Creator1

The other day I had to remove wraps from a van that I have to sell.

When I called around, the cheapest quote I could find was a $500, and if I’m being honest, it probably would have gone up. The vans had several wraps of various shapes and sizes around the van, so the $500 sight unseen quote likely would have gone up given the work needed. I figured I’d at least look up if this was something I could do myself, and it turns out it was.

I had to purchase a heat gun, a plastic razor blade (I didn’t use metal so I don’t scratch the paint.) I used vinegar to remove adhesive, but later purchased actual adhesive remover for this.

Ultimately, it took me probably an hour and a half to fully unwrap two very large vans.

I put out a few free ads on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc., and talking to other business owners I knew in the area, offering to do mobile wrap removals. Within two weeks I had my first customer.

This was a small business that had a wrap on they needed removed as they purchased a vehicle from another company with the old company’s logo still on the truck.

I was sent pictures of the vehicle, with a make and model. This way I could give a rough estimate of work based on what I had done for my van. To me this looked like it would take me about 45 minutes. Taking into account travel time and potential troubles, I figured giving myself three hours to do this full job.

I told him I could do this truck for $425 dollars and that I would come to his shop. The owner was thrilled, and told me the cheapest quote he could find was $600 and that he’d have to take it to them and he’d not have the truck for 3 days.

All-in-all these were my costs:

Heat Gun; $30 (I got mine from home Depot)

Adhesive remover;
Cost, however this can last me for multiple jobs so the cost is not factored in to the next jobs (or it could be itemized across x jobs) $20

plastic razor blades; $6

towels; $10

cleaning solution; (if you don’t want to buy this, you can just use 1/4 cup of soap with a gallon of hot water, which is what I did)

3 hours of labor at $30/ hour = $90

Gas $15 (maybe?)

Total cost for this job; $171 ( we can even round up to $200, because I got a burrito as well.)

profit: $425 – $200 = $225

The nice part is that the next job would be exponentially cheaper for me as I no longer have upfront cost (such as a new heat gun, razors, towels, or adhesive remover).

The cost of paying for labor/time and gasoline (and if I were to continue this, insurance) will continue with every job. I will not be continuing this side hustle outside of doing this for friends and associates who are in a bind. The reason I will not be continuing with this is there would have to be a constant effort to advertise and market.

This is not really something that I want to do at this time. However, it is nice to know that if I really needed to make a couple hundred bucks, in a pinch, I could easily do so with this side hustle. My ultimate goal was to get my money back from what I spent to unwrap my own vans, and I was able to do that and get a burrito!

For those who are looking to make this into a business, then keep in mind that your costs will go up for insurance, marketing, personnel, liability, etc.