Re: 75 Dually build
 

Got the tailgate trim panel finished. I like this grey better than the first go around. It will be a good accent color.

At least this is something I can check off my list of to do's!

Now on to harder items...

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 75 Dually build
 

That looks great!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

OK here is a big announcement!

I have been working on getting this truck ready for paint for quite some time, most of you who have been following my build already know this. The big thing is that I'm not going to paint it. I'm going to wrap it. The list of reasons is actually fairly long, and I'm going to give this a try. In the last picture I posted the tailgate trim was wrapped. I bet most of you thought it was paint. The results are really good in my opinion.

So as soon as I am done with all the body work it will get wrapped. The picture below shows several samples I laid out on the hood. I chose the blue that is in the circle. You can also see a piece of the rear cab trim that I have done in the same grey as the tailgate panel. The blue is going to be my primary color and the grey the accent color. The blue is a Porsche GT3 blue, and the grey they call Elephant Grey.

The brand I chose was Vvivid vinyl. They are rated very high and so far I have liked the way it applies and it is very easy to work with. Unlike paint if you mess it up, you simply pull it back up, heat it up, and it will take all the wrinkles out and you go at it once again. This is an amazing substance to work with, much higher tech than you would think.

I know you are going to have a ton of questions. I will try my best to answer them as always, but understand I'm in a time crunch for LST so I will do the best I can.

I hope to log this portion of the build fairly closely. For those guys out there on a budget this is a super way to finish out your ride and not break the bank like paint can.

Stay tuned!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Almost close to the original suburban blue u started with.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Depending on the lighting yes, but in the dark it becomes a different blue. I think this will be really cool when it is finished.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Are you wrapping it directly over primer?
Or do you need a base coat of paint under the wrap to seal out moisture?

I had a '68 Camaro years ago that had a vinyl top put on over primer.
When I removed the vinyl top the roof was solid RUST!
So bad,... I had to replace to roof skin.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Awesome, I will definitely be watching closely. Vinyl has come a long way in recent years.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I would like to know what the total cost is for a truck that big...

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I'll be watching the wrap progress for sure. I've priced them but they are about the same cost to have done as a decent paint job. I've looked and the rolls of vinyl arent to expensive so it is something I've kicked around to try myself....

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Not exactly unless you're talking a 'home done' paint job. Materials are expensive for a quality paint job through a shop w/just a solid color. The time to disassemble/reassemble things (@ a shop) + tape, paper, & other expendables adds up quickly.

My buddy has a collision shop that also does occasional customs & opted to wrap his CC dually. He knocked out the bodywork to get it straight & had it wrapped. The guy had it done in a day & that was w/multi-colored graphics & writing. My buddy sold that dually a year or so ago & the wrap was 4-5yrs old @ that point.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Vinyl tops and vinyl wrap are totally different materials. If moisture ever gets under this you can see the edge being compromised and know that you have an issue before the paint/substrate is ever seeing a rust issue. Plus I don't really plan on keeping it there but for a couple of seasons at the most. Vinyl tops are known for being porous and trapping moisture. Vinyl wrap is water proof.

The 100' x 5' roll of wrap, which is more than enough to do my entire truck, cost $460 delivered. I do have a small sheet of accent color, so say in the end $550 for the whole setup. For a truck like yours you could easily get away with 75' roll, and have tons of extra! The PPG paint I wanted to use (very similar color to what I picked for the vinyl) was $491 a gallon. That was at a reduced cost because a friend who owns a hot rod shop here in town was letting me use his account number. Oh BTW that did not include any other chemicals, reducer, thinners, and did not even include any clear coat. I was going to need at least 2 gallons of everything, so my bill before I even shot the first layer was going to be around $2000 in just materials.

See my note above on the actual cost of PPG paint I was considering. I would have to say that you are correct, a decent paint job done by a shop, and a wrap job done by a wrap installer would be fairly close in overall cost. My assumption is that the paint they are using is single stage or a very low cost base coat clear coat option. Yes you can buy cheap paint, and in the end, in my opinion, you get a cheap paint job. Now for some that is perfectly acceptable, and in all truth for some vehicles it is OK. However for a show vehicle, or even something close you get what you pay for in paint. For me because I was doing this all myself it was the cost of materials that I had to deal with and not someone else's labor.

I hope all this helps!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I like the idea, but to me I would think the jams and inside of the doors will be a bear to do. I'm interested to see how this comes out. And if you use epoxy primer, shouldn't that not allow moisture in and rust not to form?

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I was basing my comparaison on most of the disassembly and some prep work being done before going to the shop and the reassembly being done on my own as well. The two shops I contacted about a wrap with no graphics just a stock squarebody two tone were both over 2000 from what I remember. I never planned on a show killer paint job for my truck, I dont want to be afraid of driving it. I know you get what you pay for with paint, but a big chunk of the cost is in labor and shop time for things easily done on your own.

Regardless, I'm interested to see the outcome here, please share any tips/tricks that you learn during the process when you have a chance.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

The costs seem very reasonable for the vinyl and doing the wrapping yourself will save a bunch of labor $$'s. I painted a CC Dually 20 years ago, 2 tone in PPG single stage, I had over $1500 in materials alone...NOT including the materials used for the body work and primers.

