Vinyl Wrapping

[fusionx]

So I have been seriously thinking about buying some matte black vinyl and doing it myself. I'm really good at wrapping medium and small items in vinyl but I haven't tried a car. I was wondering if anyone had any experience wrapping cars. I just could never pay the $1,500+ labor fee knowing that I could probably do it myself with patience. Id have a friend or two help me out for sure.

[in2thenightaudi]

one of the c5 guys did it (nothing77) and he said it took him about 50+ hours of work (with a learning curve) to do his a6. PM him for help His thread

[hercfe]

yeah, there is a HUGE difference between doing a headlight or a hood stripe and the whole car. If you're serious, start with the roof, decklid, and hood. If those go well, do the doors and fenders last. But plan on spending A LOT of time to get it right. Invest in some really good razor blades/xacto knives, an industrial amount of window cleaner, and a really good variable control heat gun-NOT your g/f's blow dryer. Lastly, wash wash wash the car, then clay bar, then buff, then HEAVY wax the same day you plan on starting the wrap. That will protect your paint from the vinyl baking it under the sun. Get a good car cover too if you don't have a garage.

[fusionx]

yeah, there is a HUGE difference between doing a headlight or a hood stripe and the whole car. If you're serious, start with the roof, decklid, and hood. If those go well, do the doors and fenders last. But plan on spending A LOT of time to get it right. Invest in some really good razor blades/xacto knives, an industrial amount of window cleaner, and a really good variable control heat gun-NOT your g/f's blow dryer. Lastly, wash wash wash the car, then clay bar, then buff, then HEAVY wax the same day you plan on starting the wrap. That will protect your paint from the vinyl baking it under the sun. Get a good car cover too if you don't have a garage.

Yeah I was planning on doing those pieces first. I feel like the rear and front bumper will be the only hard part. I also have to look into tucking the vinyl behind the window rubber trim too. I don't plan to half ass it at all. I don't care how long it takes as long as it comes out great.

Does anyone know of any good sites to get vinyl for cheap? I emailed sticker city, a local shop to me, and they said $1000 for the right amount of vinyl which sounds wayyy overpriced to me

[fatbrembos]

hey man
breakmywallet did his own wrapped his car in his garage, and he told me the wrap was pretty cheap
anyways heres his thread hopefully he can help you out
one thing that i can say is your car is going to look sick in matte black
let me know what you end up doing

[fusionx]

hey man
breakmywallet did his own wrapped his car in his garage, and he told me the wrap was pretty cheap
anyways heres his thread hopefully he can help you out
one thing that i can say is your car is going to look sick in matte black
let me know what you end up doing

Oh awesome thanks for the link!

Yeah its definitely happening I just have to see what kind of deal I can get on vinyl. Definitely will keep you guys posted

[guiltyblade]

im very interested in this too! Watching to see how you go about this, I wanted to do a matte blue pretty bad for a while. I'm waiting until the winter to give it a go if possible.

[fusionx]

im very interested in this too! Watching to see how you go about this, I wanted to do a matte blue pretty bad for a while. I'm waiting until the winter to give it a go if possible.

I'm hoping to get everything figured out by Nov 18th because thats when I fly home. I'll probably have a few friends give me a hand to speed up the process but I think I could knock it out in 2 days max. I want to do it right and make sure its tucked into all of the weather stripping, tucked behind doors ect... I know that taking apart my car a little bit would be the best way to go but I am hoping that I can still do just as good of a job without having to take it apart

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

I beg of you - photo-document the process and write up a DIY, that would be a great read.

[guiltyblade]

Yeah I'm probably going to possibly give it a go later in Feb. After I move. Here is what lead me to possibly doing it. I saw this bmw do it and it looked decent.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

[BrandonF]

Yeah I'm probably going to possibly give it a go later in Feb. After I move. Here is what lead me to possibly doing it. I saw this bmw do it and it looked decent.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

+1 on the e90 post. I was going to post that same link. This guy paid $120 obviously not including labor.

[fusionx]

I beg of you - photo-document the process and write up a DIY, that would be a great read.

I'm definitely posting up a progress thread on it

[fusionx]

Yeah I'm probably going to possibly give it a go later in Feb. After I move. Here is what lead me to possibly doing it. I saw this bmw do it and it looked decent.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

Thanks for the link! I'm pretty local to that guy so I left a message on his thread hoping he will email me back. e90 post wont let me PM him since I just signed up...fail

Sticker city quoted me $1000 for the vinyl alone.....LOL!

[Paulyworld1432]

Hexis HX30000 or Oracal 970RA

Get one of those if you plan on keeping it for a while and want a quality product. I have samples of both and the HX30000 is a little easier to work with. Both are great products that don't require an over laminate. Just wrap it and your done. You can get a roll (enough for a car) for about $500 depending on color, matte, pearl, etc.

[thegoodhumorman]

Thanks for the link! I'm pretty local to that guy so I left a message on his thread hoping he will email me back. e90 post wont let me PM him since I just signed up...fail
Sticker city quoted me $1000 for the vinyl alone.....LOL!

Go to metrorestyling. If you get the stuff with the low-tac adhesive already on it, then it can get expensive. But, if you get the stuff you have to apply adhesive for, then the price comes down, dramatically.

