bigmacnfries

i work for a digital print company and we do a lot of vehicle wraps. I have done bits and pieces myself but never a whole wrap.

These things i do know however:

Prepping your car is critical (soap wash, then isopropyl alcohol)
Don't cheap out on the film. 3M is about the best, but we only use IJ180c v3 - this has air channels in the adhesive part of the vinyl to help with install.
Don't stretch - this will only bite you in the end. Keeping things taught is fine, but stretch is not good
Heat is king, but not too much. Heat also helps the adhesive stick to the car. Along with pressure. Working on a warm day is an advantage. Cold days will kill you (and the vinyl)
If you can't do the difficult parts, get in touch with a local signwriter that does car graphics and get them to finish it.
Take as much time as you can, don't panic when you see bubbles etc.
Do try to avoid creasing the vinyl as it may not come out.

i'm waiting delivery on a lip and spoiler and i'll be wrapping these - i'm nervous as i have no patience.

ft231

Thanks dirtykoala,

I was quite inspired by you to undertake the project to wrap my car matt black. Doors and rear panels were generally easy to tackle with some trial and error. Feel that the worse part to wrap is (without a doubt) the front bumper. Its insane because without a helper, it is near impossible to lay the vinyl onto it. Even then, it took my friend and i about 2 hours to get the vinyl properly rested on the bumper itself.

It wasnt a fantastic job but its to see the imperfection until close up. The following is a link to my work in progress. Thanks for the invaluable advice on this thread.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...3&l=7f3cf0b450

I also didnt have the luxury of a hair dryer at ready. Instead, i used a gas lighter for the heating job. Its fairly effective, but cant match a hair dryer.

Ps: for those planning to do this insane job, be mentally prepared to suffer some back aches too. Creases are painful and grostesque, but tears on the vinyl is worse. Always have a few litres of soap water on the ready. You do need the, as and when. A thorough wrap must involve removal of the wing mirrors, front and rear bumpers. I didnt, but i would if i have to do this again and i just might. Laying down the vinyl onto the car is important, but so is the trimming process. Do not start trimming until you are absolutely done. The excess can be very handy in stretching the vinyl to cover slightly larger areas. Clean the car thoroughly. Sand bits do get trapped between vinyl and the car surface. Most important of all, you need to have buckets of patience.

To the fellow singaporeans: if you are keen to join me or to obtain my assistance, feel free to pm me. :-)

ft231

A few things to share with everyone.
1) A potential problem for some is the lack of a power source for the hair dryer. If that is the case, you can consider dismantling the front and rear bumpers. Bring back to your apartment, so that hair dryer can be used to wrap these.
2) I tried wrapping the wing mirrors. It seems very challenging if it is dismantled from the door. It may be easier (it seems) not to dismantle it and instead wrap the wing mirror while it is mounted on the door.
3) The butane powered heat gun is a good tool to use and its cordless, so there is no need to look for a power source.
4) The flatter surfaces (like the doors) do not really require a heat gun/ hair dryer to wrap. But, make sure you have lots of soap water ready for those very wide flat surfaces. You need them.

chubbychu

Second on the Stretching.

ahrmike

stretching is necessary for curves though, right? I've been studying the S's shape and it appears that all our panels are basically FLAT except the front/rear bumper. To get the curves on the bumper, you either have to stretch or cut the material..

dirtykoala

The rear fenders are also a pain. They are tapered toward the rear so everything from the gas cap back is a pain.

Speaking of the gas cap, take it off before you do the panel. The antenna too.

Take everything off that can. Lights, mirrors, side markers...

toHn

Nice!!

Mr. Deuce K

For the record, Army Ranger here, I earned my cammo patterns and would in no way be offended if i were to see someone wearing or sporting a paintjob in acu, dcu, bdu, or multicam. Sounds like someone just wanted some recognition as a marine hoorah, we're all proud of you bud, now stop picking on people for digging the pattern.

Ouhei

I'm still debating trying this on my BB, I'd want to do most of the work myself and then hand it off to a shop to finish up. I'm just afraid of getting started, investing ~$500-600 in vinyl and then not being able to do it. I found a place on ebay that sells a nice pearl white vinyl and I think I'm going to order a sample sheet and give it a whirl to see how well I do.

keafun

Hi everyone,

ok so I have read this thread and its good. So I decided to start DIY vinyl wrap. The pictures are the results... I will be removing the yellow tint, black sticker fromt he headlamp area. Completely forgot to remove the black sticker. Must have left it on there.. Anyways, The trunk, rear bumper and hood still need to be done. and the rest of the vinyl still needs to be trimmed straight ( as you can see the passenger side lower rocker area is still messy )

Overall I like the super brige white the vinyl exhibts, its virtually brighter than any other manufactured paint on the market. Add to the matte lines give a nice, smooth and sharp look to the angled lines of the car. Hopefully when the car is completely done, I'll take some professional photos and add them to my blog.

I have posted some pictures on my gallary please see those Thanks!