All bite and no bark at Boss Dog

It is hard to define what makes one brand cool and another generic, but without doubt Boss Dog has the cool-factor in spades. Founded by Luca Cabano some ten years ago, a company that started out selling stickers on the internet is now one of the UK’s top tier of quality vehicle wrappers, developing its own unique style and flare when it comes to the finished job.

Cabano has certainly done things properly when it comes to accumulating experience, and started life as an apprentice to a sign-maker, before working around the industry as a jobbing sign-maker, and then learning wrapping from one of the pioneers in the sector as the market took off. Initially working on taxi fleets, Cabano says it was being ‘chucked into the deep end’ that helped him gain his forensic attention to detail.



“I really enjoyed my apprenticeship, and what struck me was that you could work with your hands and be really creative at the same time,” explains Cabano.
 
He continues: “I started up Boss Dog by accident, as I used to sell stickers on a website after being into the motorbike scene. I started doing a lot of signs for vans, and then it moved into wrapping. As I did more and more I got a reputation for producing high-quality work, and today Boss Dog does pretty much 50/50 commercial and private work.”



Asked about the challenges Boss Dog faces today, he explains: “There is a lot of wrapping companies out there that do very poor work, and with the colour change scene it is more than ever. Before it was paying out for software, printers, a lot of lay louts, and higher degree of skill. Today, almost anybody can go buy some cheap colour change vinyl from the internet and a squeegee and they think they can do it. Another issue is window tinting firms who think they are wrappers.”


Cabano continues: “With the car modification and boy-racer scene there is also a lot of really bad DIY wraps. It also destroys the reputation of the sector, and we have to fight that perception. Then there is a lot of youngsters who think wrapping a car is £500—caused by those who set-up with very little experience and just offer silly prices to get customers in. The truth is they are using poor monomeric vinyl and the wrap looks bad when it is done, and then even worse a month later, before starting to delaminate and bleach within six months. Vinyl goes from £7/m to £30/m, and for a good wrap the material alone will be £500.”



Cabano explains that despite these challenges, Boss Dog’s focus on optimum-quality and creative design has led to a huge number of repeat customers and very good referrals. Indeed, it has even gained entry to the exclusive international wrap club ‘Paint is Dead’, which for years has been working to raise standards in the sector.

Cabano explains that using only high-quality materials is also a key factor, and having the experience of which grades work for which applications. Boss Dog regularly uses Avery films, but also material from 3M and exclusive supplier Bruxsafol PWF (which vet their customers’ abilities before supplying to them).

Concluding, Cabano pinpoints just what it is that has been his ‘trade secret’: “When you wrap a car, if you are not happy with something, the customer won’t be. So, you need have real forensic attention to detail. You want people to really dig to be able to see that it is wrapped. Every edge has to be perfect, and it needs to be indistinguishable from paint to the average viewer.”

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