For those who have wrapped their own planes how did you handle the joints? Particularly the joints where one aluminum panel over laps another and creates a small step. I looked pretty close at a wrapped plane at Reno this year and noticed the vinyl spanned the step in some places rather than sticking tightly to the surface. I did not like the way this looked particularly because it was not consistent.
I've decided to wrap my own aircraft and have contacted a local vehicle wrapper for assistance. I'm using solid colors so I'm not worried about having to align graphics. The wrap guy is worried about the panels flexing individually and causing the vinyl to split at the seam. He wanted to use two pieces and cut them at the seam. I told him I wanted the seam sealed for corrosion reasons and he suggested compromising and butting one piece against the step and overlapping the other piece 1/4" or so. It would still cover the step, but the hight would be reduced and he thinks it would be less likely to split. This sounds ok to me, but I'm not super excited about turning one seam into two seams 1/4" apart. What have others done? How has it worked out?
I've decided to wrap my own aircraft and have contacted a local vehicle wrapper for assistance. I'm using solid colors so I'm not worried about having to align graphics. The wrap guy is worried about the panels flexing individually and causing the vinyl to split at the seam. He wanted to use two pieces and cut them at the seam. I told him I wanted the seam sealed for corrosion reasons and he suggested compromising and butting one piece against the step and overlapping the other piece 1/4" or so. It would still cover the step, but the hight would be reduced and he thinks it would be less likely to split. This sounds ok to me, but I'm not super excited about turning one seam into two seams 1/4" apart. What have others done? How has it worked out?