[fusionx]

I was hoping to score some 3M for cheap but I know that will be hard. I don't want to use crappy stuff but I am trying to stay $500 and below if possible. Hopefully I can get ahold of that e90 post guy and HOPEFULLY he can hook me up with some good prices.

I really appreciate anyone that can point me in the direction of a good deal! Can't wait to start wrapping!

[guiltyblade]

I was hoping to score some 3M for cheap but I know that will be hard. I don't want to use crappy stuff but I am trying to stay $500 and below if possible. Hopefully I can get ahold of that e90 post guy and HOPEFULLY he can hook me up with some good prices.

I really appreciate anyone that can point me in the direction of a good deal! Can't wait to start wrapping!

If you find a good price let me know! I'd like to get some too.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

If you find a good price let me know! I'd like to get some too.

$120 to do his whole vehicle? That's redonkulously cheap!

[a3driver11]

saw this and its seriously making me consider doing this as well over the thanksgiving break!!!

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

[KayC]

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

saw this and its seriously making me consider doing this as well over the thanksgiving break!!!

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

I saw that too, and thought "Hell yeah! Vinyl wrap my car for chump change!" until I saw some of the horror stories popping up on page #12. Specifically starting at post #252. Vinyl can look awesome, and come off pretty clean, but be careful using cheap vinyl. Not all vinyl is designed to stand up to the outside environment. Use a quality wrap like 3m Di-Noc:

[fusionx]

6 days until commencement! I will definitely be posting a detailed write-up!

Pete- I'm definitely trying to stick with 3M and good brand companies. I've heard bad stories of cheap vinyl....

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Good. If I were a little more impulsive and had purchased the cheapest vinyl I could - I'd be in a world of hurt. I would like to help anyone avoid that!

[tpliquid]

anymore pics of this car from side?

[fusionx]

Good. If I were a little more impulsive and had purchased the cheapest vinyl I could - I'd be in a world of hurt. I would like to help anyone avoid that!

Oh yeah pg 12 definitely gave me a reality check. I think i'm gonna shoot that guy a PM and get some advice from him

[Mantis]

It isn't much fun

[VMRWheels]

6 days until commencement! I will definitely be posting a detailed write-up!

Pete- I'm definitely trying to stick with 3M and good brand companies. I've heard bad stories of cheap vinyl....

I'll definitely be checking in for updates, sounds like an exciting project! Good luck!

[BoostBeeyatch]

3M Di-NOC is awesome! Currently have my b pillars and triangles, gas cap, plate filler, door panels and shifter console wrapped in it. More to come soon. Just gotta be patient when wrapping :)

[Mantis]

I find the di-noc slightly unforgiving when trying to wrap things like bumpers, large flat panels are not too bad though

[green a6]

Smooth look^

[pretarion]

This is where I bought mine, good prices, excellent service


www.metrodecals.com

[fusionx]

This is where I bought mine, good prices, excellent service


www.metrodecals.com

emailed thanks!

[fatbrembos]

hey man
just wanted to say i helped a buddy of mine vinyl wrap his roof and hood and dam its hard
with you lots of patience hahha

[fusionx]

hey man
just wanted to say i helped a buddy of mine vinyl wrap his roof and hood and dam its hard
with you lots of patience hahha

what was so hard about it? any tips?

I have a lot of patience and I'll have a few friends helping me out. I don't think it will be too bad

[fatbrembos]

what was so hard about it? any tips?

I have a lot of patience and I'll have a few friends helping me out. I don't think it will be too bad

its just a pain to get all the air bubbles out, and make sure you dont scratch or pull the vinyl too much or it will mark
its just a game of patience

[dubguts]

its just a pain to get all the air bubbles out, and make sure you dont scratch or pull the vinyl too much or it will mark
its just a game of patience

I've seen a buddy of mine work some magic at his vinyl shop and I've noticed a few tips and tricks. Before you lay the vinyl down on the paint, spray it down with soapy water, and use a heat gun. Instead of having air bubbles you'll have water bubbles which tend to smooth out a lot easier than air, and the heat from the heat gun will help the vinyl contour to any curves in the car. Hope that helps

[fusionx]

Appreciate all of the input! I think the only thing I am a little unsure of is the use of vinyl solution/soapy water ect before the vinyl is laid down. I'm assuming its pretty straightforward (spray solution, lay vinyl down, get bubbles out). Just gotta double check on that

[dubguts]

Appreciate all of the input! I think the only thing I am a little unsure of is the use of vinyl solution/soapy water ect before the vinyl is laid down. I'm assuming its pretty straightforward (spray solution, lay vinyl down, get bubbles out). Just gotta double check on that

Yeah the soapy water solution is also to help clean the paint before you lay the vinyl down too. Just use a spray bottle to clean it and to lube it up and start layin it down with the heat gun. I've watched my vinyl dude work several times before and that's what I've seen him do.

It might help, but I'm not sure if he has any of his major work done on his website, but you can see his work at empiregfx.com

[fusionx]

Yeah the soapy water solution is also to help clean the paint before you lay the vinyl down too. Just use a spray bottle to clean it and to lube it up and start layin it down with the heat gun. I've watched my vinyl dude work several times before and that's what I've seen him do.

It might help, but I'm not sure if he has any of his major work done on his website, but you can see his work at empiregfx.com

Oh ok awesome. Doesn't sound too bad

[fusionx]

Picking up vinyl saturday!