The bumpers still look fantastic,


but unfortunately, just four weeks later, the carbon fibre vinyl has started to peel away from the bumper at the very bottom on one side. I’m certain that this is not the fault of the vinyl but due to it being handled too much, over and over again, with dirty hands during our training session, but this was part of the learning process. The area beginning to peel is on the most complicated corner of the bumper, where we had several application attempts because we couldn’t get it right at first. James really knows his stuff


Attendees getting hands on experience in wrapping a Ferrari. The first hands-on experience we had


was applying calendered vinyl to various parts of a van (side panels, doors, etc) which had been affixed to the walls of APA’s workshop area to make working easier. Then we worked with a thinner cast vinyl, 55µm thick, that had totally different characteristics. Neither of these vinyls has air channels, and on reflection I think they were a very good choice. They weren’t the easiest to apply and taught us a lot about the different characteristics of thick and thin materials, and calendered and cast vinyls. On the second day we wrapped the


bumpers of my wife’s Ford Fiesta. (My wife Lizanne hadn’t completely agreed, but I was confident that she’d like them when she saw the finished job!). We also had the pleasure of working on the bonnet, roof, rear and air intakes of a Ferrari owned by one of the sign makers on the course. APA’s WrapCast Carbon Fibre effect vinyl, a durable cast


film for complete coverage of flat and very curved surfaces, was used on both cars. We chose silver for the Fiesta and black for the Ferrari, from the six colours available in that range. The WrapCast Carbon Fibre vinyl has


APA’s Air Free FT-System where the glue is structured with small channels to allow air under the vinyl to escape, which makes wrapping easier. At 140 µm this WrapCast vinyl was


much thicker than the other vinyls and I found the thickness made it a real pleasure to work with compared to thinner media. Being extra thick, it felt like the WrapCast vinyl would absorb and therefore also lose the heat from the heatgun much more slowly. This allowed me to achieve a more equal temperature over the whole piece of vinyl I was working with, as well as giving me a longer working time and better control as I stretched it round bumpers and other curves.


on vehicle wrapping and I learnt a lot in just two days. I’m beginning to understand just how skilled a job


wrapping is but I believe this course has put me in a good position to be able to start wrapping vehicles. Not sure I’d want to do this for a client quite yet, I could do with more experience and I now realise how incredibly difficult it is for one person to do it on their own. There are many sign makers out there


that buy a vinyl cutter and are up and running with less than £2000 spent, so the whole cut vinyl market is incredibly competitive. Having vehicle wrapping skills enables a sign maker to offer something that’s specialist and opens up a new market that may not be as fiercely competitive. Personally, I found the course very


enjoyable and very informative, and well worth any sign maker attending that wants to broaden their horizons. To book a place on one of these


courses contact APA at www.apaspa.com or telephone 020 8311 4400. To contact James regarding bespoke courses, go to www.biggerstickers.co.uk


APA’s WrapCast Carbon Fibre effect final in silver was used on the Fiesta. A newly wrapped Fiesta rear bumper. ISSUE 126 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 Sign Update 69


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