Vinyl Wrap Opinions

[turbohye]

Just writing to get a few opinions. Been contemplating getting the car painted and after several quotes, it seems not much can be done for anything less than 5000 dollars for a "decent" job. All the places i went to are charging an arm and a leg and they all say the same thing.. "your panels wavy and there is too much work that needs to be done"
Black will show everything and i am just not in a position to pay that much. Ive had the car for a long time now and Steve V has built both my motor and tranny and she runs great with less than 10k on the drivetrain. I have a great new set of GTA wheels and eibach lowering springs with KYBs put in this weekend. Id love to do it up back in gloss black but I fear all those dimples and waves will just eat at me...
Its not a show car by any means but shes a weekend driver.
If met up with several guys at car meets recently and 1 camaro guy recently wrapped his 68 in flat matte black vinyl..looked amazing actually. He said his was not straight either and he had waves in his panels as well...but with the matte finish, you couldnt see them.
Im considering this and he said he would help wrap my buick and it would not cost more than 500 dollars plus free labor.
Ive seen another buick on here painted satin and it looked good. Just wanted to hear your thoughts...money is tight but again, im writing here to hear your honest input and so forth....my buick wrapped lowered 1 inch with black center GTAs in satin or matte black...
Am i making the right decision being that the car has so many surface flaws that will show up with anything glossy?

Honest input guys...

Heres a sample link with a guy doing it in his garage on his bimmer.
wrapped my car - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum - E90Post.com

 

[pacecarta]

you want it cheap , be able to last 4yrs , be able to peel off and be flat ..just have macco paint it

 

[notacarlo]

with extensive experience on wraps I can tell you that after a while you will start to see the pattern or cut lines and it will bug the living crap out of you. They do not last more than 2.5 years and they fade unevenly especially if you are in a heavy sun portion of the continent.

They will of course argue with what I have said, but they want to sell you a wrap.

 

[1fast6]

you want it cheap , be able to last 4yrs , be able to peel off and be flat ..just have macco paint it

lol that's funny right there.:biggrin:

 

[Roc87]

If you're wanting flat/satin, why not just paint it? CarCrafts July '11, has an article about painting a '65 Chevelle with "Hot Rod Flatz", was pretty cheap.

 

[turbohye]

you want it cheap , be able to last 4yrs , be able to peel off and be flat ..just have macco paint it

Yea good point lol

with extensive experience on wraps I can tell you that after a while you will start to see the pattern or cut lines and it will bug the living crap out of you. They do not last more than 2.5 years and they fade unevenly especially if you are in a heavy sun portion of the continent.

They will of course argue with what I have said, but they want to sell you a wrap.

Thanks man, i think you are right. It would mostly sit in the garage till weekends. Not a track car by any means. Thought it would be nice to have and not worry about wavy panels.

lol that's funny right there.:biggrin:

If you're wanting flat/satin, why not just paint it? CarCrafts July '11, has an article about painting a '65 Chevelle with "Hot Rod Flatz", was pretty cheap.

But I guess thats part of my argument, I always feel these cars are nostalgic but not a 65 chevelle. I really think that rad rod look looks great on oldies but what do you think about our G Bodies. Whenever i see a flat black monte, they are usually at the track as racers. Our cars are usually glossy... Damn those waves in my panels!!! ::raising fist to sky::

 

[Red C5]

I wouldn't do it to my car but have seen a few that it looked pretty good on. BUT, for $500 including labor, you're getting a heck of a deal. I think to get a car done is usually around $2000+.

Peter

 

[azbob]

Just remember that when you take it off it will require a repaint or another wrap.

 

[notacarlo]

truly a "bandaid" fix for the issue.

The cheapest our guys do it for is about $4K and go up to $7k for real exotic patterns and definitions.

They can look very good, especially being disposable in nature.

Here's a couple cars Skinz did for us.

