DIY Vinyl Wrap Help

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Odin

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So, I recently traded up from a normal 2500 to the Power Wagon. Before this occurred I'd been in talks with a guy at AEV about their hood decal. He agreed to send me one a while ago and hadn't received it yet. Talked to him again today and he said it's sitting boxed in warehouse with shipping label and isn't sure why they never sent it so he'll do it personally tomorrow.

Here's the thing now... The PW decals are all gloss black and I've located some matte black decals for the bed side stripe. Can't find th current version for the tailgate in matte black so I decided to go with the previous one which covers the entire bottom of the tailgate, which I'm fine with. I'll also have to do a matte black vinyl across the rocker panels and bottom of the doors.

The hood I'll have installed so it's perfectly lined up but I plan on doing the others myself.

I know people here have done vinyl work, what's been your experiences? Anyone have any tips or tricks other than just patience, which I already know is required. Lol. I've watched videos on YouTube but it's easier to talk with ppl who have experience. So let's hear it...

I'll also be wrapping the roof matte black and be putting the red vinyl overlays on the RAM tailgate and grille emblems.

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micbegls1

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Ive never done a full car, but i have done many hoods, roofs, trims, ect.

My advice to you is start small. Do the overlays and tiny things first. Once you do those, move onto the more forgiving stuff. Like the roof. Its going to be hard but the roof on most cars has a sunroof in the middle, aka another place to push all the bubbles to if its to hard to get them to the edges.

Also, heat is your friend. Dont be upset if you mess up and need to start over. Vinyl loves its original shape, so some heat will bring it back and you can just redo.
 
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Odin

Odin

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Awesome! Thank you!

Def no sunroof on my truck. Lol. And I'm in AZ, so your saying I should do it during th hottest part of the day and I won't even need a hairdryer/heat gun? Lol

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mohemipar

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I just wrapped the hood on my Charger a few weeks ago. From my noob perspective...

First thing I’d say is get the prep work right. I clay barred the **** out of the hood with a clay mitt and I still ended up with a spot or two of some invisible particles of crap under the film. Very hard to notice, but it’s annoying. I washed and dried, clay barred and then used 70% alcohol wipes. Then right before applying the film I made sure to hit the area again with a clean dry microfiber.

Try to get whatever piece you're working with as flat and bubble free as possible when you first lay it down. It really does help.

When you squeegee, try to work strategically and think about how you're pushing the film down and where air is escaping and how it will effect the next area you are going to work on. Especially around curves and recessed areas.

Don’t under estimate trimming the edges. I used a brand new Xacto knife with a brand new blade and it cut well, but you need to be careful and use a steady hand. It helps to rest a couple fingers or your hand on the panel to get the best support for a straight cut.


1oiVLB0.jpg
 
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Odin

Odin

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That looks awesome! Thank you for the tips! I will put them to good use!

Is that satin matte black or just regular matte?

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mohemipar

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Thanks. It is Avery satin black. Apparently the Avery has some channels underneath that help air escape easier.
 

CHIWS6

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It’s time consuming but so worth it. I did this in December with my brother and it took us 5 days to do it. Definitely don’t do this in direct sunlight

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Odin

Odin

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Did you wrap the whole truck in that New Holland Blue or just the bumper and grill? Looks nice man.

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CHIWS6

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The whole truck was wrap in smurf blue, this is the original color

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Odin

Odin

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My bad. That's looked like the Holland blue. That's freaking awesome though!

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CHIWS6

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I just purchase a white sport hood and wrapped that As well. I love wrapping things lol. If u get bored of the color just peel it off and start with something else

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Odin

Odin

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Lol. Wish you were in AZ to help me with my project then. Like I said, only thing I will have professional done is the hood cause of the size of the vinyl. Pretty confident I can put the bedside vinyls on straight and the roof is a whole piece. Doing the lights in the roof and antenna might me interesting though

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