Custom Cut Shape in Reflective Material

Cutting custom shapes for body lines on a vehicle can be a hassle on the plotter. In this example I will show you an old way to transfer a shape or design to the material you are working with. We will be making a pounce pattern to cut the reflective material to shape and fit the body lines in this case a tailgate. Pounce patterns can also be used when painting letters on a truck or multiple large signs.

This tailgate has some pretty deep lines and the material we are using is a thick high intensity reflective material. It will not form to these tight body creases. So we opted to come right up to the edge of the crease causing us to make a custom cut shape to match.

We started by doing a rubbing on paper with a piece of lead pencil. Because of the deep groove this technique really worked well in hitting just the top edge of the seam giving us our custom shape for that space.

After the rubbing was made I was then able to make a pounce pattern with my electro pounce machine. The electricity creates tiny holes in the paper for chalk powder to pass through and on to the decal we will cut.

Once the pattern is pounced we are able to apply it to the decal we have prepared for pouncing the chalk. We use that line to cut from as you can see in the next pictures.

 

So now it is just a matter of installing the decal on the truck for a happy customer.