Dub Customs delivers one the the most amazing wraps we’ve ever reported…
‘Do a job you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.' That’s a piece of well-exercised homespun philosophy that might very well have been written with twin-brothers Dan and Shaun Donovan in mind. The brothers own and operate Wickford, Essex, based Dub Customs. The company put down roots in 2014 and, in next-to-no-time, it has risen to become one of the country’s top automotive customisers and a place that’s also home to the highest quality wrapping and paint-protection film installations.
The vehicles that show up, by appointment, at Dub Customs’ doors have one thing in particular in common. Despite being a very mixed bag in terms of marques and models; each and every one of them is someone’s pride and joy. If a car aspires to the realms of the truly exotic, chances are, the Dub Customs’ team will have had hands on it at some point.
The company’s portfolio is a jaw-dropping succession of Astons, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and more. Another point of commonality is, they leave Dub Customs looking like rolling advertisements for perfection. The company’s quality standards are as high as those of the cars’ manufacturers. Add to that a helping of real passion for the subjects in Dub’s care and you have a recipe for ‘the job you love.’
In addition to being an exemplary wrapper, Dub Customs has a detailer or two in residence and it offers customers a range of installation services that add even more appeal to already irresistible cars. Body kits, wheels, engine upgrades and aero-enhancements are all available under Dub’s roof.
Anyone who loves, or who is professionally involved with the world’s most notable and exotic cars will, at some point discover Tim Burton, professionally known as Shmee150. Tim is a car vlogger and prolific YouTuber whose very entertaining channel has over 2.5M subscribers. Tim’s a serial-purchaser of super-cars, or ‘Shmeemobiles’ as they’re widely known and his collection has been extensively showcased to a huge and rapt audience.
The guys at Dub Customs have enjoyed a very long friendship with Tim Burton and acknowledge his role in helping put the company on the map. Dub Customs once wrapped a McLaren supercar belonging Tim and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. With Tim on his life’s supercar journey and Dub Customs firmly established on theirs, the day-jobs these men do is really the stuff that car enthusiasts’ dreams are made of.
Although Tim’s amazing supercar collection is no stranger to wrapping, it’s notable that no printed wrap has ever been involved. That changed in truly spectacular fashion very recently when Dub Customs got to grips with Tim’s Ford GT. The wrap, and the collaboration that inspired and delivered it, have quite the story to tell.
One of the United Kingdom’s leading urban pop artists, Lhouette, lent his considerable profile to help promote the aims of CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) a charity endeavouring to provoke a wider conversation about men’s mental health issues and the importance of finding ways of managing wellbeing.
In association with Shmee150 and Lhouette’s representatives, Wyecliffe Galleries, a series of original art polarised around the Ford GT was produced and these works were recontextualised into a new wrap skin for the physical car itself. The original works will be auctioned later this year by Bonhams at its New Bond Street gallery and 50% of the money raised will be donated to CALM.
The original works comprise a mesmerising amount of involved detail whose elements will resonate with any observer. While impacting the observer with a unified impression, closer examination reveals layer of texture and detail building an experience of continuing discovery and involvement with the work. The longer you look, the more you see.
The works were digitised by the studio and meticulously edited so that the elements featured could be correctly positioned on the Ford GT’s challenging contours, buttresses and wind-cheating bodywork. This element of the work was critical in delivering the head-turning visual assault the transformed Ford GT would come to deliver. A Ford GT is a celebrity among supercars and this wrapped example writes its own history. It’ll never be forgotten.
Dub Customs’ team knew that the wrap it was asked to deliver would have to be nothing less than perfect despite the technical challenges it would represent. Colour changes and Paint Protection exercises in Dub’s world come with towering expectations of quality but without the tyranny of printed detail complicating an already challenging job. The Ford GT threw every challenge imaginable.
The wrap application process proceeded and it must be noted that the Dub Customs’ team lived up to its considerable reputation. Underneath the riot of colour and detail that Lhouette visualised and delivered is a very valuable Ford GT in factory colours that gave it the nickname ‘Iron Man.’ There’s a nod to that, and countless other nudges to other pop-culture celebrities in the work itself.
The finished wrap really has earned its position in the ranks of the most notable wraps ever reported. It’s at one and the same time, a spectacular work of modern art, an exemplary technical accomplishment and a very eyecatching exhibit promoting a worthy cause.
Dub Customs can take a bow for this one. The team worked hard to accomplish the stunning result but what’s that they say about doing a job you love?
The wrap was produced using a material worthy of the job - MetaCast® MDC, Metamark’s flagship premium cast wrapping film. Being an MD-Class film, the product is right at home with colour-critical applications involving high-resolution print and detail. The gorgeous matte finish is delivered courtesy of MDC’s matched MetaGuard Laminate. The Dub Customs team praised the product for its ease of application and the performance of its MetaGlide® adhesive.
It’s not every day that a Ford GT rumbles up looking for a new skin, particularly such a striking one. When it happens next though, Dub Customs can claim some truly unique experience in the field and add ‘art-cars’ expertise to its already impressive credentials.