 

[Adam Connell]

Holy hell 7K?!?! Almost every monster truck out there is vinyl wrapped, and I know for a fact they dont run anywhere near that high even for the most intricate art work.

Then again, they are easy as hell to wrap from the lack of body panels.

I am probobly going to wrap my car in flat/satin some time within the year... got some paint flaws pissing me off on a respray thats only a year and a half old.

 

[notacarlo]

Holy hell 7K?!?! Almost every monster truck out there is vinyl wrapped, and I know for a fact they dont run anywhere near that high even for the most intricate art work.

Then again, they are easy as hell to wrap from the lack of body panels.

I am probobly going to wrap my car in flat/satin some time within the year... got some paint flaws pissing me off on a respray thats only a year and a half old.

Adam, I'm sure there are more affordable guys out there, these guys are just at the top of their game. The guy wrapping the 458 in carbon is Boris....the best I have ever seen. He makes your car look like it was painted and can repair panels without being able to see blend lines.

 

[turbohye]

truly a "bandaid" fix for the issue.

The cheapest our guys do it for is about $4K and go up to $7k for real exotic patterns and definitions.

They can look very good, especially being disposable in nature.

Here's a couple cars Skinz did for us.

Wow. very nice looking. Question for you then, if i have some primer spots (debadged the GN emblems) and it pulled the paint off. So i have to sand and primer that area....its all smooth and wetsanded in that area...Would that prevent the vinyl from adhering properly? or to any bodywork at that? I have a few rust bumps pushing the paint up near the bottom of the doors and didnt know if i should damage the clear there fix it and so forth?
Got another quote for 5200 for the car to be resprayed and its not getting cheaper lol.

please advise in any way you can.
Carbon fiber wrapped would look sexy.....maybe overdone...but id probably be the only buick to be wrapped on this forum (street driven not track)

 

[notacarlo]

Personally I think the carbon looks horrible. Money can't by a sense of style as I have learned.

I am told that this material (Avery) will go right over primer. There really isn't an adhesive used. The film has something there, but it does not leave anything on the paint. I have stripped a lot of these cars and the panels look like the day we cleaned it for the wrap install.

The film is stretched over the panel and then squeegied on using a card and a light application of heat. This activated whatever is on the back side and makes it tac to the surface.

Ideally you would not want a textured wrap (like carbon) because when it is stretched around a radius, the pattern follows the application. No one is perfect, except Boris and you will see waves in the film.

The cars are prepped by wiping down with denatured alky.

 

[turbohye]

Personally I think the carbon looks horrible. Money can't by a sense of style as I have learned.

I am told that this material (Avery) will go right over primer. There really isn't an adhesive used. The film has something there, but it does not leave anything on the paint. I have stripped a lot of these cars and the panels look like the day we cleaned it for the wrap install.

The film is stretched over the panel and then squeegied on using a card and a light application of heat. This activated whatever is on the back side and makes it tac to the surface.

Ideally you would not want a textured wrap (like carbon) because when it is stretched around a radius, the pattern follows the application. No one is perfect, except Boris and you will see waves in the film.

The cars are prepped by wiping down with denatured alky.

notacarlo thanks a ton man. I cant tell you how useful the advice has been. Really good info. I really just want satin as the carbon look would be overdone.. nice on small trim peices on imports but it takes away from the steel panel look of classic cars. I certainly feel this can turn out good but i need vinyl recommendations. I have the squeegee and razor and heat gun but just need the right vinyl. Signed up at wrapping forums online learning a bunch.

 

[notacarlo]

notacarlo thanks a ton man. I cant tell you how useful the advice has been. Really good info. I really just want satin as the carbon look would be overdone.. nice on small trim peices on imports but it takes away from the steel panel look of classic cars. I certainly feel this can turn out good but i need vinyl recommendations. I have the squeegee and razor and heat gun but just need the right vinyl. Signed up at wrapping forums online learning a bunch.

No problem.....don't do it yourself.