Vinyl Wrapping Your Own Car?

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R.Y.K. LEE

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Has anyone here got any experience in vinyl wrapping an entire car?

I'm not thinking of chavving out the dad mobile (Citroen C3 Picasso), just wrapping it in the same colour as it normally is.

When I washed the car today, I noticed some peeling/flaking to the black paint on the corner of the plastic bumper on the driver's side. I tried to "clean" up the edges but all that did was take off more paint! Touch up paint wasn't great either, looked more like nail polish.

Any advise regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
I know a company that do it, Zero One Race FX * but I've no idea how much it'd cost to do a car nor how durable the finish would be. AFAIK they wrap vehicles for sponsorship or advertising and it's either for 'light' use (i.e. one race every couple of weeks) or for a limited period (however long the ad runs). There are clear finishes produced for bikes that are supposed to protect from stone chips and the like but again, no idea whether it's available for cars.







* I'm not personally connected to the business nor have I used their services but I do know the chaps who run the company.
 
You will be better off just getting the front bumper painted. (Circa £150) Don't use the Guys in the Van though, use a proper Paintshop/Bodyshop. Get them to add a bit of plastic flex to the lacquer to avoid it chipping from stones etc so easily. Wrapping one panel will never match and wrapping the whole car will be waste of money and depreciate the value.
 
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What is the cost of a vinyl wrap, because it is usually used on custom jobs. I saw one wrap on "Wheeler Dealers" on a VW Transporter, and the end result was less than perfect to my eye.
Vinyl is quite soft, and I reckon that if you had a word with local paint shops, they could do a respray in two pack cheaper than a vinyl wrap - particularly if you prep the car prior to painting.
 
Oxford_Matt said:
You will be better off just getting the front bumper painted. (Circa £150) Don't use the Guys in the Van though, use a proper Paintshop/Bodyshop. Get them to add a bit of plastic flex to the lacquer to avoid it chipping from stones etc so easily. Wrapping one panel will never match and wrapping the whole car will be waste of money and depreciate the value.
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This ^
 
The cost of a full wrap is approximately the same as a full respray, region of £2k.
 
There's a company in Cardiff who do clear wrapping (gloss or matt) for complete cars. Ideally done from new, before the car picks up any chips, scratches etc.. www.autodetailingstudio.co.uk . Just happen to have seen a short article on them in a magazine, not a personal recommendation.
 
this anything like cling film wrapping :eek: keep thinking about trying that on the wife :wave:
 
To do a vinyl wrap the underlying paint has to be perfect, otherwise the vinyl can peel off and it will show up all the imperfections.

Are there any car detailers local to you? They're know the best ways of making a car look better.
 
Oxford_Matt said:
You will be better off just getting the front bumper painted. (Circa £150) Don't use the Guys in the Van though, use a proper Paintshop/Bodyshop. Get them to add a bit of plastic flex to the lacquer to avoid it chipping from stones etc so easily. Wrapping one panel will never match and wrapping the whole car will be waste of money and depreciate the value.
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andy700 said:
What is the cost of a vinyl wrap, because it is usually used on custom jobs. I saw one wrap on "Wheeler Dealers" on a VW Transporter, and the end result was less than perfect to my eye.
Vinyl is quite soft, and I reckon that if you had a word with local paint shops, they could do a respray in two pack cheaper than a vinyl wrap - particularly if you prep the car prior to painting.
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I was hoping to do a DIY job on it, and wrap it myself :/ 10-15 metres (enough for the entire car) costs about £100. Would the depreciation in value affect insurance value? Or just in case I resell the vehicle/part exchange it? Surely I can just remove the wrap if and when it comes to parting with the vehicle? :) Or am I oversimplifying the situation.

nilagin said:
It's a Citroen Picasso, there's only so much that can be done. ;)
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Oi! Lol :D It can't be as ugly as the Xsara Picasso ;)
 
