Vinyl Mask Wraps

[TheGoalNet]

On 5/20/2019 at 12:28 PM, Punisher Goalie said:

@TheGoalNet is the chrome actually reflective? I’ve been wondering if wraps could achieve the mirror and/or metallic look. I assume it’s possible but wasn’t sure which wrap producer(s) can do it. 

Yes, it's reflective. It's not a perfect mirror, but I think it looks sick.

[Ken35]

For Christmas my wife bought a Potvin kit from Leblanc Designs.  I love this kit.  It's the first time I have attempted to vinyl a mask so there are some rough areas but overall I am really happy with how it turned out.

[MangoRhinehart]

Just got my masks back from JF Aumais. Turn around was super fast once customs cleared them. 

[SaveByRichter35]

The more masks I see posted in here the more disappointed I am in the outcome of my mask.

[MangoRhinehart]

2 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

The more masks I see posted in here the more disappointed I am in the outcome of my mask.

Only one thing to do: throw more money at the problem

[Ken35]

@MangoRhinehart Wow! That Lord of the Rings mask looks awesome.  The Shining mask looks cool as well but the Lord of the Rings just looks amazing.  There was a junior goalie near my town when I was a teen who had the Balrog on his mask.  I always thought it was amazing.

Edited January 25, 2020 by Ken35

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

Does anyone know what it looks like if you put a cage skin over a paintjob? Can you still clearly see the colors and design in the gaps or are they super small and its not an issue?

Edited March 11, 2022 by A.YOUNGoalie13

[bunnyman666]

39 minutes ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

Does anyone know what it looks like if you put a cage skin over a paintjob? Can you still clearly see the colors and design in the gaps or are they super small and its not an issue?

If it’s printed and cut design, then definitely; if it is an entire design on a few sheets of vinyl meant to cover the entire mask, then it depends on the installation.

[jerd31]

Bumping this as I'm contemplating getting a wrap done on my VTX that's currently hydrodipped.  Seems like SkinFX and JF Aumais are the two folks recommended, anyone else to look at?  How are folks' wraps holding up?  I'm wondering if they can clear coat over the wrap for a little more protection or if that wouldn't make a difference.  

[ZeroGravitas]

34 minutes ago, jerd31 said:

Bumping this as I'm contemplating getting a wrap done on my VTX that's currently hydrodipped.  Seems like SkinFX and JF Aumais are the two folks recommended, anyone else to look at?  How are folks' wraps holding up?  I'm wondering if they can clear coat over the wrap for a little more protection or if that wouldn't make a difference.  

I had an issue with JF when I got my masked wrapped by him. The mockup looked just fine, but the final product's red color came out wrong.

His excuse was:

Quote

As for the color, you will have to save some acceptance. Printers gave to make red with four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. It can do a pretty good job creating nice reds, but there is unfortunately a limit to what it can reproduce. There is also the fact that the material is stretched while being applied which can make the color go a tiny bit lighter. There is nothing more I can do to get a better red other than spending hundreds of thousand of dollars to have a printer that actually has a red ink cartridge unfortunately. Your mask still looks awesome.

Wish he had told me that during the time we made three mockups! He also said that this is the first time someone mentioned the issue with the red... but there was a GGSU thread about this a couple weeks ago with others having the same issue with him. 

EDIT: My experience was three years ago, so his equipment/practices may have changed.

Edited January 4, 2023 by ZeroGravitas

[Chenner29]

58 minutes ago, jerd31 said:

Bumping this as I'm contemplating getting a wrap done on my VTX that's currently hydrodipped.  Seems like SkinFX and JF Aumais are the two folks recommended, anyone else to look at?  How are folks' wraps holding up?  I'm wondering if they can clear coat over the wrap for a little more protection or if that wouldn't make a difference.  

