Hi guys,

I don't have any direct experience with vehicle wraps, so I was hoping for some insight/opinions here.

We've got a Polaris White 2017 F-Type Coupe with the standard metal roof. Really like the look of the CF roof option and am thinking about getting it professionally wrapped to mimic the look of the real deal. Does anyone have any experience with wraps? Any product recommendations? Some quick research online shows that the 3M stuff seems to be the best. Think the wrap will hold up well against sun exposure over time? Anything I should be aware of in this process? Got quotes from two local shops - one at $450 and one at $600.

Any insight would be much appreciated!



2017 Jaguar F-Type "Base" Coupe in Polaris White with the D4 hiding in the background

 

I had a 2015 with the metal roof. I had it wrapped in gloss black. Vinyl wraps are extremely durable and I've had no issues with it fading or peeling in the two years I had my 2015. The only thing is that you have to a be a little more mindful of where you park as bird poop, tree sap, etc can affect the vinyl. I carried a bottle of quick detailer and a terry cloth for that reason. Drive thru car washes are no no as is direct water spray. I just used a spray wax after washes to maintain the vinyl.

I'm not sure if its because I live in a very car cultured part of California...but your quotes seem very steep. My roof got wrapped in 3M for $180. The hardest part is removing the rear piece where the antenna mounts and course the antenna itself. Process took about 2 hours.

2015 with metal roof at delivery:


Roof wrapped in gloss black vinyl:


Fast forward I got into a 2016 and got the glass roof. I had my vinyl guy wrap my door mirrors in gloss black to go with the glass roof, the black pack and the wheels I had powdercoated:

 

You can do it yourself for $5.49...
Printed Duct Tape - Carbon Fiber, 1.88 in. x 10 yd. | Duck® Brand

 

This is fantastic. Thanks for the info! Very helpful. What did the vinyl wrap on the 2015 cost you?

Regarding your 2016 - the wheels shown here were powdercoated? What did that cost you, if you don't mind sharing? How was your experience with that?

The black window trim/grille surround/louvers are OEM black pack?

 

LOL..I was just editing my original response back to you.

$180 for the roof, antennae and the panel the antenna mounts on. Keep in mind the panel and the antenna need to come off. 2 hours.

Powdercoating costed $85 a wheel. 1 year later, still holding up and still glossy.

And yes anything anything gloss black on the car itself is the OEM black pack.

 

Maybe will look at gloss black vinyl instead. It looks fantastic and completely avoids any potential cheesy fake CF look..

$180! holy ****. I need to find some better vendors to talk to..

 

I don't know about that; honestly I'd be a bit scared if it was that cheap......heck the material has to cost something and if it took 2 hours I don't see how a legitimate business could make money at $180.00! ....I don't want a guy paid $15.00/hr working on my $100,000 car myself.

I like the black vinyl and think it looks much better than fake CF wrap would.

2 cents,
Dave

 

While I understand your logic...heres a breakdown:

3M Vinyl Gloss Black: The smallest roll of it costs about $300 at retail. Given how little surface area the F-TYPE roof is, not a whole lot was used. My guy used left over scraps that were too small to do a roof but big enough to wrap the antenna pod and the antenna panel.

Miscellaneous equipment: Spray bottle, clay bar, detailing spray/wax, exacto knives...call it $25.

Lets say the guy wraps 4 roofs for $180: $720
Minus the cost of the roll and miscellaneous equipment AT retail rates: $325
Leaves: $395 on the table spread out over 8 hours for 4 roofs: $65 an hour.

$65/hour doesn't seem like a bad gig. At least thats my logic.

 

As a business owner, I find that many people don't fully appreciate the overhead costs that we typically have to deal with; rent, taxes, insurance, accountants, lawyers, electricity, etc. etc.

If the roll was $ 300.00 and could do 4 roofs then material costs would be approximately $100.00 with the misc. stuff you'd need. 2 hr job means they're getting $40.00 per hour. If you assume that the employer's costs are about $20.00/hr including the usual payroll deductions, total job cost would be around $140.00 and the amount for overhead and profit would be $40.00.....and you have the liability if anything screws up or you damage the car....I certainly wouldn't be interested in doing that work for that kind of money.

Dave

 

I was quoted $2k to clear film my car; front, rockers, rear quarter, mirrors including c quartz. Low overhead guy. After checking some references went with it. After $1k down, the work was less than satisfactory and needs to be redone. $180 isn't a significant risk if it needs to be redone, but my guy had no margin for error and it showed.

 

Car looks great!

 

@WhiteTardis

I'm in SoCal too, would you be able to pass along the details of who did your vinyl install and plasti dip of wheels, finally recommendations for tint shops?

I'm guessing on your first Ftype -if you had a base, the black pack you had wasn't from factory? Can I ask how much it was to buy the kit from jag or did you wrap those elements too?

Also - did you consider doing the wing and adjacent panels in the gloss black? See pic below



Props on the tasteful mods 👍🏼

 

I'm about to have my window trim and roof wrapped this week but I was wondering if they wrapped your antenna or if you replaced it with a factory black antenna or what? (on your old car)

 

What color should the window trim be wrapped in --- satin black or gloss black ?? Want to do mine and not sure which color black pack should be ?

 

The OEM black pack window trims (which I have) are gloss black.

 

3M for sure make the best wrap, they make a lot of different Films for different applications, and are really good at it.
They also own Meguiars by the way.

Whitetardis: could you share where you got yours done? I need some wrapping. Your Jag looks awesome by the way, very well done!!