My attempt at vinyl on grille chrome surround

[Coderedpl]

So I ordered BMW shadowline a LONG LONG time ago, before I even got the Audi and I never got around to using it for what I wanted to. So after searching for the roll around the house i found it and decided to do the grille in the cold weather. Now it wasnt as easy as just slapping it on and calling it a day. You need patience and precision. In the cold both of those are hard.

Far away it looks pretty good in my opinion but upclose you can see where i screwed up. Planning to redo it when spring comes along with the window trim.
(yes the passenger side of the hood is dented, some bitch in NYC did this)

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/B7A4Winter11/2011-01-20_15-39-11_663.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/Coderedpl/B7A4Winter11/2011-01-20_15-39-01_760.jpg

[Vahan A]

looks badass, thinking about doing the same but with a spray on adhesive called plastic dip

[Quattro]

any close ups? looks like a good install :D

[Coderedpl]

looks badass, thinking about doing the same but with a spray on adhesive called plastic dip
My rims are plasti-dipped =P


any close ups? looks like a good install :D
Kind of embarrassed. Once I get real up-close you can see the imperfections, and it took me a few tries

[thenofjboy]

My rims are plasti-dipped =P

How miles are on the wheels after you plasti-dipped them & how many layers did you do? I did a 3-4 layers on a grille for a B5, you can def feel the added weight ha. This grille was shot, thats what i used to many layers

your grille looks good - nice project

[mr shickadance]

i can see a bubble in your vinyl.... but good for a first attempt from what i hear vinyl-ing is much more difficult then pasti dip....when i get the $$ for fly's head lights i figure it'll be a great time to plasti-dip my front since my headlight will be out of the car

[Coderedpl]

How miles are on the wheels after you plasti-dipped them & how many layers did you do? I did a 3-4 layers on a grille for a B5, you can def feel the added weight ha. This grille was shot, thats what i used to many layers

your grille looks good - nice project
Well it's a funny thing because these are my original rims I had on the car that I sold to someone when I bought new wheels, but then the guy I sold them to, decided to get a b8 so the rims wont fit and he gave them back to me. I know he plasti-dipped because he told me as soon as he bought them from me. How many layers and others details i dont know but they are holding up pretty well.


i can see a bubble in your vinyl.... but good for a first attempt from what i hear vinyl-ing is much more difficult then pasti dip....when i get the $$ for fly's head lights i figure it'll be a great time to plasti-dip my front since my headlight will be out of the car
Idk where and how you see a bubble. you must be looking really close because i dont see it lol. Anyway, isnt plasti-dip similar to painting it?

[thenofjboy]

plasti-dip aint that hard at all , you just have to take your time, spray evenly etc. When in doubt, get spare piece to practice on. I used a small basket that was oddly shaped & practiced on each side of the basket with a different amt of layers on each side.

- the plastic dip is thicker & has a lil more texture than some type of paints. Like I said, i did a grille for a B5 with multiple layers due to the condition of the grille,
you can DEF notice the difference but its nothing bad.

OP - thats pretty cool about your wheels, good story haha & glad they are holding up, ESP because they are back in your possession now

[theklug]

How miles are on the wheels after you plasti-dipped them & how many layers did you do?

I have over 3k on my stock rims that I plasti-dipped, no signs of peeling or fading...and used 3 cans for about 2 full layers.....no regrets.

[thenofjboy]

I have over 3k on my stock rims that I plasti-dipped, no signs of peeling or fading...and used 3 cans for about 2 full layers.....no regrets.

ahh nice - good to hear! Ive read about a handful of people that are in the same position as you- good stuff. Hey - are you from WB or go to school there, I went to Kings.

[mr shickadance]

looked like a bubble by the top of your grill the best way i can explain it is if you go to the 3rd column of the your grille, at the top towards the right in between the 3rd n 4th column (mostly 3rd column) looks like theres a streak of a bubble....

not ragging on you or anything tho other then that it looks good

[Coderedpl]

looked like a bubble by the top of your grill the best way i can explain it is if you go to the 3rd column of the your grille, at the top towards the right in between the 3rd n 4th column (mostly 3rd column) looks like theres a streak of a bubble....

not ragging on you or anything tho other then that it looks good

Yea well first time i did this and I'm planning to redo it sometime more carefully with some extra time. I was surprised it will look this good though. I thought ill have to take it off quicker than i put it on lol

[GarrettReid]

Is that the gloss black shadowline or the matte?

[mr shickadance]

just sounds like you were cold and kinda rushed it im sure in the spring when you do it it will come out perfect

[VMRWheels]

Looks good, I'd imagine first time vinyl wrapping isn't easy!

[thenofjboy]

^ It took him a fem times like he said, it looks pretty good! minus that one lil bubble area....

OP: you have nothing to be embarrassed about, good things take time but remove your grille and do paint in a garage/basement during your next round. Did you have to sand at all? that might help..it did with mine. I cant remember if i used a light wet sand of dry, either way, you should need only need minimal sanding before your next coat.

edit, whoops sorry OP - you were vinyl wrapping but the sanding will help, if its needed

[Coderedpl]

Is that the gloss black shadowline or the matte?
Matte


just sounds like you were cold and kinda rushed it im sure in the spring when you do it it will come out perfect
That too. It was an unexpected "project" was going through some stuff found the roll and figured, ah what the hell.


^ It took him a fem times like he said, it looks pretty good! minus that one lil bubble area....

OP: you have nothing to be embarrassed about, good things take time but remove your grille and do paint in a garage/basement during your next round. Did you have to sand at all? that might help..it did with mine. I cant remember if i used a light wet sand of dry, either way, you should need only need minimal sanding before your next coat.

edit, whoops sorry OP - you were vinyl wrapping but the sanding will help, if its needed
There is more than one area of imperfection but to my surprise there actually isn't many "bubbles", more like spots that were stretched and then stuck to each other, hard to explain.

I think i will be sticking with this next time around and doing my windows aswell. If that happens, I will be posting up pictures ;)

[JMG]

Comparing your avatar pic, I kind of like the chrome surround better. It just looks like an unfinished cheap plastic unpainted grill. Maybe glossy black? Flat/brushed silver would look good too. I think it's the fact that your car is already black, so having this less than OEM quality black grill makes it stick out like a sore thumb and not in a good way, because i've seen it on silver and blue cars and it looks fine... just not on black.

[Vahan A]

For those that used plastic dip, how permanent is the stuff?

[SpinOSU]

Shadowline is the bomb. Had it all over mine for over a year now, withholds cleveland heat/rain/cold/snow. Totally worth the price, but you must be super patient!!!

[Übermensch]

Congrats on your first attempt at vinyl.

Lets see some new pics in the Spring!

[Grada89]

I did my window trim and my friends window trim using shadowline. It wasnt an easy project but we got the hang of it. Teamwork ftw!