Re: SkinFx

Going through my chat history with Mark:

Deposit paid 11/2021
Mask delivered from Pro's Choice 6/2/2022
Mask design approved 7/14/2022
Mask shipped 7/17/2022

My experience: he takes a while and needs constant reminders to get a design done, but the work is good.
Note that he only lays up the design, he cannot do any digital art for you from scratch.

[BCZ]

Along the same lines as posted above - re: SkinFx, I had similar issues. I got through the design process with Mark. It took months (I can go get the chat history from my email if requested) to get a mock-up of my requested design. The design itself was o.k. (reasonable for the price paid/quoted). After too much time had passed, I decided to pull my money and had my mask painted elsewhere. I'd be wary to use SkinFx again, only because of the time/need for follow-up. 

[SaveByRichter35]

Do not go with SkinFX.  His communication is terrible.  Good work, yes, but he only cares about his pro clients.  

[johncho]

I just tried Custom Cages Decal kit, and I will say that I am extremely disappointed. It was fairly cheap sure, but the print quality is sub-par, and the decal cutout was very poor causing white edges to appear on the black design. The vinyl was also hard to work with even using a blow dryer, even on the lowest heat setting it shrivelled up.

I will definitely send it off to a pro next time around.

[coopaloop1234]

15 minutes ago, johncho said:

I just tried Custom Cages Decal kit, and I will say that I am extremely disappointed. It was fairly cheap sure, but the print quality is sub-par, and the decal cutout was very poor causing white edges to appear on the black design. The vinyl was also hard to work with even using a blow dryer, even on the lowest heat setting it shrivelled up.

I will definitely send it off to a pro next time around.

Did you go with one of the preset decals or full custom? 

I grabbed a set from them and I'd say it looks good enough and wasn't too frustrating of a process to apply. And I'm not patient with artsy stuff like this. 

If you looks closely you can see a lot of uncut edges from myself that I've never bothered to trim. 

Edited January 9, 2023 by coopaloop1234

[johncho]

It was the preset. Other than the numbers the other graphics present were extremely pixelated.

Having done print work before, maybe I notice things more than others. But even the outline cuts on the design were poor and not even, causing a white outline to show on the black design.

But in the end, it was 30~40 bucks and a fun surprise for my kid before a tournament.

[Cool Runnings]

On 1/4/2023 at 4:19 PM, jerd31 said:

Bumping this as I'm contemplating getting a wrap done on my VTX that's currently hydrodipped.  Seems like SkinFX and JF Aumais are the two folks recommended, anyone else to look at?  How are folks' wraps holding up?  I'm wondering if they can clear coat over the wrap for a little more protection or if that wouldn't make a difference.  

I second this post...another bump and same questions that I couldnt really find the answer to.

 

After this long, are we seeing tears, rips, bubbles, scuffs, etc from JF?  

Is it the 3M thicker vinyl and not the thinner bumper sticker vinyl that JF uses?  

Can you clear coat them with layers of rattle can clear coat for more protection?

Side question, @SaveByRichter35 is that a Belfour/Potvin Protechsport mask?  I'd like to have a mask made and shipped right to JF if the durability of the wrap is good.  

[kat30]

I had my mask wrapped by Mask Wraps in Mississauga, ON. Really nice to work with and was able to accommodate having it dropped off, wrapped, and picked up within the same day.

I've only had it for about 2 weeks, but there are absolutely no air bubbles or areas peeling up yet. Around the edges there is a clear edge that goes along the inside of the mask, I assume to prevent any peeling. It's one large piece that wraps around the chin and up both sides, the only separate piece being the black stripe on the top.

It was about $350 CAD for a full wrap including the backplate.

The only flaw is that the 2 red stripes on the side don't line up on the center, but it's so minor that I'm probably the only one who notices/cares.

[ZeroGravitas]

8 minutes ago, kat30 said:

I had my mask wrapped by Mask Wraps in Mississauga, ON. Really nice to work with and was able to accommodate having it dropped off, wrapped, and picked up within the same day.

