This is a basic vehicle wrapping tutorial to be used on delivery, cube, straight, and 48 ft - 53 ft commercial transports. This vinyl application method is very quick and versatile on primarily flat surfaces and can be used also in wrapping buses.

Commercial trailer and truck vehicle wraps or what is commonly known as fleet graphics are a great way to not only get volume orders for square footage but can be turned around quickly with large margins. With this vehicle wrap tutorial you should be able to speed through the application of a large commercial transport and with a few laborers behind you to complete the finishing of rivets - you should be able to have them out in no time at all.

1. Lay up ALL of your panels with masking tape with the proper overlap to ensure that your final image will fit well and no critical areas such as copy or logos will be cut away. Spend extra time setting up all panels in their positions so you’ll not have to revisit their alignment later on.

2. Begin with the final panel on each respective side of the trailer so that the sequence of panels overlapping will match the natural driving direction of the vehicle.

3. Tape the next panel out of your way while working on the first one. You can do this by loosely folding the next panel over and taping so as it’s out of your way while working. Starting at approximately 12″ down, place horizontal masking tape along the first panel.

4. Release the top of the panel, removing backing paper from the upper section, and finally cutting away.

5. While holding the center of this section tight, squeegee from the center out in a horizontal direction to create a smooth and even bead to start with.

6. After your first horizontal stroke is complete, continue upwards in any sensible fashion to complete the area. What you should have applied is the upper 12″ and the rest hanging beneath it with backing paper on.

7. At this point, roll back your backing paper about 36″ - 48″ down. Place your hand in the center of the vinyl just below the area you peeled back, pushing down on 2 layers of backing paper and one layer of vinyl.

8. With your opposite hand starting from the center, squeegee using the felt edge from the top straight down.

9. Reposition your bottom hand to be parallel to the next stroke and again squeegee from the top straight down.

10. Continue to move outward in both directions, making sure your bottom hand is always positioned directly below the squeegee stroke until you reach a row of rivets.

11. Once at the rivets (if there is any), you’ll need to switch to your hard edge of your squeegee and your stroke will be different than the top down stroke you had for most of the panel. With the hand that isn’t holding your squeegee, hold your vinyl on the side.

12. In a swift and short 45 degree jabbing motion, hit the rivets in a slight diagonal while holding the vinyl tight on the side. Continue to do this all the way down the row of rivets.

13. Complete the rest of the vehicle wrap panel as you have in other flat areas until the your 36″ - 48″ area is finished, roll back more backing paper, and repeat the previous steps.

The process may sound quite elaborate, but it really is quick and simple. A 9 ft vehicle wrap panel should take you no longer than 5-10 mins. each to finish and the rest of your time can be spent on heating and finishing work.