Sometimes we get to do something really unique and it's awesome! We were recently hired to put custom cut vinyl car graphics on a Mini Cooper. Our client came in with a sample image showing us that she wanted an intricate pattern to accent the rear of the vehicle with a monochromatic kaleidoscopic pattern.  

A labor of love. It took a lot of time and attention to hand weed the graphics.

She didn't want a design that was overly girlie but she didn't love the original example she showed us which had a cluster of tattoo-like designs of skulls, crowns, hearts, etc. So, our lead vehicle wrap graphic designer came up with several flourish designs that were balanced between the spectrum of girlie and hardcore design. The client picked the one she liked the best and we got to work!

Using transfer tape to apply cut vinyl graphics

One of the most challenging things about this job was that it was individually cut graphics and not digitally printed graphics. If we printed the black design on a background of white vinyl it would have been a snap to apply to the car, but each black line, dot, and swirl has been cut out of black vinyl. Our client really wanted it to be done with cut vinyl because she wanted it to look totally like her Mini Cooper could have come from the factory with that design on it and not like it was obviously a wrap.

To accomplish this, we sent the vector files of the swirl design to our die-cut machine to precisely cut lines into sheets of Avery SW900 vinyl in gloss black. Our installers then carefully weeded, or removed, any excess material off of the sheet. This took painstaking concentration because some of the lines of vinyl we needed to keep are razor thin. 

This Mini Cooper is ready to roll! 

One of our installers carefully applied the graphics in sheets to the vehicle using transfer tape to keep the lines even and straight. We also used knifeless tape to define the body lines of the vehicle and cut through the vinyl without having to use a knife on the body of the car. 

The stripes are a nice way to continue the design to the front of the car.

In addition to the intricate detailing on the back, we also removed the original stripes on the hood of the car and replaced them with stripes that have an inverted design that complements the design on the back. After the vinyl was totally weeded and prepped, it only took about one day to do the entire application—including removing the old stripes and installing the new ones. 

We're really pleased with how it turned out and the client loved it too! What do you think? What type of custom design would you like to get on your car?

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