Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1451382
2 6 G R A P H I C S P R O • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S I G N A G E & P R I N T I N G S o, you have that one customer that wants you to wrap his work truck. e first thing you think and say is, "Absolutely we can do that." en he tells you the truck is a 2013 Chevrolet Dually … and you think of the bed and fenders … then doubt may enter your mind. How are we going to do this? Can we design it to look right? How do we handle the curves? Can we actually install it properly? Can we make money on this one? LESS IS MORE First, you want to start looking at the project and decide if you can get the customer's information across in such a way that it is clean and easy to read. ere are times when less is more, espe- cially when you are dealing with a truck bed like this. ere are only a few areas on the bed that are truly flat. You should keep those areas in mind if you are looking to place information on the bed and in the print. Overlays are always an option if you are con- cerned about the final placement of the customer's information. MATERIAL MATTERS Choosing your material for this type of wrap will be critical for your project to be successful. For this, we chose 3 M 480CV3 Envision Print Wrap Film with its corresponding laminate. I have also wrapped these trucks with 3M 180CV3 and had great results. e other thing to think about is, "How big do I need to make this panel to wrap this fender in one piece?" We determined that a panel that was 53" × 124" would be large enough to give us the length needed to start from the cab and end on the tailgate. e height needed to be 53" to give me plenty of material to wrap over the top of the bed and down below the bottom edge of the bed with plenty of extra. You need the excess material to heat and stretch during the install with a minimum amount of stress on the graphic. VEHICLE PREP & DRY-FITTING I prep the vehicle per my normal cleaning process. A basic wash first, then I remove the marker lights and tape the connector to the bed so I don't lose them in the inner fender well. e next steps are prep sol wipe and a final cleaning with isopropyl alco- hol diluted with water (2/3 alcohol, 1/3 water). Once I have finished prepping the vehicle, I am ready to dry-fit Dually Done Solo HOW TO WRAP THE SIDE PANEL OF A GIANT FENDER BY YOURSELF B Y M I K E Z I C K Once I finish prepping the vehicle, I dry-fit the graphic by taping it to the cab to make a hinge and match it up to the cab graphics, which I usually apply first.