WBC Graphics LLC (Apopka, FL) upped a Honda Fit’s macho factor considerably for a shop vehicle it uses for sales calls and related visits. The design team of Luis Tirado, Glencora Martinez and Carlos Matta conducted research at an airstrip 40 miles from the shop, and perused World War II-era nose art at the Kissimmee Air Museum.
The graphics replicate the color scheme and artwork of World War II-era fighter planes. The designers translated their original sketches into digital artwork using Adobe Creative Suite 5 and SA Intl.’s The Bad Wrap vehicle-wrap-design software. Key design points include a new WBC logo and rivets, arrows and intricate color textures and gradients that reinforce the image of a sleek jet in flight – and, the ferocious, gaping shark-tooth mouth on the front fender.
“The 3-D look of the rivets compels viewers to get close and touch them every time,” Tirado said. “The most challenging part of the job was aligning all the rivets with the body contours to avoid installation-day issues.”
After having used xylene to remove leftover adhesive and 3M Primer 94 body filler, WBC washed the Fit with soap and water twice before prepping the surface with denatured alcohol.
WBC output the graphics on a DGI SaturnJet STII-1806 solvent-ink printer with a Wasatch RIP with Avery Graphics’ MPI-1005 EZ RS Supercast air-release, wrap media. To laminate the panels that covered the vehicle, the shop used Avery’s 1460 gloss overlaminate; to protect the film that bedecked the car’s roof, WBC used a 1380 matte-finish topcoat to create a subtle graphic contrast. Except for the mirrors and rear spoiler, the wrap was seamlessly installed as a single panel. To bring the graphics inside the car, the shop also printed the riveted-metal pattern on Ultraflex Descor fabric and applied it to the interior door panels.
To install the wrap, Tirado and his son, Fabian Castellanos (the duo have wrapped together since 2005) used Lidco felt-coated, Teflon squeegees, Rolle Pro graphic-installation pressure rollers, heat guns and Olfa blades.