R.Y.K. LEE said:
Surely I can just remove the wrap if and when it comes to parting with the vehicle? :) Or am I oversimplifying the situation.
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I unwrapped a Merc ML which had been professionally done. I will never do it again, absolute nightmare to do properly, and where the paint underneath wasnt sound it came away with the wrap so the local chipsaway bloke had to repair it anyway.
Its fine for very low mileage motors but if its an everyday driver it will not stand up to the rigeurs of life and look shabby very quickly IMO
The clear wrap (Ventureshield etc) is ok but better on new cars and the paint underneath needs to be in good condition. Its also very expensive
 
Madmoggy said:
I unwrapped a Merc ML which had been professionally done. I will never do it again, absolute nightmare to do properly, and where the paint underneath wasnt sound it came away with the wrap so the local chipsaway bloke had to repair it anyway.
Its fine for very low mileage motors but if its an everyday driver it will not stand up to the rigeurs of life and look shabby very quickly IMO
The clear wrap (Ventureshield etc) is ok but better on new cars and the paint underneath needs to be in good condition. Its also very expensive
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So the majority vote is a no no. Therefore I guess that spray on plastidip stuff is a no go either. I will have another ring around and see if I can find a good quote. I'm in Leicester, if anyone has any experience with one here. Thanks guys!
 
R.Y.K. LEE said:
So the majority vote is a no no. Therefore I guess that spray on plastidip stuff is a no go either. I will have another ring around and see if I can find a good quote. I'm in Leicester, if anyone has any experience with one here. Thanks guys!
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Why the aversion to spraying?
The market is competitive and plenty of small reapair outlets can do a decent job in 2 pack which will outlast the rest of the car.
 
andy700 said:
Why the aversion to spraying?
The market is competitive and plenty of small reapair outlets can do a decent job in 2 pack which will outlast the rest of the car.
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I'm referring to the spray on plastidip liquid wraps they do now. From most of the replies here, it seems like any "removable" option is not favourable.

I'm not discounting a proper respray, I was just looking what options i have with a cheaper DIY way of fixing the bumper. If a proper respray is the way to go, then a respray it shall be :)
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
@rpsmith79 is the man you need to speak to regarding wrapping.
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As Alan has pointed out, i used to do vinyl wrapping semi-professionally (working out of my garage), and even after 2 years of wrapping complex interior parts, roofs and bonnets i still didn't have the experience and confidence to wrap a whole car, there is a reason it costs in the region of a grand to have a proper wrap job done

And as suggested earlier, the paint needs to be in good condition to start with otherwise any imperfections will just show though

You also need a good sized work space, and it needs to be dust free, i had a single garage that was still far too small to use to work on cars, i'd suggest you need at least a double garage or a decent work space if you intend to give it a go yourself

Also, steer clear of the cheap wrap you might see on the likes of eBay, i'd recommend sticking to the well established brands of Hexis and 3M

But if it's just a few panels that need sorting, id think that spraying would be a better approach
 
I'm a spray painter but I also do Vinyl wrapping and aqua dipping. I would just get it painted at a bodyshop. There's nothing worse than seeing just the outside of a car wrapped and not inside the door checks and engine bay. If you want that done then you're talking serious money for a good job. I get requests daily that make me want to face palm till I'm red raw.

Since you're noticing flaking it would be good practice to sand the whole bumper down. This also may require blending into the wings depending on the colour or the condition of the wings.

The clear vinyl wrap is a great idea if it's good quality vinyl. Cheap stuff makes it look like you've had a poor respray. With being a spray painter I just paint bits of my car whenever I feel like it, otherwise I would quite happily wrap my car in clear vinyl. From new or after a fresh paint job that is.
 
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CaveDweller said:
I'm a spray painter but I also do Vinyl wrapping and aqua dipping. I would just get it painted at a bodyshop. There's nothing worse than seeing just the outside of a car wrapped and not inside the door checks and engine bay. If you want that done then you're talking serious money for a good job. I get requests daily that make me want to face palm till I'm red raw.

