GodZilla Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) A friend just sent me this. The results are pretty good. This is probably easier than the "Tremclad Roller Paint Job". Check it out. My car is currently in the shop for a RB Motor Swap. I wonder if I should attempt this in a Flat White Vinyl? Hmmm. If I could actually get results equal to that, it would definitely be worth it. I've already attempted the Tremclad roll on paint job and it turned out .... not so pretty. http://www.unfinishedman.com/how-to-paint-your-car-flat-black-for-cheap I vinyl wrapped my car flat black. This was just a random project i decided to pull the trigger on.... I had no experience whatsoever on vinyling anything. I just watched a few vids on youtube and got some advice from friends who do vinyl stickers. Here's a few pics of the process and outcome... Hate it, Love it...It was my first time... it took me 1 week and a day to complete....did a panel a day after work =) oh, and for the record... I didn't pay over $3000 bucks that most people pay to vinyl their car.... I paid about $120 for all materials... and i did all the work myself, with some help from my fiance from time to time =) enjoy DIY!!!! so this will be my little DIY since there's not really much to mention =) THINGS YOU NEED: Vinyl (about 25 yards give it take..also depending how much you mess up)... measurements for the vinyl i got were 25 yrds and 48 inches wide.... 2 qts of application fluid for the vinyl I used a felt squeegee so it wont scratch the surface of the vinyl. I also used a heat gun from Harbor Freight... $10 FTW!!!! 1 XActo knife and scissors AND LOTS OF PATIENCE!!!!! I fully detailed the car prior to vinyling including: - Full car wash, Clay bar'ed the car, and waxed just to be sure the car was flawless. It is important to make sure there are no specs of dust, bugs, dirt, or anything that would affect the vinyl application onto the car... Applying: 1. Start with the easiest parts first (for me, it was the roof, trunk, and hood) 2. Cut the vinyl to the size of the section you are going to start on and make sure you cut an oversized piece just in case for stretching the vinyl. 3. Spray the application fluid all over the area you are about to vinyl, and peel off the backing of the vinyl and apply it to the section. 4. Be sure you squeegee the vinyl slowly because if you're too rapid, that may cause creases and lots of air bubbles; this is where the heat gun comes into play. With creases, just lift the vinyl back up and heat the area which you creased, stretch the vinyl until there is no more crease and reapply the vinyl. ALWAYS SQUEEGEE FROM MIDDLE OUTWARD... 5. The vinyl may keep coming up at the edges, this is due to the application fluid. Let it dry and you may continue to squeegee the vinyl down. Now for the curvy areas!!!! This is where you may need some help from a person or two... FOR THE BUMPERS: 1. do not use application fluid when vinyling the bumpers or the most curvy areas of the car. If you do, it will be a Bi*ch to apply it. 2. Use A LOT of stretch and heat for this application 3. Start middle outward; squeegee the middle area of the bumper on, and have someone pull on the vinyl away as you heat the vinyl and squeegee it down. Do NOT over heat or overstretch the vinyl as it may lose its flat black appearance. FYI: There will be a lot of bubbles on the sections where you do not spray the application fluid. NO WORRIES! try to get the bubbles as small as possible, and when you're done, let the car sit out in the sun and the bubbles will magically disappear!! (with the help of a needle from time to time) =) when starting this project, you'll learn more and more as you keep vinyling sections of your car. I learned as i went, and you all will too! (if you decide to tackle this) Try vinyling a piece a time. I vinyl'd a section a day because that took all my patience in a day Edited April 27, 2010 by GodZilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 I love wraps, but doing it in sections like that would take a fairly long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 I saw this on GRM forums a couple of days ago. Definitely turned out great and makes me consider doing this to my car. I'm sure its fairly involved but probably not much more than painting a car. I dont know much about body work but the best part in my mind is that you can tear a panel off and start over if you mess it up the first time. What I'm curious about is what brand/compound vinyl wrap he used for his process. There are many different manufacturers out there and their prices vary a LOT. For $120 the wrap he used cant be high quality so I question the longevity of the material, additionally more expensive materials are easier to apply (I think) making the job that much easier. Anyone know more about different vinyl materials? I might like to try something like this on my Z but would like to find a nice compromise between good material and cost, so I'm not getting the cheapest crap I can find and still going to have an excellent finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 What I'm curious about is what brand/compound vinyl wrap he used for his process. There are many different manufacturers out there and their prices vary a LOT. For $120 the wrap he used cant be high quality so I question the longevity of the material, additionally more expensive materials are easier to apply (I think) making the job that much easier. Anyone know more about different vinyl materials? I might like to try something like this on my Z but would