How to Wrap Your Harley Davidson
If you've ever wanted to customize your Harley with a unique color or pattern to stand out on your biking adventures, then Rvinyl has got you covered. Completely change the look and feel of your bike with a premium quality wrap from Rwraps, 3M, Avery Dennison or ORAFOL. We've also decided to team up with Justin Pate from the Wrap Institute to show us how to precisely wrap your Harley so you can achieve professional level results. Check out the full video below and then keep scrolling to get a step by step guide and tips to make your purchase and installation smooth. You will want to assemble the following tools prior to before buying film.
- Heat Gun
- Tape Measure
- Microfiber Towel
- Squeegee with Buffer
- Tucking Tool
- Application Glove
- Application Razor
- 3M Knifeless Tape
- Rapid Prep
- Rapid Clear
Table of Contents
- Step 1: Remove and Clean
- Step 2: Section Measurements
- Step 3: Stretch the Film
- Step 4: Squeegee onto Surface
- Step 5: Two-Tone Wrap Technique
- Step 6: Heat Vinyl
- Step 7: Zero Stretch Technique
- Step 8: Pull the Material
- Step 9: Gas Cap Area
- Step 10: Heat Seal Cleanup
Step 1: Remove and Clean
Remove any hardware that is in the way of the areas being wrapped. It's a good idea to always spray directly on the microfiber towel, that way the surface isn't too wet. Make sure you're extra thorough, work the main surface area, and also get into deep crevices. When done, go over it with the heat gun just to make sure the surface is 100% dry.
Step 2: Section Measurements
The next step is measuring each section. It's very important to cut the sections so that they have enough bleed left to right, top to bottom, and that is extra material, roughly three inches on each side.
Step 3: Stretch the Film
For certain areas on the Harley-Davidson, they can be wrapped in one piece like the front fender and the back fender. Stretch the film evenly towards the other side. Then pick the film up and shrink it into place. Once the material is relaxed and squeegee it onto the main surface. Simply cut the excess film away using a sharp blade, angled out, and double-checked with heat.
Step 4: Squeegee onto Surface
On the back section, which is a little curvier, keep the backing paper on to even out the stretch, tucking the material behind any raised objects. Heat the film so it shrinks on the edge for that extra long-term hold, then cut the excess film away with the blade angled out from the edge. If there are any sections where the material will be directly cut on the surface, use 3M Knifeless tape.
Step 5: Two-Tone Wrap Technique
The gas caps can be very tricky to wrap in one piece without overstretching the film and leading to long-term durability issues. We're going to leave the original color of the gas tank on in the middle sections and wrap the top and bottom
Step 6: Heat Vinyl
Now with this section which has been roughly pre-cut to shape, it slides in on the underside, and very important to even the tension out, there's not too much on the edges. Pull along the bottom, nice and firm, which stretches the material slightly. For the top sections where the material bunches up, it's heated and it shrinks into place. Then release the knife tape from one side to the other. On the top section, Knifeless tape is used because it's a direct cut on the body and on the underside, a knife can cut the film away, and release the excess film.
Step 7: Zero Stretch Technique
Now, here at the front, simply tucked the film into the open edge and cut the excess film away, because that's not a cut directly on the body. So the bottom side of both sides is done. Now it's time to focus on the top. It's very important to start at the curvy section first. Pick the material up and feed it around towards the front side, tuck it in safely, and once it's set right at the front, even out the tension a little bit left to right. Double-check that the front is even one more time then heat and gently pull the material towards the back. Now it's time to finish the sides, which in many cases will snap very close to the outside edge. So as the material has been evenly pulled off the top face now squeegee it and lock it into place so it doesn't move.
Step 8: Pull the Material
Now for the sides, pick it up and shrink it back right to the knife. And you see how quickly it snaps to the edge. Heat the film gently and evenly pull the material to the outside edge. Be sure not to pull too hard. Once the film is right on top of the knife tape squeegee it into place. Then simply release the Knifeless Tape in a long, steady pull. Work from back to the front, then pull the excess film away. And as you can see, there's very minimal tension on the edge.
Step 9: Gas Cap Area
Squeegee it into place and repeat the same steps for the other side with the main area complete as a time to focus around the gas cap area. It's a good tip to cut a quarter inch from the outside edge, add heat to shrink the film, then form it into place first with a finger on the top edge, then with a tucking tool that comes from Rvinyl deep into the groove. Cut the excess film safely away at the bottom of the gas cap. Remove the excess film and come in with the talking to one more time to seal the deal and add heat just to double-check. Once everything is sealed, you can put the gas cap back on.
Step 10: Heat Seal Cleanup
The final step for the main piece is to do a 360-degree check over with the heat gun just to make sure all the edges are fully sealed and the adhesive is activating on the surface.