Since you're noticing flaking it would be good practice to sand the whole bumper down. This also may require blending into the wings depending on the colour or the condition of the wings.

The clear vinyl wrap is a great idea if it's good quality vinyl. Cheap stuff makes it look like you've had a poor respray. With being a spray painter I just paint bits of my car whenever I feel like it, otherwise I would quite happily wrap my car in clear vinyl. From new or after a fresh paint job that is.
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A couple of questions Paul, because I was spraying cars (just as a hobby really - only 30 vehicles or so), but can you polish vinyl, or doesn't it need polishing?
How chip resistant is it?
What the heck do you do if someone scratches it - supermarket trolley for instance?
Lastly, the point which you made, which I have highlighted. Back in the day, a "mate" bought a 5 series Beemer which was light blue (horrible), and had seen my car (BMW 2002) which I had resprayed (but kept to the original colour - light metallic green). So, he wanted a colour change to deep metallic blue, and when I told him the work involved - strip down the interior, take out the glass, degrease and mask the engine bay, then prep the entire car, he was surprised that it would come to more than £200:rolleyes:
I did the exterior, which came up to a glass like finish, and left him the remainder of the paint (Glasurit - which cost a bit) to do the shuts and bay - he wasn't pleased - hey ho!;)
 
CaveDweller said:
I'm a spray painter but I also do Vinyl wrapping and aqua dipping. I would just get it painted at a bodyshop. There's nothing worse than seeing just the outside of a car wrapped and not inside the door checks and engine bay. If you want that done then you're talking serious money for a good job. I get requests daily that make me want to face palm till I'm red raw.

Since you're noticing flaking it would be good practice to sand the whole bumper down. This also may require blending into the wings depending on the colour or the condition of the wings.

The clear vinyl wrap is a great idea if it's good quality vinyl. Cheap stuff makes it look like you've had a poor respray. With being a spray painter I just paint bits of my car whenever I feel like it, otherwise I would quite happily wrap my car in clear vinyl. From new or after a fresh paint job that is.
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Is aqua dipping the same as the plastidip stuff? I've seen a few videos on YouTube, and they don't seem to paint inside the door shuts or engine bay.

They just mask off the bits they don't want the paint on, and then just spray it on in layers. Even seen some of them paint it on their car in the driveway!

Does it dry and become as durable as the wraps? Plastidip seems to have a matte finish though from what I've seen.
 
R.Y.K. LEE said:
Is aqua dipping the same as the plastidip stuff? I've seen a few videos on YouTube, and they don't seem to paint inside the door shuts or engine bay.

They just mask off the bits they don't want the paint on, and then just spray it on in layers. Even seen some of them paint it on their car in the driveway!

Does it dry and become as durable as the wraps? Plastidip seems to have a matte finish though from what I've seen.
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Nah it's not the same. Aqua dipping (or hydro dipping, coating) is mainly just for small parts. It's popular in the automotive industry for people who want to spice up their interior trims or engine bay components but it can be used for anything small, from car parts to rifle stocks, guitars...literally anything as long as it can get wet.

I'll link a video about it because it's easier than explaining lol. After the object has been dipped we spray the part with lacquer to protect it.

This isn't my video, but it will show you the general idea.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFSoiCo-lA
 
andy700 said:
A couple of questions Paul, because I was spraying cars (just as a hobby really - only 30 vehicles or so), but can you polish vinyl, or doesn't it need polishing?
How chip resistant is it?
What the heck do you do if someone scratches it - supermarket trolley for instance?
Lastly, the point which you made, which I have highlighted. Back in the day, a "mate" bought a 5 series Beemer which was light blue (horrible), and had seen my car (BMW 2002) which I had resprayed (but kept to the original colour - light metallic green). So, he wanted a colour change to deep metallic blue, and when I told him the work involved - strip down the interior, take out the glass, degrease and mask the engine bay, then prep the entire car, he was surprised that it would come to more than £200:rolleyes:
I did the exterior, which came up to a glass like finish, and left him the remainder of the paint (Glasurit - which cost a bit) to do the shuts and bay - he wasn't pleased - hey ho!;)
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You can polish it, but it's not really needed. It will still help it keep the surface smooth and shiny.

