Thought I would start a new thread as people were asking questions on here and via email and I did want to hijack enderles thread




This is a FAQ, as for cost, around 1/2 the price of a respray, guaranteed for 5 years is the norm, light scratches are easily removed with a hot air gun. If you make a big scratch and go through then the same applies to paint, you have to get it re-done.

This is my convertible I bought recently




The joys of a wrap is you can take it off, I have removed the rear section as I am changing the rear bumper to the Verendum style with the seperate diffuser which will be wrapped in carbon effect

As you can see this car is originally Platinum Silver



The only problems with wrapping is your confidence in your paintwork, e.g. if you have had some accident damage and the bodyshop did not key the paintwork properly it will pull it off, however if you have full confidence you can remove the wrap very simply and change it, you can even wrap over a wrap if you wish, there are huge selections of finishes and styles, brushed metal finishes to carbon, snake skin, patterned, gloss, matt, satin....

You can really be different and when you get bored pull it off

 

Very nice. I rather like the stripe but snake skin might be a bit much.

Does it smooth out small imperfections or just contour to them?

How is it to take care of, just wash and wax? Or maybe wash and don't wax?

The ideas are flowing now, thanks for sharing.

 

Dummy question--what the heck is wrapping? The only other time I have seen this term is over with some of the rice guys on the Asian car forums. Are you basically applying some paper or coating over the original paint?

Thanks,

Doug

 

As written by DougLook at many of the mass transit buses they'll have printed wraps. It's adhesive vinyl, The Europeans have been doing it longer over there and in solid colors. Reading one of my trade magazines some of the Fleet firms in Europe started wrapping their vehicles a few years ago, because it was cheaper to wrap than paint. They hold up pretty good, but with age they will deteriorate. The vinyl manufacturers will tell you it has a 4,5,6,7,8,or 9 year life expectancy but the environment has a big bearing. A car kept indoors out of the sun will last much longer. or long exposure to the south will shorten the life. One thing don't believe the manufacture when he tells you a life expectancy.
One plastic company had a lifetime guarantee on polyethylene. Their version of "Lifetime" was seven years.

 

Isn't that the same lifetime as our sealed for life transmissions?

Everything breaks down at the same time so you can just throw it away and get a new one!

 

So are there different patterns made for every car or does the "wrap"-shop custom cut the film so that there are no seams? What about edges--are the pieces wrapped around them somehow? I guess I would need to see the process to understand it better.

Doug

 

There are videos on YouTube that show the process. Cool to watch but I've never seen the finished product up close and personal.

 

The vinyl come in rolls of different widths, I don't do them in our shop. It becomes quite a skill to make money on them. People do it, but there is quite learning curve. At my age I don't want to even get into it, leave it to the younger guys. They may cut the panels out on a vinyl cutter but I don't really know for sure. Vinyl is pretty forgiving on curves and a heat gun comes in real handy.

 

I just this week was selling a Lambo and a guy in NY wanted to trade for his 430 Ferrari with a full body wrap. He sent me tons of pictures but they arent on this computer or I would post some.

Silver car he wrapped in matt white, added black wheels and did the top in carbon fiber wrap....... looked stunning but I didnt see it in person. He said it was alot less than repainting the car and it can be removed to have a like new paint job. Makes sense but... I dont know about it on a Jag, personally I dont think it works.

 

Half the price of a respray... I know places that'll do it for $400 and places that'll charge $8000+, care to be a little more specific? lol

 

A good respray will cost around $4K so $2K or there abouts, sure it will vary but you get what you pay for....

 

I've see a few wrap jobs in person and I was really impressed.

2 in particular stand out:





Granted, the last one is a bit funky but interesting none the less...

Makes great sense for a car like the DeLorean. Wrapping a stainless car is way easier than painting one.

 

WOW....... A Delorean in Gulf colors, there's something you wont see everyday, I would have to agree though, an ideal candidate, you could have some serious fun

 

how does the gloss compare to the depth of shine from paint? I've seen glossy vinyl, but it's hard to imagine that it would be mistaken for paint.

 

No comparrison.... A paint finish is far superior, a gloss vinyl is more of a satin finish IMO

 

I'm looking into wrapping my XKR very soon...Can you give me an estimate on how many Sq.Ft. of material needed...Convertible...so hoping it will not be too much...


Thanks