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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | Has anyone looked into having their bike wrapped as an alternative to custom painting? I watched a show recently that made it look pretty appealing. Any design you can imagine and protecting the original finish were 2 of the big draws. |
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Fountain Inn, SC United States | Chris Calaprice (http://road2acure.org) had a Vision, donated by Victory, that was wrapped in purple. Held up very well. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | A couple of comments if you will indulge me.
Graphic wraps have their place IF you recognize that they are not paint, and that all wraps , printers (equipment and their operators) and the installers are not created equal.
As far as the materials are concerned be sure to specify that you want a matched component system (vinyl, ink and laminate) and ask for a copy of the warranty in writing. The most popular are 3M and Avery.
A graphic wrap is at absolute best a 5-7 year outdoor durability product. 90% of ink systems on the market for digital printing will only give an 18 month durability. So be careful and ask. Just so we are clear, the true 5-7 year products are much more expensive. Salespeople have a tendency to exaggerate the durability of their products. Make sure that you are getting the product that you want and that the ink is certified to give that durability by the manufacturer.
Again ask for the warranty in writing.
While 18 months would seem like a lot of hours when compared to the number of hours most bikes spend outdoors, any UV light source will begin the process of fading (most electric light contains some UV). If your garage has windows, then the parts that face the windows will fade faster than those on the other side of the bike. Also UV fades the magenta and yellow pigments first, so if you are printing a bright red this is your most vulnerable color.
Given the fact that you will be looking at your bike and its design up close you will probably want a digital printer capable of producing a minimum of 600 dpi. Ask for samples of similar designs to evaluate the print quality being offered and so you understand what you are buying. Also make sure that the print mode you are seeing on samples is the mode that they will use in production. Many printers tend to speed up their presses in production in order to make a deadline, which has the result of reducing the quality of the print.
Demand Quality , but be willing to pay for it.
Ink is not paint - I cant stress that enough. You will not see the same depth of color that you are used to seeing with custom paint espeically when viewed up close.
Lets talk art for a minute - like all computer operations remember GIGO - if your original images are low resolution or of poor quality they will not improve after being blown up to decorate your Vision.
Finally you will want a very good installer - many installers have skills which are adequate for trucks and vans; but a guy who owns a Vision is going to have a very different level of expectation than guy with a commercial fleet. Given the number of panels with complex compound curves matching a complicated design element from panel to panel will be a challenge for a good installer. You should consult with the installer before settling on a design.
Removal of vinyl graphics is not always as simple as "grab an edge and pull" and it can cause damage. At best you will leave some glue residue that will have to be removed mechanically or chemically. I would not count on a wrap "protecting" the original finish, especially given the known softness of the Visions clear coat.
You can begin by looking for a certified installer here. http://www.sgia.org/pdaa/installerSearch.cfm
Hope this helps.
Edited by Tarpits99 2011-12-04 11:15 AM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | Great information to have Fred - Thanks.
TV can make a pile of dog poo look good. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | Tarpits, thanks for some great info! Thanks for enlightening on a number of issues! |
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Graphic Wraps
