Wrap up hood with aggressive vinyl wrap film by yourself

Oftentimes, an installer has to wrap up a vehicle with vinyl wrap film all by themselves due to a lack of hands in the workspace. And it becomes challenging when you have to install with an aggressive film, especially on a big section like the hood.

Aggressive material will stick hard to the surface, which is difficult to pick up. Wrinkles and bubbles will come up a lot. And it will be tricky for you alone to create glass with such a vinyl wrap film on an area like this. Not to mention you could overstretch the film easily as you might use heat a lot because of the situation.

Nevertheless, it does not mean you have no way to wrap the hood up perfectly by yourself. Here are some tips for you if this is the case:

Prepare a wide pole for the install, which should be wide enough to hold the panel for the entire hood, and it should be a safe one that will not scratch the car.

Measure the hood, and cut out a panel for it on the worktable. You should cut a film precisely in between the handle of the pole for smooth application.

To do this, you can line up one edge of the vinyl wrap film with one side of the handle's edge. And roll the pole across the material on the liner side. Mark down some points for the other side of the edge of the handle. You can then cut away the excess film.

As soon as this prep is done, create a temporary hinge in the middle of the film. And you should cut away the backing paper of the hinge with a paperback cutter.

Make another cut to remove a strip of liner near one side of the panel (depending on which side you will work on the hood first). Cut at the point around two to three inches away from the edge of the material, so you will have just enough film to stick to the pole.

When you stick the film to the pole, do not try to do it from top to bottom (nor the other way round). It is critical to even out the tension as you do it. Just lightly tack the film to the pole, check it, and work it down evenly and patiently.

Do not pull too much of the material to the pole, though. Stick just enough to it so that you can hold the film firmly. Otherwise, it can be difficult to take off when you have to handle the other side.

Once you finish the setup, bring the whole thing to the hood and start installing (do not forget to clean the car thoroughly first). As it is an aggressive material, you should not tack it to the middle until everything is in position. When you are ready, you can secure the film in the middle, locking it from bottom to top.

Pull the panel up (the same side where you have the pole now), start pulling the backing paper of this side to the pole. And you can now hold the material and the liner at the same time. The pole can help you pull the film away from the surface with even tension. You can work and squeegee the material down smoothly with your free hand. When there are wrinkles and bubbles, you can apply a bit of heat to relax the film.

When you are done with the main flat area, and come to the side of the hood, which usually has compound curves, you can now pull with two hands to even out the tension, leaving the pole in the air - This is why you should choose a pole that will not damage the car. You can separate the side into sections. Use your squeegee to lock the material and deal with them one by one.