body is steel and not aluminum.

It looks like it was lettered with vinyl, then covered in latex house paint and then lettered again. The paint job is horrible, runs and drips all over the paint plus lots of flaking. The old lettering is still under the latex paint.... just a mess. I told him that I didn't think I would be able to help him with a wrap until the vehicle was sand blasted and properly painted. We discussed just making some large decals of his logo to help keep him within his budget. He agreed and that was the plan.

Now he's decided he really wants to go the full wrap option and has no issues getting it sandblasted but was hoping to keep the cost down and do the bare minimum to the body to prepare it for wrapping. I'm not a body shop guy so I'm really not sure what the minimum amount of work would be. I know that just using primer is too porous and causes adhesion problems. I was wondering if he could just have some sort of clear coat applied over the metal to help protect it from rust?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chris
 
T

TimToad

Active Member
Is he going to hold you completely harmless when whatever cheapskate route he ends up taking fails and your graphics start falling off? Probably not.......

Maybe his business plan should have included a proper marketing plan and budgeting.
 
GAC05

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
Depending on how it is going to be laid out and what the sides look like (serving window openings - awnings etc..) maybe some framed banner panels could be a lower cost option.
Skip trying to fix the paint -hide it and put the money into the display graphics.

wayne k
guam usa
 
S

StopSignGraphics

New Member
Yeah I suggested the banner route already. He wasn't interested. He's got money to spend, he just wants to spend it carefully so I can't fault him for that.

The real question is what's the minimum he can do to properly prep the truck for a full wrap?

Thanks,
Chris
 
T

TimToad

Active Member
Properly prep a truck with all sorts of unknown types of paint, primer and who knows what else in various stages of decay?

Quit being this guy's financial planner and give him the cold, hard truth about the dog of a truck he's trying to put a silk dress on. Its only adhesive backed vinyl with ink on it, not a freakin' miracle.
 
Pat Whatley

Pat Whatley

New Member
Seriously people, the guy is just looking for something to make the wrap stick. He's not looking for show quality paint. Tell him to get it sandblasted, hit it with a couple of layers of automotive primer, wet sand it, then spray it with a one-part automotive enamel. Heck, he can do the priming and painting in his garage for under $200 and a weekends work and the results will be more than adequate for you stick a wrap on top of.
 
S

StopSignGraphics

New Member
Ok I get what you are saying but I don't think the guy is trying to be cheap as much as frugal. He's willing to have it sand blasted and the body repaired...He asked me if he really needed to have a full paint job if he wanted to cover it with a wrap. I honestly just don't know the answer for sure. I'm assuming it has to be painted but before I responded I just thought I'd ask on the forum.

I know just primer is an issue, I didn't know if he could get away with a clear coat or something else over the metal after he has it sandblasted.

The truck is already outfitted with a kitchen, so he's dropped some money into it already. He seems like he wants to do it right but doesn't want to spend any more than he has to.

Thanks,
Chris
 
P

player

New Member
Pat Whatley said:
Seriously people, the guy is just looking for something to make the wrap stick. He's not looking for show quality paint. Tell him to get it sandblasted, hit it with a couple of layers of automotive primer, wet sand it, then spray it with a one-part automotive enamel. Heck, he can do the priming and painting in his garage for under $200 and a weekends work and the results will be more than adequate for you stick a wrap on top of.
Click to expand...

Those one part paints might need 30 days to cure before applying decals.

Tell him to talk to his body man, but you need a hard, smooth painted surface that can pass a tape test. (A tape test is when you put some tape on the painted surface and pull it off. If it pulls paint off with the tape, then it fails.)
 
CreatedDesigns

CreatedDesigns

New Member
The cheapest you can get by is by media blast then epoxy primer. Then wrap.

The best way is to media blast, Etch, epoxy prime then a good single stage paint like PPG DCC in white, then wrap. the 30 day cure time is right on the money, Obey that rule.

all else fails sand down prime and paint with cheap implement paint with a hardener local farm and fleet should be able to help. $20 a gallon. Hardener might cost you $60 and you can get a cheap harbor freight gun for $45 that you can throw away instead of clean.
 
GAC05

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
CreatedDesigns said:
The cheapest you can get by is by media blast then epoxy primer. Then wrap.

The best way is to media blast, Etch, epoxy prime then a good single stage paint like PPG DCC in white, then wrap. the 30 day cure time is right on the money, Obey that rule.

all else fails sand down prime and paint with cheap implement paint with a hardener local farm and fleet should be able to help. $20 a gallon. Hardener might cost you $60 and you can get a cheap harbor freight gun for $45 that you can throw away instead of clean.
Click to expand...

This sounds good to me.

wayne k
guam usa
 
Pat Whatley

Pat Whatley

New Member
player said:
Those one part paints might need 30 days to cure before applying decals.
Click to expand...

Want to guess how many times I've applied decals the day after a box truck was painted with one-part paint and have never had a problem with adhesion or removing the decals later. :Big Laugh
 
visual800

visual800

Active Member
I doubt he has all that done on this van. I dont think media blasting is necessary. Under all that crap is the oem paint, I would suggest pressure washing just to see if it would blow that latex off, im thinking it will cause I doubt they scuffed when they painted latex.

A junky looking truck is not very appealing as a food truck
 
Marlene

Marlene

New Member
StopSignGraphics said:
I met a potential customer the other day. He bought a late 80's step van that he's going to use for a food truck. The body is steel and not aluminum.

It looks like it was lettered with vinyl, then covered in latex house paint and then lettered again. The paint job is horrible, runs and drips all over the paint plus lots of flaking. The old lettering is still under the latex paint.... just a mess. I told him that I didn't think I would be able to help him with a wrap until the vehicle was sand blasted and properly painted. We discussed just making some large decals of his logo to help keep him within his budget. He agreed and that was the plan.

Now he's decided he really wants to go the full wrap option and has no issues getting it sandblasted but was hoping to keep the cost down and do the bare minimum to the body to prepare it for wrapping. I'm not a body shop guy so I'm really not sure what the minimum amount of work would be. I know that just using primer is too porous and causes adhesion problems. I was wondering if he could just have some sort of clear coat applied over the metal to help protect it from rust?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

surprised with the amount of snarky comments as it is clear he isn't cheap, he just doesn't want to do more than needed to make the wrap stick. go with the ideas from those who gave some good advice and you should be set
 
Vinylman

Vinylman

New Member
Going back to the ORIGINAL POST by Stop Sign Graphics "I met a potential[your term] customer the other day."

How do you allow yourself to get this far into any project without securing a DEPOSIT, and setting ground rules as to what you CAN and WILL provide, as well as what the customer will need to bring to the project?

You seem to have lost control of this project, and I would recommend you meet face to face with the potential[your term]customer, and iron out the details BEFORE doing one more thing for this potential[your term]customer.

You have expended some effort, and a lot of the time of other professionals on this board for a potential[your term] customer.

My question is WHY?
 
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