Thoughts on Wrapping a Car instead of painting it

[Flash68]

I really like the wraps personally. If they're good enough for Lambos and Porsches (I've seen them and they look damn good when done right by a pro) then why not on our cars? I'm strongly considering it in the near to mid term as well.

Go for it. That rendering is killer.

[Sieg]

I have a 15" cube van, 1 ton van, and 16' enclosed trailer that are all wrapped. After 6+ years (parked outside with no cover in Oregon) I'd have to say without a doubt it holds up on par with paint. I'm assuming replacement will be much less also. Originally the cost for all 3 units was $7K.

Honda did their F1 cars in a vinyl wrap one year. The vinyl definitely held up better than their engines.

[70rs]

Put a decent paint job on it (driver quality) or wrap it. If it comes down to resale latr you could always freshen it up then. I wouldn't do just a partial wrap, you will still see it in the pain5 after you remove it. (if it's left on for any long period).

[James OLC]

Wrapping works fine and most people can't tell a good quality wrap from paint from a foot away. Mothers also has a cleaning compound that works really well on wraps - at the Goodguys show in Ft. Worth they actually polished the wrap when they did the OLC. After being wrapped for a year there was absolutely no difference in the paint if you looked where it was and wasn't wrapped - except that the paint had some swirl marks from cleaning where it wasn't wrapped.

[TheJDMan]

So when you remove the wrap material it does not leave any glue residue on the paint? I see decals on trailers and trucks that have been removed and the ghost image of the decal is still clearly visible. Is a vinyl decal different from a wrap material?

[tyoneal]

Originally Posted by James OLC

Wrapping works fine and most people can't tell a good quality wrap from paint from a foot away. Mothers also has a cleaning compound that works really well on wraps - at the Goodguys show in Ft. Worth they actually polished the wrap when they did the OLC. After being wrapped for a year there was absolutely no difference in the paint if you looked where it was and wasn't wrapped - except that the paint had some swirl marks from cleaning where it wasn't wrapped.

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James:

That is terrific information, Thanks. I know you use your car a lot, how has the wrap held up as compared to a decent paint job one might put on their car? (After the course of years, and rocks, dirt, grime, solvents etc?)

Thanks a million for the education. Is the Mother's product a specific cleaning compound for wraps, or a polish that works dirt etc. off your car?

Take care,

Ty

[awr68]

I'm sure you know this but you have to have the body preped as if you were going to paint it before the wrap...so there's little to no money savings on body work.

I'm on the fence if I would wrap a car or not. I think if I was to do one I would take many pics of the car before and during the wrap to help show a potential buyer that I wasn't hiding anything, but just chose a differant finish over paint.

There is a time and place for everything.....

[elitecustombody]

Tony, when wrapping the car, it has to be washed and clean, otherwise no other prep work needed besides removing trim,door handles,mirrors,lights,bumpers,e.t.c. and the installing everything back when all wrapping is finished.

[tyoneal]

Originally Posted by 70rs

Put a decent paint job on it (driver quality) or wrap it. If it comes down to resale latr you could always freshen it up then. I wouldn't do just a partial wrap, you will still see it in the pain5 after you remove it. (if it's left on for any long period).

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70rs:

I agree with your sentiments.

I intend to have the body prepped especially for the wrap. I think this will do a lot for the reliability of the covering, and probably allow the colors to be seen in their intended tones and brightness.

I'm thinking there won't be paint as much as surface prep material that will have some neutral pigment to to. As I write this, I just don't know, I should have probably done some research before I posted this.

I'll see what I can find.

Thanks,

Ty

[tyoneal]

Originally Posted by Sieg

I have a 15" cube van, 1 ton van, and 16' enclosed trailer that are all wrapped. After 6+ years (parked outside with no cover in Oregon) I'd have to say without a doubt it holds up on par with paint. I'm assuming replacement will be much less also. Originally the cost for all 3 units was $7K.

Honda did their F1 cars in a vinyl wrap one year. The vinyl definitely held up better than their engines.

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Wow, that is really encouraging.

Did you use a private business or a Franchise to do them for you? If a chain, who did you use?

How long were they ready before you had them on your vehicles?

How did they measure for you trucks?

How do your hoods and door jams look?

6+ years is plenty of time to look really nice. The more I read like this the better it sounds.

That is funny about Honda. Too bad it's true, they used to have some killer F1 cars.

Ty