How to make patterns yourself

[savecars]

More and more often we are asked questions about making templates.

- What can be done if there are no patterns for particular parts in the database?

This week we have received three requests from car owners who would like to cover with film the entire car including doors and the rear bumper. In this article I will reveal one of the ways of making patterns yourself. To begin with, you need a permanent marker with the thickness of 0.3 mm., mounting film or paint protection film, a squeegee and some patience.







Roll out the mounting film on the varnish-and-paint surface. Do it without any bubbles or folds. The main point is not to hurry. Having rolled out the film, slowly draw a thin line on the edge of the element with a marker. It will later become the edge of the film. If you choose a thicker marker, the inaccuracy will be higher. Nowadays, everyone tries to install the film turned under the hood, arch etc. Do not tuck film if it takes less than 10 mm. as the film is likely to rise due to lack of adhesion space. If the element has a spherical shape and the mounting film folds in any case, make it out of two parts joint to joint or cut along the fold, having put the small folds into
a big one.













Carefully take away the template from the varnish-and-paint surface not tearing or stretching it.





Now that the template is ready, take the squeegee, roll out the mounting film with a pattern without any bubbles and folds on the paint protection film and cut with an Olfa knife. If you are a novice installer, this is the only way of making a pattern...do not try to cut film with a knife on a car unless you have been taught by a Japanese samurai or a ninja   



The more experienced installers roll the patterns out on a film substrate in order to scan them and draw in CorelDraw. Of course, you have to cut manually if there is not a plotter or a scanner. Drawing templates in the vector editor requires time and effort, but it later speeds up the process of cutting if you have a high flow of vehicles.



Once the template is ready, for final adjustments we make a pattern of paper with the help of a plotter and a marker.





Next, check by putting it on a slightly moistened car surface...







Installing film...








Dry the tucks properly. Some installers to be safe use a primer for a better grip. Nevertheless, small stains usually remain but they are not seen on the tucks. If the glue is not strong, the edge can be covered with more transparent sealant, which will eventually wash away but will protect the edge from pulling up.





Final result.





This is the easiest and the most versatile way. There are ways of making patterns in one piece without any joints under film tension, but they require extra experience and knowledge. The novice will not be able to cope with this. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

[alberts316]

That is one way of doing it.  Thanks for showing us that trick.    Lot of time and patience involved with that process. I think less time would be involved bulking it, but everyone is different in skill.

[TintWizard]

I'm not a PPF guy but appreciate the art of what you shared with the site along with pics

[Guest DraykeFields]

That is one way of doing it.  Thanks for showing us that trick.    Lot of time and patience involved with that process. I think less time would be involved bulking it, but everyone is different in skill.

 

Skill's not important here, moreso what the market determines  I honestly envy you fellas cutting over the car, you try that over here and you'd find yourself struggling for business; it's normally always the first question customers ask...that or how much discount can you offer!!

 

@ Savecars: We've always just used craft paper to make our own patterns; might try the application tape method you gys are using as it does appear to be a fair bit easier.  Presumably low tack tape used??

Edited November 13, 2013 by DraykeFields

[PremiumShield Brett]

We have been drawing patterns (creator of Invisible Patterns and now PremiumShield CutStudio) for almost 9 years now. Although I don't physically do the templating anymore, i am amazed at the difficulty of new bumper designs today! The OEM's are striving to be aerodynamic, and also increasing the painted areas on bumpers from years gone by. Almost all cars now have a 100% painted front end, and we are also seeing an increase in bumpers needing to be cut from 30" wide material.

 

When we draw a template, it takes a fully qualified drawer 10-14 hours to complete. It also requires $100-200 worth of film just for test fitting and tweaking the design. NO ONE, and i mean no one, can get a pattern to fit correctly without test-fitting at least once or twice. Given that the first drawing would need to be trimmed on the car anyway, its faster, and cheaper to bulk these kits for novice, or one-time applications.

 

I'm pretty handy, but if I wanted to paint my house, I'd call a professional! Faster, less headaches with a MUCH better result!  Same goes for designing PPF templates.

[savecars]

 

@ Savecars: We've always just used craft paper to make our own patterns; might try the application tape method you gys are using as it does appear to be a fair bit easier.  Presumably low tack tape used??

 

 

Exactly, low tack tape is used but you can do without any glue at all. This is an example of work by one of our colleagues...

 

 

 

[savecars]

That is one way of doing it.  Thanks for showing us that trick.    Lot of time and patience involved with that process. I think less time would be involved bulking it, but everyone is different in skill.

 

 Unfortunately, the only way is cutting the body of a car with the help of a knife... ?

[duggyb]

looks good. why not put your low tack tape on a digitizing board and trace it with the handheld mouse?

[Guest DraykeFields]

looks good. why not put your low tack tape on a digitizing board and trace it with the handheld mouse?

Because it's easier to scan it?!?

[minty]

scan it with what Drayke?