I've only had it for about 2 weeks, but there are absolutely no air bubbles or areas peeling up yet. Around the edges there is a clear edge that goes along the inside of the mask, I assume to prevent any peeling. It's one large piece that wraps around the chin and up both sides, the only separate piece being the black stripe on the top.

It was about $350 CAD for a full wrap including the backplate.

The only flaw is that the 2 red stripes on the side don't line up on the center, but it's so minor that I'm probably the only one who notices/cares.

Wow, that looks really great - that textured look came out amazing. Did you come up with the design yourself?

[kat30]

10 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

Wow, that looks really great - that textured look came out amazing. Did you come up with the design yourself?

Sort of, the stripes were inspired by Justin Ferguson's Dartmouth mask; although I can't remember who the original artist was on that. I drew a rough sketch of what I wanted and emailed it to them, and they put it all together to make the real design.

[Cool Runnings]

Going forward with a Protechsport custom mask, but not sure where to go from there with wrapping.  This thread is getting old, any updates with SkinFX?  Is that still the way to go?  How are they holding up?  Should I try to coordinate shipping from Michel right to a wrapping place?  

[ZeroGravitas]

23 minutes ago, Cool Runnings said:

Going forward with a Protechsport custom mask, but not sure where to go from there with wrapping.  This thread is getting old, any updates with SkinFX?  Is that still the way to go?  How are they holding up?  Should I try to coordinate shipping from Michel right to a wrapping place?  

I had a wrap done when refurbing my Protechsport. I shipped it to Michel, he re-painted it for me as I requested and took the foam out. He shipped it to the person who wrapped it, who shipped it back to Michel. Michel re-foamed it and put fresh hardware on it and shipped it out to me.

[Cool Runnings]

1 hour ago, ZeroGravitas said:

I had a wrap done when refurbing my Protechsport. I shipped it to Michel, he re-painted it for me as I requested and took the foam out. He shipped it to the person who wrapped it, who shipped it back to Michel. Michel re-foamed it and put fresh hardware on it and shipped it out to me.

Thanks, maybe I'll just ask him.  I'll reach out to SFX as well I guess.  

[Smalls]

3 hours ago, Cool Runnings said:

any updates with SkinFX?

My experience is likely a little tainted, since I know the owner Mark personally and play hockey with/against him for many years now. But I've had about 8-9 wraps from him over the years. I do my own artwork, which is the main time consumer for Mark obviously but still he always takes great care of me. I've had to nag him a bit when trying to schedule a time to get mine wrapped so I can only imagine that's especially tough when you don't know him personally, but I don't think he's doing it intentionally. He's just a one man band and has a lot of companies, teams, and individuals needing stuff.

He is SUPER busy and I've tried talking him into letting me help him with artwork to speed things up but he takes a lot of pride in knowing he does it all himself which is a trait you want in a guy doing your mask art really. He is also aware that he does need to speed things up and is behind admittedly.
 

On 1/7/2023 at 2:18 PM, SaveByRichter35 said:

Do not go with SkinFX.  His communication is terrible.  Good work, yes, but he only cares about his pro clients.  

This is a bit harsh but probably only because he's a friend. I don't think it's entirely true, I just think they give him the most and best paying clientele so of course they are gonna take priority.

I do think he's the best in the business in the wrap game from what I've seen. I've seen other guys that seem comparable art wise but idk about the actual product. Certainly as far as installers of the wrap goes he's the best. No bubbles and the stuff lasts basically endlessly. I only ever get new ones when I'm bored of the design or get a different color set up. There's a reason a ton of pro teams are going to him, and it's because it hold up and the work is good.

I think if you want a wrap done, it's worth the wait. But as someone who hates waiting, I get it if you wanna go elsewhere too.

Here are some pics of my current mask though from him. Again I did the artwork myself though. He has two types of laminate he can use. Either Matte like you see pictured here which is a flatter feel and look, which I love btw, or glossy/shiny. Everyone who's seen the mask in person comments on the texture and how unique it is, especially for a wrap.

[RedX]

Design and application