how to apply vinyl into the recessed van window ?

[contigo]

Hello, Could you please help me with this ? It's the first time I am going to to something like this. I need to lay vinyl inside recessed van window.
I dont know if it is better to cut rectangle shape maybe 1 inch bigger and then cut the shape on the van by hand, or cut exact size and then cut just the rounded corners, or buy knifeless tape ???
Than you very much

 

[Jester1167]

Knifeless is the answer. I wouldn't cut that much on the van.

 

[HulkSmash]

cut flush with the drop, and lay. If the customer doesn't want it that way, they go somewhere else.

 

[contigo]

cut flush with the drop, and lay. If the customer doesn't want it that way, they go somewhere else.

Sorry but I realy dont know what does the "cut flush with the drop, and lay" mean :/

 

[Jester1167]

I think Colorado thought you were talking about a full wrap on an old style sprinter van. Those have about a 2.5" gap that is about .75" deep around the windows. If you try to stretch the vinyl in there it will fail. So what he is talking about is you install the vinyl on the high spots and then cut on both sides of the gap and drop the "donut" into the bottom of the recess.

You have a different vehicle and in your case I got the impression you were installing in the window area only. For that I would put knifeless where you want to cut your graphics, oversize the prints, install them, and then use the knifeless to trim to size. Make sure you heat and re-squeegee the edges.

 

[HulkSmash]

Sorry but I realy dont know what does the "cut flush with the drop, and lay" mean :/

See attached image.

The red is the vinl, and the black is the van. Bridge it over the channel, cut on the circles. Lay in the recess.

 

[contigo]

Oh guys you are perfect, thank you very much for your answers. That's exactly what I needed to see.
I also bought the knifeless tape, I will try both method. But it's not a calendered vinyl, just standard polymeric with lamination, so heating the edges will not help me probably.

 

[letterman7]

Reheat the edges anyway to make sure they're down. Better safe than have it peel up when they first wash it.

Neat little truck. It's amazing how much that looks like a downsized Sprinter..

 

[SIGNTIME]

I for one think it would be much easier and faster to plot the graphic to size