Vinyl Wrapping

[Stub Mandrel]

Could someone who is good at this post a tutorial thread on vinyl wrapping a bass?

I came across this tuff today, apparently it can be used to create invisible butt joints. I imagine there are lots of other tips and ideas...

 

 

[SpondonBassed]

12 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

it can be used to create invisible butt joints

I can't see the point of joining two invisible butts together.

If they were visible however folk would be in awe of your quadrumped keister.  There might be confusion when it comes to sitting on a bicycle though.

Still... it would be good to learn a bit about vinyl wrapping.

[Si600]

49 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

I can't see the point of joining two invisible butts together.

I don't know, it would make an interesting garden feature. Two invisible water butts joined together, with the water seemingly hanging in mid air.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Si600

[Maude]

From being in the automotive refinishing trade all my working life I can say that every 3M product I've used has been excellent and does exactly what it's intended for, they're just one of those manufacturers you can rely on. I've not come across this cutting tape though as it's probably relatively new. 

Whilst not being into wrapping I have wrapped a few panels and it's easier than you'd imagine, as long as your pretty good with your hands. It's surprisingly tough and will happily take to being reapplied a few times while lifting, heating and smoothing it into awkward areas. A bass should be fairly simple as it's mainly flat and then just heat to shrink or stretch it into the curves. It would need joining around the perimeter of the bass which I assume is why you're looking at this tape, which being 3M I would imagine would do the job as intended. 

Wrap isn't expensive and can be taken off with no damage, as long as your original paint is good and you're careful around the cavity edges, so I'd just get some and try it. 

A plain colour would be easier to start with than a pattern or picture due to distorting it around the curves. 

Hopefully someone who actual does wrapping can advise further though. 

[mxm]

I did wrap a cheaper Jazz of mine using blind faith, a hairdryer, a blade and some cheap chrome wrap offcuts bought from eBay, all done on my kitchen floor.

From a distance it looked pretty effective, on closer inspection it was obviously a bit rough as it was my first attempt at such a thing and was eventually let down by the quality of the bought material as it tarnished from sweat and general use - definitely not 3M.

I’ve pics somewhere.

 

[Geek99]

Do they do them in sunburst ? 😛

[Jimothey]

4 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Do they do them in sunburst ? 😛

They do now you mention it! 😂

[Si600]

With a stick on tort scratchplate?

[Geek99]

Awesome idea ...

[kodiakblair]

I've bought vinyl skins from Axe Decals .  Stock prints £19.99,  custom graphics  £24.99.

 

 

https://axedecals.com/product-category/guitar-skins/

[Richard R]

On 31/12/2020 at 01:45, kodiakblair said:

I've bought vinyl skins from Axe Decals .  Stock prints £19.99,  custom graphics  £24.99.

https://axedecals.com/product-category/guitar-skins/

Some of those are great! Some however I cannot imagine being seen dead with:

https://axedecals.com/shop/guitar-skins/religious/good-vs-evil-guitar-wrap-skin/

 

[funkle]

I’m contemplating trying this technique on a bass with 3M vinyl wrap. I plan to either make a butt joint at the sides of the bass, or overlap the front slightly on to the back after doing the rear of the bass first. 

Does anyone know...if I create a butt joint on the side of the bass using the 3M knife less tape, can I leave the join uncovered, or is it better or have an overlap?

[JPJ]

Reminds me of back in the late seventies when I wrapped my Jedson sunburst short scale bass in black sticky backed plastic so that it would look like Phil Lynott's precision (it didn't). 

[Maude]

5 hours ago, funkle said:

I’m contemplating trying this technique on a bass with 3M vinyl wrap. I plan to either make a butt joint at the sides of the bass, or overlap the front slightly on to the back after doing the rear of the bass first. 

Does anyone know...if I create a butt joint on the side of the bass using the 3M knife less tape, can I leave the join uncovered, or is it better or have an overlap?

Vinyl wrap doesn't need the edges to be sealed, so technically, either an overlap or butt joint will be fine. 

In the real world the more wear an edge sees, the more likely it is to start lifting. So a butt joint where the two edges are touching would be preferable, as one edge isn't higher than the other, so wont get snagged. That said, an overlap joint somewhere where it won't get rubbed by your arm or shirt would be preferable to a butt joint in a high wear area. 

I don't know what sort of thing you're planning but if it could be done neatly, a sealing line of clear lacquer or nail varnish might be a good idea, just to stop the edge getting caught on clothing. You could mask a 5mm stripe over the butt joint with 3M Fine Line tape, neatly brush nail varnish on then peel the Fine Line off while still wet to get a really neat edge. This 5mm stripe of varnish would seal the joint line.

If going for a solid matt colour then the varnish will stand out, but if gloss or a pattern then you'd barely see it. 

[funkle]

1 hour ago, Maude said:

Vinyl wrap doesn't need the edges to be sealed, so technically, either an overlap or butt joint will be fine. 

In the real world the more wear an edge sees, the more likely it is to start lifting. So a butt joint where the two edges are touching would be preferable, as one edge isn't higher than the other, so wont get snagged. That said, an overlap joint somewhere where it won't get rubbed by your arm or shirt would be preferable to a butt joint in a high wear area. 

I don't know what sort of thing you're planning but if it could be done neatly, a sealing line of clear lacquer or nail varnish might be a good idea, just to stop the edge getting caught on clothing. You could mask a 5mm stripe over the butt joint with 3M Fine Line tape, neatly brush nail varnish on then peel the Fine Line off while still wet to get a really neat edge. This 5mm stripe of varnish would seal the joint line.

If going for a solid matt colour then the varnish will stand out, but if gloss or a pattern then you'd barely see it. 

Great answer! Thank you. 

I was going to use knifeless tape to create a butt joint along the sides of the instrument. Hopefully not a high wear area. There’s a great video on how to do a good butt joint with 3 line knifeless tape - probably use this technique to get a perfect butt joint.

It would be easy enough to lay another 3 line tape to mask off the butt joint, remove the centre filament and tape, and then use nail varnish in that perfect line to seal it. 

[funkle]

Oh, and I think a gloss pattern is both cheapest and easiest to get hold of. 3M looks like a clear winner in this arena. Can get 1m x 1.5m for £25-£30. So much cheaper than a refinish...

[Maude]

I hadn't seen that tri line tape. That was kind of what I meant with the fine line tape, two strips 5mm apart and lacquer/nail varnish between them. The tri line will be even easier. 

The join line might not need sealing in at all, but if you do, try to peel the tape either side of your lacquer off while the lacquer is still wet. This will allow the edges to flow ever so slightly and leave a nice smooth edge rather than the sharp edge you get when left to dry first. Work out how you can pull the tape off in one easy action as you don't want to let it touch anywhere else with wet lacquer on it. It's not vital but just makes for a slightly nicer finish. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Maude