It's pretty chip resistant because it's vinyl, it's quite "giving" unlike solid paint. Tiny stones ect bounce off it easier rather than taking a chunk out your hard paint. If it's good quality stuff though.

If someone scratches it?...givien the paint underneath the vinyl is in good condition (not flaking), then peel it off and get that panel done again :D which is cheaper than paint.

The cost for painting cars is as bad as dentist or vet bills and that's mainly down to the cost of the paint, just 500ml can set you back £50+ of your average metallic and 10x that is needed for a whole car. I get a lot of gasps and strange facial expressions when I show the customers the estimate :ROFLMAO:
 
I had air rifles dipped this way and the end result was amazing and the finish was quite resilient to chips and scratches.
 
n0chex said:
I had air rifles dipped this way and the end result was amazing and the finish was quite resilient to chips and scratches.
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I've got a shotgun with ABS "woodwork" that would look much better with a woodgrain finish - I wonder how much that would cost...

Unlike an air rifle though, access to it is severely restricted, the stock wouldn't create any legal problems but the fore end might.
 
n0chex said:
I had air rifles dipped this way and the end result was amazing and the finish was quite resilient to chips and scratches.
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It's just as durable as car paint because it's lacquered over the top of the pattern (y)
Garry Edwards said:
I've got a shotgun with ABS "woodwork" that would look much better with a woodgrain finish - I wonder how much that would cost...

Unlike an air rifle though, access to it is severely restricted, the stock wouldn't create any legal problems but the fore end might.
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If you got it in a state that it can't fire then I'm sure you'd find someone, or even if you are able to take the stock off. Cost varies hugely between different shops that do aqua dipping.

I've dipped nearly all of my rifles, barrel and all. I'm yet to do my Sako TRG 42 but when I do I'll be giving it a nice camo all over like the rest. You have to keep it away from parts that require a tight threshold though, obviously. Like bolts, triggers, safety switches, etc. It requires complete disassembly of the firearm.
 
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Gary you would only need to send the stock Only and for price I suppose it's where you send it like anywhere else prices vary I suppose.

PS: Sorry to hijack your thread Ray :)
 
You pipped me to the post Paul...........

here is a air rifle I had dipped scope as well.

 
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Looks great (y) I'll get some pictures of mine when I'm back home on the weekend:D I've got 5 rifles and shotguns but my big brute is the only one I haven't done. Some of them have seen better days though because they are my work horses. They get chucked around and placed on anything possible before i fitted bi-pods.
 
n0chex said:
Gary you would only need to send the stock Only and for price I suppose it's where you send it like anywhere else prices vary I suppose.

PS: Sorry to hijack your thread Ray :)
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No worries :D This is very interesting stuff! So many different ways to paint/coat items. Didn't even know these techniques exist.
 
n0chex said:
You pipped me to the post Paul...........

here is a air rifle I had dipped scope as well.

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That looks really nice, is it a Weihrauch or maybe a Theoben?
I am just guessing because I don't have a clue what it is.
 
I have a plastic guitar, one piece injection moulded out of something called vibracell. Made by a company called Switch, which I believe have now gone bust. Would love to do this to it!
 
R.Y.K. LEE said:
I have a plastic guitar, one piece injection moulded out of something called vibracell. Made by a company called Switch, which I believe have now gone bust. Would love to do this to it!
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Looks quite simple. It's like some sort of dye that sits on the surface of the water. I'll have to find out some more info about it and fine random stuff to play with lol... mind you, I get moaned at enough about washing my spraying stuff in the bath, let alone actually putting dye in it lol.
 
andy700 said:
That looks really nice, is it a Weihrauch or maybe a Theoben?
I am just guessing because I don't have a clue what it is.
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Close :) Daystate Harrier
 
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