like to find a nice compromise between good material and cost, so I'm not getting the cheapest crap I can find and still going to have an excellent finished product. I think he said his friend orders a lot of stuff from these guys http://www.oracal.com/index.asp and his friend had ordered it for him (might have gotten a good deal). I think I might try this on my friend's POS Civic. Hopefully he doesn't change his mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMission Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 125 dollars for the vinyl? that's amazingly cheap... wonder how many "years" the vinyl is rated for. I'd be scared, especially with flat black and all that work on how it handles the conditions. I guess for a california car, it'd be a least a possibility, but the roads/weather/pollen and all the other things attacking that vinyl, aside from whatever son it gets, makes me think that all that work is going to be less than ideal in a year or so, where paint, if maintained, could last for many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone028 Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 ^ Agreed. I could imagine that it will either peel, get air bubbles, or just look like crap after its been weathered a while. If you're going to do something, do it right the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodZilla Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 The stuff this guy used is apparently good for 4 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 dang.. they even have reflective silver/gold/blue !! how cool would that be to have a shiny metallic reflective blue car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 These may be doable on a newer car but it seems like on a S30 this might not be so easy, with all the curves and smaller panels such as the roof pillars and glass seals. Plus if vinyl can allow moisture through I can't imagine what it would do to the paint and if you start rusting from the inside of the panels to the vinyl coated outside I doubt that would be fun. Just a few thoughts, but it does seem like a nice cheap solution for some people but I think you would need near perfect body work and paint surface to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticky280zx Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 Just a few thoughts, but it does seem like a nice cheap solution for some people but I think you would need near perfect body work and paint surface to work with. That is what i was thinking, dont care if its cheap, or lasts 10 years, you still have to start with perfect paint....which is why i was thinking "why did this idiot take a nice new blue (perfect paint) BMW and do that *** 'fad' to it." Oh well to each his own i guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 (edited) That is what i was thinking, dont care if its cheap, or lasts 10 years, you still have to start with perfect paint....which is why i was thinking "why did this idiot take a nice new blue (perfect paint) BMW and do that *** 'fad' to it." Oh well to each his own i guess You don't need a perfect flaw free surface, just a clean one, where the paint isn't going to flake off, where theres no rust..etc Imagine a vinyl wrap as just a gigantic vinyl sticker. (I know if I get a new car, I'm going to be doing a wrap to protect the factory paint) Edited April 28, 2010 by hoov100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMission Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 I've seen a ton of vinyl wrapped cars for promo stuff from Scion and other Businesses and over time, it just looks worse and worse... And this is long life printed vinyl that's running thousands to install. I'd be interested in real facts about longevity, as a weeks worth of work minimum and (for those of us without vinyl "connections") the significant cost... I don't see it as a better option than paint, as paint will last much longer than 4 years and will end up costing less in the long run for the same styles and "looks" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 I've seen a ton of vinyl wrapped cars for promo stuff from Scion and other Businesses and over time, it just looks worse and worse... And this is long life printed vinyl that's running thousands to install. I'd be interested in real facts about longevity, as a weeks worth of work minimum and (for those of us without vinyl "connections") the significant cost... I don't see it as a better option than paint, as paint will last much longer than 4 years and will end up costing less in the long run for the same styles and "looks" Thats the difference with what was posted above. a professional vinyl wrap can be made and installed in 2 days for around $1200 depending on where you go, the guy in the original post did it for less then $200. How long it lasts is usually dependent on how much care you give it, as not washing it and letting the car sit in the sun all day will ruin just about any vinyl wrap and most paint jobs over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 But with paint you if you get a chip you can fix it pretty easy, if vinyl got a rip you would most likely have to do that entire panel. Also when paint gets dull you can just sand it down polish and wax it. Plus from what I have read vinyl only lasts a few years while paint could last as long as the car if you took care of it. I would just hate to do that then have rocks fly up on the vinyl and tear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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