corners on a hood/spoiler

[Guest birdman]

so my employer is allowing me to get my feet wet with vinyl install/wrapping. i've gotten into it before but was focused more on signage. i have a camaro to play with and they told me they wanted the hood and spoiler wrapped in matte black (3M 1080 deep matte). i looked all over the place for a few days trying to figure out how to wrap the spoiler in one piece, to no avail. is it possible to wrap the entire spoiler in one piece of vinyl? and what's the secret to getting the corners of the spoiler and the hood/any panel to not get the folds? is primer a MUST? this is really the only thing i've found on it:

 

http://youtu.be/XxH-MUxowyA

 

 

thanks

[jason@aerotect]

I think there are different spoilers for the Camaro, a picture of what you are working with would help.  In short, many if not most spoilers are done in a couple pieces.

 

Not everything needs primer, but it is good to recognize where it is a must.  Post heating is just as important, if not more so.  The recommended post heat temp for 1080 is 200 degrees.  Of course, overheating matte films may also be tricky.

 

I know training is an investment, but a good training will show you a lot of tricks, as well as do's and dont's.  It's also important to understand that stickers have limits.  Prepping your customer for what to expect is always important.

 

This video is a great example of how to handle corners.  You kind of need to pull down and away at the same time.

[Guest birdman]

i'll work on getting pictures, thank you for the info! im currently searching for training places close to me, with certifications would be a plus. if the higher ups don't go for it, depending on the cost, i may just do it myself. why not invest what i can in myself right?

 

in general, are things seamlessly pieced together or is overlapping widely accepted? there are a few cars that come in regularly that have business wraps on and a lot of it is overlapped. and if you do seamless and use knifeless tape, it'll be seamless right off the bat, but after a couple days in the sun each side will pull back from each other right? so do you post heat before you cut it with the knifeless tape? i did post heat the corners, but we don't have a temp gun yet so i must not have heated it enough.

 

thanks again!

[jason@aerotect]

I would always recommend an overlap on your seam.  Try to hide them along/near body lines when you can.  Butt seams can work for cast vinyl, but then you really have no margin of error.  If you are experiencing peel back on sharp corners, primer may help.  There is also edge sealer, but it will be noticeable on matte films.  Post heating would be done once the install is done.  Also, keep in mind, the stretch tolerance on 1080 is 10%.  Stretching more than that can tend cause the film to want to crawl back.

[TintOhio]

Thank you, I found this helpful!