A PROFESSIONAL......eh?

So have you worked with 3M's new satin white aluminum? The sample doesn't look directional like you mentioned the pearl white?!? I have a roll coming in the next few days.

Would you share a few tips.....like I read vinyl becomes MORE stretchable after being heated and then letting it cool. true?

In theory...it seems to be that a piece going around a bumper would work better if you had one person heating it while another one applies tension horizontally. In my head.....the logic goes that by stretching the piece around the bumper would take out enough 'Looseness' that it would be easier to then stretch the vinyl vertically around the compound curves of said bumper would be much easier. On my first wrap I only got the LAST corner out of four to lay properly.

Course I only had one set of hands

Thanks

 

^ One of the best tips you will need is... As a beginner, try to use as little heat as possible. That's one of the biggest and most common mistakes you can make while learning. You should use heat to finalize the position on contours and to remove any memory. Briefly warm the vinyl if you need it to conform over difficult panels. Use heat to fix the vinyl from repositioning or to remove/repair a crease.

Disaster tends to happen when you try to heat and stretch. Over-stretching causes the vinyl to lift later on after application. When your panel looks like a 90 year old's skin and you can't seem to fix it, you've gone too far.

And most metallic/pearl vinyl is directional, some more noticeable than others. Up close it's hard to tell. You won't really notice it while applying it either, but once in the sun and you take a step back it's there. Not extreme and most won't be keen to it, but detail oriented viewers will see it.

 

Nice. Classy look stickerz.

 

My biggest suggestion would be to start absorbing as much of 3M's tip videos on youtube till your material gets in, having a helping hand will also help greatly. When stretching with or without heat the rule is never more than 30% stretch or you will have failure (primer 94 can be used in extreme cases). Also the car must be CLEAN, all panel edges and rubber seals must be cleaned extremely well to get all the old wax build up and other contaminants out. Taking an airtool to the car also helps knock out any dust or sand stuck in hard to clean areas that might pose a problem during the application of the wrap. Finally like mentioned above post heating of all the edges, corners, and complex curves is a crucial step many people leave out, this will remove the memory of the film and keep your edges from shrinking back or curling.

If you ordered a 25yd roll it should leave you with enough to redo an entire side of the car and some small scraps, so don't get too worried about messing up and running out of film.

Here is a quick demo on a bumper I did on an Aventador, It's not the easiest and one of the most butchered I've seen wrapped by a few other shops when it comes to patches. With a few relief cuts it can be done pretty seamless and patch free. Sometimes some pre-planning can help make the process easier and faster.

 

Thanks guys!

Holy mother of all that is good....... Between the 370z and the Lamborghini you have done some incredible work!!!

 

Nice work!

 

Beautiful work OP! You and Mr. Sparco turn out some fine examples!