Vinyl wrap quantity

Burninrock24

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Has anybody vinyl wrapped their entire car? I'm going on my 3rd body panel with a different shade of black and it's starting to look like a patchwork quilt under direct sunlight. Considering just switching it up to vinyl. I've done plenty of vinyl graphics on my race cars, but never an entire car. How much does it take to wrap a convertible?
 

Daryl

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I was entertaining the idea as well. My paint’s fine, but here in Cali with the drought, you’re not supposed to wash your car.
Do you even wash a wrapped car? Or just dust it off?
Anybody know??

And do wraps come in gloss black?
 

Daryl

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Ok, I did some research just now and I’m not going to wrap my car. I’ll find some other way to protect it, like a tent/canopy enclosure or something like that.
 

ttocs

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Ok, I did some research just now and I’m not going to wrap my car. I’ll find some other way to protect it, like a tent/canopy enclosure or something like that.
what made you change your mind? I have not heard much bad about wrapping, but I know anytime I see someone put up a cheap canopy that it is only a matter of a nice windy day before they are pulling it out of the neighbors yard.

I have wondered myself how much it would take as I have considered it.
 

Daryl

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From what I learned, you still to wash it like a regular car wash you’d do at home; they’re just as susceptible to scratches and dings as not having it on there; they will fade in direct sunlight; and they last at best 7 years.
So it would seem the best (only?) redeeming value is they’ll save your paint job. But even then they’re sometimes very difficult to remove, especially after a number of years and a lot of Sun, which basically bakes the vinyl into the paint.

I’ll pass! And just keep on keeping on with the occasional wash, use the quick detailer to extend the time between washes due to the drought and keep it waxed up !

ooh, look at that… coffee time! :)
 

Idlehands78

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I looked into this when I first got my car. It was going to be about 2-3 rolls of vinyl, depending. IF you get the nice 60" rolls it's less, but you still have a lot of wasted product when you get to the bumpers. I believe it was 2 rolls of 60" x 30ft or something like that.

Cost was all depending on materials. Anywhere from $400-$1,000. The trick is, you still have to do all the body work. If you have dents, they don't get filled in by wrap, depending on the color it can actually make it worse. So your still doing a lot of the body prep you do for paint.

I called a few places to get quotes, and it was around $4k in So Cal to wrap the car. Painting is around the same for a decent job locally, so I'm going that route. Wrap is only cheaper if you do it yourself. Plus all the other stuff you found out.
 

RAU03MACH

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Nothing beats paint
I have seen how it goes on and it is a pain to put on and take off
Next if you have any bad body flaws it sticks out like a sore thumb
 

Idlehands78

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Now I'm going back and seriously considering it. if it's only one roll of 5x75, that could be considerably less than doing all the paint work. I was thinking about a single stage paint, but a wrap may be even less, especially if I do it in my garage.
 
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Now I'm going back and seriously considering it. if it's only one roll of 5x75, that could be considerably less than doing all the paint work. I was thinking about a single stage paint, but a wrap may be even less, especially if I do it in my garage.
just make sure to take your time, use a heat gun, and preferably do this when the ambient temp is between 70 and 80. it helps with the application. a second set of hands also helps. i did my wrap over the course of a month and a half and at my leisure with my wife helping me here and there
 

ttocs

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if anyone were to try this I think it would not be a bad idea to find an old fender or something that I could practice a small piece before moving to my car. I think I would almost expect to mess up the first or second piece and while its not hard to just peel it off when its fresh I would think it would be easier to get an idea of how much heat/how long/how hard to push to get it applied. I am sure that its just like tinting windows/paint where it takes a little time to learn how the material reacts.
 
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if anyone were to try this I think it would not be a bad idea to find an old fender or something that I could practice a small piece before moving to my car. I think I would almost expect to mess up the first or second piece and while its not hard to just peel it off when its fresh I would think it would be easier to get an idea of how much heat/how long/how hard to push to get it applied. I am sure that its just like tinting windows/paint where it takes a little time to learn how the material reacts.

honestly, youre overthinking it. its really quite simple. if youve applied little stickers or decals/vinyls on other parts of your car, its the same just larger and you need more heat
 
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the most difficult parts of the car and most time consuming are the bumpers, and if i were anyone here who didnt want to take the time to fuck up a few strips of vinyl i would take them to get done professionally. those and making sure your working area is clean are the hardest parts
 

badass98svt

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I want to do the roof on my car in gloss black. Not the pillars etc, just the roof.
 

ttocs

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I have this image of that first piece, peeling the back off and finding it stuck to me, to the wall, to itself and anything but the part of the car I want it on. I have tinted my own windows and done plenty of vinyl wrapping on interior stuff that is nowhere near as forgiving as this, all I am saying is it helps to know your materials and start small.
 

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