Another plus to the wrap is that if you start say a rear door, but you don't have time to finish, its not a big deal to stop. With paint, once you mix the materials, you got to spray it on something. Otherwise you are throwing money away.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

This may seem crazy, but I'm looking forward to the jambs. Technical yes, but I am patient when trying things like this out and I'm fairly good at tamping down frustration if and when it arises. The only issue I see on that will be the hinges, those I most likely will paint a flat black. On the primer yes the epoxy primers are generally water proof. Their issue is more sun exposure which breaks down the chemical bonds. UV is tough on this stuff, but hidden below the vinyl should be I hope a good mix. Now I could go shoot a cheap single stage for a protection, and that could be a good option here. Been thinking about it...

Good points above. I'll keep you in the loop as I progress!

Your second point is well made. Yeah if you get frustrated you can just put everything down, go get a sandwich, complain to the wife until she kicks you out of the house again, and go right back at it. My big roll gets in Tuesday this coming week, and I can't wait to start laying down some panels. I will start with the jambs first so I can get the hard stuff out of the way. Luckily the door jambs on square bodies are fairly flat and straight forward. One blessing to be thankful for!


Special note:

Something for you guys to think about, and I have been giving it considerable thought as to how to do the roof and rear panel that holds the rear window. Think about this, the vinyl is only 5' wide. now the roof is fairly wide, and the rear panel is even wider than that. They have a product out there called knifeless tape. So I don't have to describe the product and how to use it go pull it up on YouTube it will really help with this discussion. It is 1/8" wide fine tape with a Kevlar string in the middle of it. Basically you put this tape down first then the vinyl goes over it, and then you pull the string through the vinyl to cut it. The cool thing is you can make butt joints between two pieces of vinyl that are very hard to see. Again go see the stuff on YouTube it will do a better job showing you it than I can. I have some of this tape that I plan on using for this portion of the layout. Basically what I want you to think about is how to solve this 3D puzzle. Where should you place material and where to place cut lines so they are as little noticeable to the eye as possible.

For the roof I plan on using the roof ribs as a place to hide the cut lines. It's when you get on the back panel that things become somewhat interesting. You will have the material covering the sides and doors of the truck, plus the material coming off the roof to deal with. That material will have to wrap around the sides and over the top somehow and come in contact with the rear panel material. Where those cut lines are and where the material contacts is a fun puzzle to solve. If this was your truck how would you go about laying this out. This is what I meant when I say I enjoy this stuff. Solving problems like this is interesting to me, and if I or you can come up with a good solution then we all benefit.

So your assignment is to think about how to integrate all the 5' panels of material covering the sides/rear panel/roof area. This might sound easy in some respects, but go out to your truck and think "I can't show any cut lines if at all possible, and yet I still have to cover the area". Don't tell me this stuff ain't fun!

Have fun with it and let me know your thoughts!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Homework......what???? The knife tape is pretty cool. I haven't come across it yet, but it makes a lot of sense. I watched a few videos at lunch today and was running through the same challenges in my head. I haven't thought too much about it since I need some measurements from my truck to fully wrap my head around it. The tape changes things for me since I am doing a two tone with a third color seperating the main two. I was going to layer the vinyl, but the tape will allow me to keep it all 1 layer, thus saving vinyl and money.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Well it's Wednesday now and no update. Must be busy laying down the vinyl.....or still planning it out. Can't wait to see how it unfolds!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Yes I was laying it down until 11:30 last night. I should have some first pics later.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

So tonight was not as late in the shop as yesterday was, yesterday lasted until 11:30! So far I have wrapped the front panel for the bed, and as you can see below the tailgate is done. Now don't forget the stainless trim is also done in that grey wrap too. I really like this blue color, and I think the accent grey works well with the blue.

I am learning a ton with the first few pieces. First you have to keep everything as clean as possible, just like you would with window tint. If you keep that sort of thought process in mind it will be a big help if you try this in the future. This is such a cool material to work with. If you mess up and wrinkle the film you just simply heat it up and it will flatten right back out. I'm using a heat gun and I am using only the low setting because you can burn this stuff. If you do that you have to start all over again. Second be patient because if you rush this you results will suffer.

I'll keep the pics coming as I get parts completed. Tomorrow night I am going to try and tackle the dually fenders. That is going to be one of the hard parts to cover. I just hope it is not too hard...

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I like it.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I'm in love with the color you went with. Ironically i'm not a big blue fan, but that looks awesome.
The knifeless tape works excellent. A friend of a friend does wraps and I saw some of their work on the hood of a car. The did carbon fiber panels on a black car. The panels were in the center of the hood and did not extend over an edge. I assumed it was a decal with adhesive, but it was wrap and its very stable. You should be just fine cutting and seaming behind the roof ribs.
:metal:

Do you have an Instagram feed? Send me progress pics for a feature.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

I looked at a bunch of different blues before I went with this hue. In all truth I was a bit nervous about it as well, but after I got it put down and laid that grey wrapped panel on top of it all that worry went out the window. I also got to use the knifeless tape already on the front bed panel. Yes it is amazing stuff!

I quit using Instagram because I got hijacked a couple of months ago and just deleted it off my phone. I like the app, but I guess I will have to go back and start it again. Is there another way I can get the progress pictures to you? Maybe Facebook? Just let me know.

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Keep it up- looks great!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

Round 2! The passenger dually fender is done!! I knew this would be hard from the outset, but I'm a patient guy so I just worked on it little by little and it came out better than I thought it would. Once I did one side of the fender I figured out how to do the other side a little bit easier. Typical... Oh well... Tomorrow night is the drivers side dually fender. This weekend I hope to have the bed sides completed. That way at least the bed would be done.

I have some holes to weld up where the old trim went, and then I will primer the cab. Then the real fun begins!

Lots to do!

Stay tuned!!

Re: 75 Dually build
 

WOW! Im impressed. Ill follow along to see how this goes.