DIY Wrapping?

[cupraslayer]

Got quoted £140 for roof and mirrors. Didn't think that was too bad.

 

[dtmwelburn]

Im thinking of gerrin the roof painted gloss black now as theres always the risk of damaging paint if the vinyl ever gets removed, and it costs less which is always a bonus,
Dan

 

[aaronipswich]

Right Im gona order some off eBay
But just wonderd where the best place to buy a knife to cut it with from

 

[t32er]

Right Im gona order some off eBay
But just wonderd where the best place to buy a knife to cut it with from

crafts shop mate

 

[AIM86]

whats the best stuff to use for the roof and spoiler wrap? i see a lot is 3M and others aren't described as 3M, what difference does this make?

 

[Slimy]

crafts shop mate

Agreed, hobbycraft has some that will slice through anything just by taking the cover off the blade! Get spare blades though, they gunk up with the adhesive quite quickly.

 

[Slimy]

whats the best stuff to use for the roof and spoiler wrap? i see a lot is 3M and others aren't described as 3M, what difference does this make?

3M is considered the best for wrapping, but you can get away with cheaper stuff. The difference is in the curves, the top stuff will follow curves with no wrinkles, no difficulty and it will maintain the curves. As you go down the grades it gets harder to follow the curves, working with it gets more difficult, and it just gets horrible. As a guide, a roof can be done in cheaper stuff, but if I was attempting a wing mirror I'd aim for 3M.

My humble opinion is to aim for the middle ground. MDP supplies (earlier in this thread) do three main types of vinyl. Cast vinyl, which is top notch and really easy to work with. Polymeric calendared, which I believe is the one of the best calendared vinyl, and monomeric, which is the bottom calendared. My choice would be the polymeric, although MDP's cast vinyl isn't that expensive compared to other places I've seen.

 

[Floodie]

how do you choose which type of vinyl from MDP supplies mate? - when i go to the vehicle wrap i cant see where to choose cast / Polymeric or Calendared?

 

[AIM86]

3M is considered the best for wrapping, but you can get away with cheaper stuff. The difference is in the curves, the top stuff will follow curves with no wrinkles, no difficulty and it will maintain the curves. As you go down the grades it gets harder to follow the curves, working with it gets more difficult, and it just gets horrible. As a guide, a roof can be done in cheaper stuff, but if I was attempting a wing mirror I'd aim for 3M.

My humble opinion is to aim for the middle ground. MDP supplies (earlier in this thread) do three main types of vinyl. Cast vinyl, which is top notch and really easy to work with. Polymeric calendared, which I believe is the one of the best calendared vinyl, and monomeric, which is the bottom calendared. My choice would be the polymeric, although MDP's cast vinyl isn't that expensive compared to other places I've seen.

Thanks for that, makes more sense now, think i will be having a go at this.

 

[Slimy]

how do you choose which type of vinyl from MDP supplies mate? - when i go to the vehicle wrap i cant see where to choose cast / Polymeric or Calendared?

Because it looks like what they list as vehicle wraps are all cast vinyl, they don't give you a cheap option. I was looking more at these pages;

http://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/signvinyl1220.asp

http://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/signvinyl1220matt.asp

Although I've just checked on my car, and 48 inches isn't enough to cover a roof or bonnet!

 

[rs-tuner]

Right I have orderd some vinyl wrap to have a go at wrapping my whole car.it should arrive tomorrow and I will try to get it done this weekend. Pics and guide to follow if it works out.

 

[AIM86]

Right I have orderd some vinyl wrap to have a go at wrapping my whole car.it should arrive tomorrow and I will try to get it done this weekend. Pics and guide to follow if it works out.

I've ordered some gloss black vinyl to do the roof and spoiler, expecting it today so will also post pics when i've done. Mind you i'm expecting to make a hash of it at first, lol.

 

[dtmwelburn]

Looking forward to the pics guys i been holding off the painting of the roof to see how yours goes, not to use you as guinea pigs or anything lol

 

[Floodie]

good luck guys.. im planning on doing the whole car in the next few months too for the 1st time. How many meters have you ordered?, I was thinking about 15m for my Vag-Clio, maybe im way out, dunno

 

[AIM86]

good luck guys.. im planning on doing the whole car in the next few months too for the 1st time. How many meters have you ordered?, I was thinking about 15m for my Vag-Clio, maybe im way out, dunno

Think i'm going to start off small, the whole car for a first attempt might be a bit of a laugh, lol.
I ordered 3m for the roof and spoiler (i ordered extra in case i screw up the first attempt)

 

[Slimy]

I think they say about 20metres for a BMW, so 15 should be ok.

 

[AIM86]

Ok, bit of an update. I have wrapped my spoiler but not the roof yet, i have taken photos but i can't upload them for some reason at the moment. going to give the roof a go next weekend (weather permitted). Quite pleased with how the spoiler turned out but need to wrap the top again at some point cus i have a few air bubbles in it and can't get them out. But for a first attempt i'm quite pleased

 

[sambryant]

Stick a small pin in the air bubbles, job done.

 

[AIM86]

Stick a small pin in the air bubbles, job done.

Have done that, got a few of them out but some of them don't want to know. I managed to get a crease on the front edge as well so i will definitely redoing it at some stage.

 

[Slimy]

Creases are best dealt with by heating it up with a hairdryer, it gets the vinyl pliable and in most cases the heat itself de-creases things. I've found it also helps with the air bubbles. Heat them up, stick a pin in them, then it all cools and settles.