It Took 250 Hours to Wrap This Lamborghini Huracan

This vehicle wrap won a 2022 Best of Wide Format Award from our sister publication, Big Picture. You can view all of the award-winning projects here.

THERE ARE SOME clients PSPs never hear from again, and there are others that come back pushing the envelope of what digital print can do. Ink Wrapz (Tulsa, OK) customers tend to fall into the latter category. After the success of a “Mario Kart Bowser” vehicle wrap with 3D spikes, Eddie Hall, a return client, challenged Ink Wrapz to do something else that had never been done before: Turn a 2018 Lamborghini Huracan into wide-format vehicle wrap art with layered wraps, hand-applied ink, ceramic coating work, and more.

In three weeks, the Ink Wrapz team put in 250 hours of design, prep, production, and installation. “At the time of conception, we still had only a theory that this could even be possible,” says Brandon Barnett, owner, Ink Wrapz. “We documented the whole process as we did our R&D to source the right materials and establish the techniques and processes required for the end result.”

After templating each body panel (some with multiple layers) in the exact shape of the car to make the design fit perfectly, the shop utilized its HP Latex 335 press to image 3M IJ180 Controltac graphic film with 3M Scotchcal Gloss Overlaminate 8518, finishing with a Graphtec FC9000-160 vinyl cutter and Royal Sovereign RSC-1651CLTW cold roll laminator. Ink Wrapz installed four layers of material: Orafol Oracal 651 vinyl for a “multilayer embossing” effect and 3M 1080 Gloss Fiery Orange for the color change, using TransferRite Ultra Clear 1310 Medium Tack Transfer Tape and 3M Knifeless Tape to template each art panel to fit the car – installing each layer separately. A final challenge was hand-applying and distressing raw ink with a variety of materials. “We were still working on the final details at 3 a.m. the night before the 30-plus-person photo shoot with celebrity Danny Boy O’Connor from House of Pain onsite,” says Barnett. “We feel this project represents wide format in a way that is innovative, creative, and exciting.”

Tools and Supplies: 3M Wrap Film Series 1080-G364 Gloss Fiery Orange film, Orafol Oracal 651 Intermediate Calendered Vinyl, HP Latex 335 printer, 3M IJ180 Controltac graphic film, 3M Scotchcal Gloss Overlaminate 8518,Graphtec FC9000-160 vinyl cutter, 65-inch Royal Sovereign RSC-1651CLTW cold roll laminator, TransferRite Ultra Clear 1310 Medium Tack Transfer Tape, 3M Knifeless Tape