Advances in todays print hardware, software, and materials are opening up a wide (format) variety of options for clients interested in customization—particularly with vehicle wraps. Many of today’s car owner customers want something that not only reflects their interests but also want something that no one else has.
One such customer recently switched out the vinyl graphics on his 2016 Corvette C7 Stingray for Japanese-inspired graphics, as one talented vinyl specialist followed the wrapper’s bushido (code) to make this request happen.
Steve Carney has been wrapping vehicles (cars, trucks, fleets, and even planes) for nearly fifteen years now, and he and his wife Jen have made an imprint in this field by winning accolades for their creative designs. The couple started up and owns Carbon Wraps in Winter Park, Florida.
“We always like to make our wraps as artistic and original as possible,” says Steve Carney, “to keep art alive and continue to ‘wow’ people.”
Carbon Wraps had already wrapped this Corvette C7 Stingray two years ago. They designed and installed a artistic, collage-style Day of the Dead theme printed with white UV ink onto Matte Black vinyl. The liquid ink was cured with UV light, resulting in the white being raised on top of the wrap and giving it a mind-blowing, tattoo-like appearance. In fact, this wrap won Carney’ region in Avery Dennison’s Wrap Like a King contest in 2016.
“He was ready for a change though,” says Carney. “He loved his original wrap so much that he still wanted to stay with the art collage style that we’d come up with for it but to make it more subtle.”
The customer requested something with a Japanese style, but at the time, all he knew he wanted was to incorporate a dragon into the new design.
“While he felt the last full wrap was amazing, as a daily driver, he wanted something more discreet,” says Carney, noting that the client still wanted to keep some of the flair found in the Day of the Dead wrap.
The Carneys ran with that idea and added more Japanese iconography. “Together we decided that, in addition to dragons, samurais were a ‘must’ for this wrap,” says Carney. “Then my wife and I added geishas and ninjas, along with the other elements, into the wrap design.”
The customer is a big fan of matte black and thought it would be cool to use black ink for these graphics. Fortunately the Carneys had already printed different shades of purple onto matte purple vinyl for a previous client (resulting in a purple camouflage appearance), so they were ahead-of-the-curve in figuring out how to achieve this. They felt a ghosted appearance for the graphics would work best.
Carbon Wraps used the same Pro Vehicle Outline template they had created for the Day of the Dead wrap. “Templates are more for reference, so we also always take our own photos and double-check all the measurements,” says Carney. “Going from a flat 2D appearance to a live 3D install is different. You have to have a good understanding of design and install to fit a wrap to a car.”
Initial testing, however, showed that matte black vinyl and UV black ink wouldn’t work well. “We initially used a new textured laminate and discovered the contrast was no longer visible. We quickly realized that a laminate was not going to work for this project,” says Carney.
Since cut graphics were not going to be a presentable option for this black-on-black wrap, Steve and Jen instead printed the Gloss Black designs onto twenty yards of 3M 1080 Matte Deep Black vinyl using a latex ink. Their detailer coated the vinyl instead of using a laminate.
Every vehicle that Carbon Wraps applies vinyl to is detailed and taken apart (without a Katana sword) for installation. “We then hand-prep the vinyl panels with alcohol, knifeless tape, etc., prior to wrapping,” says Carney. “After we finish prepping the vehicle, I find that it’s helpful to have at least two installers and the rendering for reference.”
Since this was a printed wrap, Carbon Wraps broke the panels up by sides, hood, hatch, and bumpers. The hood lined up to the bumper to create the samurai mask, the hatch lined up to the back bumper showing the ninjas and geisha with fan, and the sides were their own scenes with samurais, geisha, dragons, ninjas, and towers. “Because each view is unique, we had to be sure each view of the vehicle was its own story,” says Carney.
As a lover of Japanese martial arts and culture, Carney found this project especially fun. “The monochromatic style of this wrap displays that classic colors worked in an imaginative way can still give a powerful impact,” he says. “When we bring a client’s vision to life, and they’re happy with the results, it’s the greatest reward.”
—Jeff Wooten
