Cutting around emblems that cannot be removed?

June 18, 2008

Hey guys, I did a full hood on a 08 Prius yesterday and was just wondering what the best method is for cutting precisely around the the emblem? The emblem was attached using doublesided tape so I didn't want to remove the thing, and since my plotter isn't large enough to cut 58" rolls I was forced to cut around the emblem using my olfa. The problem is is that on some of these cars the emblems stick way the hell out from the paints surface (roughly 1/4"), and often requires a stretch around the emblem to prevent dog ears (fingers) from forming around the circumference of the emblem, which can often distort the texture of the film, especially when squeegeed down on hotter days and on darker colored cars. The Prius has a slight compound curve around the emblem which forced me to stretch the material in order for it to lie down properly (I didn't overstretch it either). The thing is is that once the material is cut to fit around the emblem the film will tend to want to relax back to it's orignal relaxed state, since the hole basically creates a relief in the entire stretch of the hood. So basically if you cut right on the edge of the emblem, the film seems to spread about a 1/4" all the way around the edges of the emblem, which creates a less than seemless install. For someone as picky as myself it really bothers me, and especially since I take pride in having superior quality work.

Since the film is allowed to relax in just that one area there can also possibly be a slightly visble stretch mark or distortion in the film, since the material quick goes from stretch to relaxed in the one area. Anyways, I was just curious as to what methods some of you really experienced guys use and if there is anyway of avoiding this?

I also had this problem on a 2008 Toyota Sequoia (around the sensors) I did last week, but that was even more exagerated because I did the entire bumper in one piece using 3M film (I don't how I got it to stretch that much lol), and sensor happened to be in the place where there was probably the most stretch. I precisely cut around the sensor and the material probably relaxed about an 1/8" around that particular sensor, and left a slight distortion in the texture of the film since the material was allowed to relax. Definately pissed me off . I post some pics of those two installs later.

On another note, I used the VentureTape on the Prius and think it's a FAR superior product in a lot of aspect...it's also nice that it's a good amount cheaper, as it puts more money in my pocket. Thanks for ANY advice and insight!

-Brock Harrison

June 18, 2008

I just wanted to correct myself since I can't seem to edit my post for some reason. When I said the film relaxed about a 1/4" around the Prius emblem, once cut, it was more like an 1/8" or so. I'm not very good with standard measurement, as I think it's a stupid form for measuring anything less than an inch lol.

TINTZEUS · June 18, 2008

All emblems can be removed. Some take more time then others. Bentley takes some time...Lamborghini takes some patience.... :krazy

The Prius comes right off and I can save the factory tape in most cases...I'v been doing more and more of these cars...6 last month.

Good luck.

:dunno

June 18, 2008

Thanks for the advice! It's much appreciated. How do you save the double side tape? Do You just use dental floss and try and attempt to leave most of the tape on the emblem? I guess that's what I'll be doing from now on, when I deem it to be neccesary.

What about on parking sensors (I don't think they can be removed in most cased), when there is a large stretch over a particular sensor and if you cut it it will tend to relax, creating a larger than necessary gap around the sensor as I mentioned earlier? I'll post a pic of what I'm talking about in a sec.

One more thing, since you seem to be quite experienced. A lot of these new cars seem to come apart in different ways, how do you determine how they come apart without breaking things? lol. I took the damn windshield sprayers off when I was doing the hood on the Prius, and one of the water tubes that connects to the spray nozzle got stuck in the hood and I couldn't snake it out. I pretty much had to yank those plastic connectors off to remove the insulation piece from the underneath of the hood in order to reach the tube to reconnect it. The plastic connectors got some what chewed up when I was removing them, which may be an issue on a really expensive car.

:krazy

Sorry for all the questions, those are just a few things I've wanted answer to for some time. Thanks again!

June 18, 2008

Here's what I'm talking about with the sensor on the 08 Sequioa. I did this bumper in one piece using 3m, so there was a massive stretch obviously and most of it was around the sensor area. This side isn't too bad, but on the other side the gap around the sensor (once cut and material was allowed to relax) was worse though.

TINTZEUS · June 18, 2008

Floss works great ...with fragile emblems...CORVETTE.... :krazy Most emblems dont need that much care. I hate corvette customers.

It should not be a massive stretch on anything...let the film do what it wants...and work from there. I think you might be having a problem with air. Air is my worst ememy. Release the air ...but not with the cut.

June 18, 2008

Cool...thanks again! The customer wanted a 1 piece bumper for whatever reason, so I thought I'd make it happen. Luckily it turned out fine in the end, and the customer was happy. I think the BIGGEST mistake was using the less elastic 3M film versus say VS or especially Avery. Unfortunately that's all I had at the time. The stretch on the Sequioa bumper was WAY worse than any Turbo F/R bumper I've done, or any other vehicle for that matter.

You are definately right on the air being an issue when cutting around the sensor. The thing was, a lot of slip/soap mixture was required in that area in order to make the film glide easily enough on the stretch, to prevent the material from sticking and distorting. All that slip/soap mixture pretty much made it impossible for the material to tack strongly prior to cutting around the sensor, as there was really no possible way to clear out the leftover slip/soap mixture from around the sensor.

I recently purchased a steamer which I think might help make installs like this one go a little quicker and easier, but that's just my opinion. It's a nice little cleaning tool, and also helps clear the alcohol from the edges prior to wrapping and heat gunning, to help speed up the install a bit.

TINTZEUS · June 18, 2008

Great.

Gotta be good. I only work with mmm.....They invented the stuff...hold all the patends.....have the best warranty.

:krazy

June 19, 2008

Agreed. If it works for your needs more power to you! It should be interesting to see what develops in film technology, considering the recent 3M/VS merger. I'm already damn impressed with the 58" VS roll I got (which is supposedly a little different in construction than their smaller rolls), hard to see the film technologies really getting all that much better. I just hope the automotive paints don't improve drastically in the next decade or so, so we can at least make our money haha!

alberts316 · June 19, 2008

Well if u had problems streching with Avery something was wrong. That is the most elastic product I have tried. The steamer helped me out tons and I think is a must for most bumpers and some hoods. Find your local crackhead and steal his syringe for an air release tool. I found they make some super thin ones that work great.