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If you've ever wanted to customize your bike with a unique color or pattern to stand out on your cycling adventures, then Rvinyl has got you covered. Completely change the look and feel of your bike with a premium quality wrap from Rwraps, 3M, Avery Dennison or ORAFOL. We've also decided to team up with Justin Pate from the Wrap Institute to show us how to precisely wrap your bike so you can achieve professional level results. Check out the full video below and then keep scrolling to get a step by step guide and tips to make your purchase and installation smooth. You will want to assemble the following tools prior to before buying film.
Bike frames naturally have a lot of oil that builds up on them, so put extra focus on cleaning to ensure that the surface has a high surface energy so the wrap film can stick.
Next up is to prep the frame with 3M Knifeless tape. Placed it at the front because the idea is to leave this area exposed at the very end to highlight the logo and the color. Then at the bottom of the bike frame, is where there's going to be an overlap, so the pieces are going to be cut separately so it has good long term hold. Because this is a direct cut on the body Knifeless Tape is optimal.
Now we measure the bike frame to determine how much of the vinyl you'll need to use. Make sure you have enough material left to right and top to bottom.
You can either have someone hold the frame for you at this moment or place it on a vice, then flip the panel over the top of the frame. Once it is set at the halfway point.
Now pick the frame up and lay it on the table. Using a squeegee with a buffer, lock the material on the top side of the frame. Then for the front section, because this is the curviest, give it a little heat, then form it onto this wide section. Use one hand to hold the material off the surface safely as the material is squeegeed into place. Once it is firmly there that it can be fed back in towards the middle part of the frame.
Now, go to the front of the frame where the Knifeless tape is and take it just to that point. Make a relief cut here to access the Knifeless tape, release the line and then remove the excess film low and flat away. With a front of the frame locked in place, the focus is on the middle section of the frame from top to bottom. Before focusing on those areas, secure it to the middle post.
By working and stretching the material straight at this point, it will help evenly distribute the film on the right and left of this area. Lock the material up to the table coming at the squeegee and make a long squeegee stroke towards the front. Now the material sits in place, so the inside portion is set. Once it is secure on this middle post, put on an application glove and form the film as far as you can without heat towards the inside portion of the upper area. Once the top section is set, warm the film and stretch it evenly towards the right and left of the middle section. Use an application glove to form it around the middle part, always pay attention to wrinkles and smooth them out. And so the materials relaxes towards the underside of the frame. Once the material is bunching up, make a relief cut so it can relax to the Knifeless Tape, which is then removed safely and cleanly without cutting directly on the frame.
Now, move towards the left side of the frame. The material is relaxed just past the middle area, so for here there's an open area, so a relief cut can be made and this will make this section much easier to install. The material is cut flush to the back post, and now once everything is on the frame itself, the aeas in the middle can be cut safely away and this will help form the film further onto the inside portion. For the big area, the material is to be float cut, which means a freehand pulls the excess film away, while the material is cut roughly a quarter inch past the edge. This then allows the film to be wrapped around with no tension and full coverage.
With the back section to complete, we move onto the large open section where the film is cut away, leaving two to three inches of film on all sides. Then it's formed into place. Heat can be added to soften the film and be sure to focus on the deepest corner areas first. These are what's called mouths. If you feed these first, there's less tension. Then use a knife to cut away the excess film once it's wrapped roughly to the other side of the frame. The blade is to be run alongside the bike frame, not on it.
Flip the frame over, and it's very important to start the section correctly. Leave the backing paper on so there's uniform tension left to right and heat, and now the film is flipped over the other side. Hold with even tension and then lock it in place. Once it's started correctly, remove the entire liner and install with the exact same protocol. Focus on the front first, then evenly stretch the film around the frame. Form the film to the other side, which means the material overlaps on the inside portion of the frame. This means there's a very strong hold and the chance of it separating is minimal. The overlap edges disappear into the body lines as a result. Afterwards, repeat Steps 6-10.
For the key areas where the hardware is going to go back onto the frame, always be sure to cut these out. If you put the hardware on top of the frame it can cause the material to shift over time and actually come off the surface, so it is always a good idea to cut it flush, clean and symmetrical so it looks super professional. So here at this section, always run the blade alongside the gap, so it goes in nice and clean. Same thing for the top.
With everything cut out and sealed, the final step is to wipe it down with the after care cleaning product from Rvinyl to make the finish pristine.