Appyling a Vinyl Wrap

[DerbyForget]

hi, as the title states im thinking of ordering some vinyl off ebay and attempting this just a few questions really to those who have done it...

1. How hard is it? eg can you mess it up easily?
2. Is it a long lasting solution?
3. am i better off just paying for a pro to do it?

just for information im only looking at doing a part of my front bumper, mirror inserts and grille - probably in Matt or Gloss Black, havent decided yet

 

[aaron-gardner]

to be honest its worth having a go for yourself because a good size lenght of a half decent vinyl which i have purchased myself only cost around £25 and this is enough to cover my roof, spoiler and all interior trim parts. i have done door handles on the interior of my mk1 leon and tbh it was tricky but you couldnt really mess it up. if you make a mistake just re-heat gently and try again.. its amazingly good stuff and really plyable. as for lasting im not sure. as long as the contact area is squeaky clean and you dont contaminate it. then it will last a while. basically the better the prep the better the lastability. when you get to really curvy and tricky areas then if you can overlap parts to be hidden away then a little glue can help keep it in place.
i got quote £400 to wrap all of my requested parts so of course im more than willing to save £375 by having a go.

 

[DerbyForget]

sounds good i suppose it cant hurt to give it a go and who knows i might be a natural lol when you say apply heat, will a hair dryer suffice??? i understand that the area has to be very clean prior to applying but is it then just a case of peeling off, sticking down and making sure there are no air bubbles?? thanks for the help

 

[Buzz123]

Practice makes perfect. Just use a card to get into corners its just like tape that you stick on and mold just keep playing I only started the other week

look at my build thread haha wrapping mad

 

[M6TT F]

i wrapped my door trims and the steering wheel trim successfully - mirrors looked good, but its started to shrink back away from the edges where i stretched it so going to have to try and do those again

 

[aaron-gardner]

its best not to over stretch. it does take practice and yes a hairdryer has been used by many members with no problems. i used a low setting on a heatgun and it worked a treat. just start off with the easy looking parts and have a practice on a small area of the more difficult stuff. as for air bubbles a half decent and the good stuff is almost impossible to get air bubbles.

 

[n5erd]

Cutting it!

So lets say i remove my aerial and want to wrap the roof with some good quality 3M stuff. Once it is on, and i fold along the lines into the roof. How do i cut it without damaging the paintwork

Anyone recommend a good tool to cut with?

 

[aaron-gardner]

a precision craft knife is best. and a couple of them to keep em sharp. just be extremely careful. ill be doing my roof when the sun comes out so ill keep you posted.

 

[aaron-gardner]

also you should not need to trim when stuck down so you end up scoring the paintwork. you want to get it into place and then trim as needed befor sticking it down.

 

[n5erd]

good advice

cheers Aaron, thanks for the good advice.

Yeah will keep an eye on these posts, as thinking the 3M would be best but also keen to hear what you and other guys use if good quality and then what it is like after a few months more importantly

Good luck with yours

 

[aaron-gardner]

i would say if you can buy the 3m the buy 3m as its supposed to be better but so far no problems with the slightly cheaper stuff on my interior parts. 4 weeks and still holding strong. as for the roof which will experience direct heat and moisture??? that may show some flaws in quality but we will see.

 

[DerbyForget]

cheers chaps, im currently contemplating getting the parts sprayed proffessionally instead??? just out of interest is wrapping a long term solution?? as in will it peel off around the edges after a few weeks etc

 

[mrbubba]

cheers chaps, im currently contemplating getting the parts sprayed proffessionally instead??? just out of interest is wrapping a long term solution?? as in will it peel off around the edges after a few weeks etc

Eventually it will. Saw a white Range Rover and the wrap had clearly been on a while as the corners were cracking and it looked ****

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[DerbyForget]

just a quick update on this, ive been quoted £120 to have all the parts i want sprayed in satin black... hmmm thoughts?? i could always try my hand at wrapping the grille i suppose

 

[Paulki]

cheers chaps, im currently contemplating getting the parts sprayed proffessionally instead??? just out of interest is wrapping a long term solution?? as in will it peel off around the edges after a few weeks etc

I read on the FAQ page of a vehicle wrapping company that is will typically last 3-5 years, so if you're after a permanent change you're better off with paint.
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