Matte White S2k

[star-k]

Hey everyone,

Almost done vinyl wrapping my car, the front needs some re-work, this is the first time I've vinyl, fairly happy with the results so far. Need some advice, opinions. I'm open mined thanks.

In response to:
http://forums.beyond.ca/st/319910/vinyl-wrap-my-car/

[Modelexis]

I can see some patch work by the lights in the corner, and I would highly recommend you do the hood as well, unless it's a real carbon hood it looks better to have a nice uniform color on the s2k.

Overall though, forget what I said and you deserve huge credit for doing something for yourself and not wasting your money paying someone else to work on your car.

[eglove]

looks good, but i dunno why you did white man.

[turbotrip]

looks good, what kind of vinyl did you use and where did you buy it? thinking of vinyl wrapping my bike instead of getting it repainted satin white which might be expensive

[star-k]

Originally posted by turbotrip
looks good, what kind of vinyl did you use and where did you buy it? thinking of vinyl wrapping my bike instead of getting it repainted satin white which might be expensive

Thanks for the input guys, I'd like to have more input from people reading. Hope you like the picture. There will be more pictures to come as I edit this post and add more stuff to it. For the hood a 50/50 split between Di NOC CF or Matte White.. hmm


I used 3D scotch print 1080 Matte white. It got it from Metrorestyling. They have fresh stock all the time.

Here is a brief summary of what to encounter when / if your doing vinyl wrap. I hope this helps.

Purchased a 60" x 360" roll
1 roll is sufficient to cover an entire car.
Vinyl: $500 vs Paint: $12,500...
Vinyl can stretch abt. 30%
paint protection +1
Optimal working temp: 25C
Total time: 80 Hours approx; some rework, first try

I got a quote for painting matte white, it's a fairly intensive process esp. changing from black to white. over 10G's. So the option to color change vinyl anytime (if and when), protect paint and wanting a matte white made sense to me at least from a cost standpoint.. $500 vs $12,500+ and it is true it is NOT paint, it is vinyl. As quoting someone from the thread someone said it's not possible to compare the paint and vinyl. Well we are not necessarily comparing the two, its how you want an end result to be and how one wants to get there.

Plus I chose matte white because it's scale pigment is whiter than any other available white paint on the market. And this white is bright, it's exremely bright; compared to BMW Alpina white.. it makes the Alpina white look... Grey!

This may sound wierd but industrial design, car design, prototype etc. primarily use white as an unbiased prototyping color to perform shadow & curvature studies (during a products advanced stage prototype) White w/ black trim really reveals the edges, lines and curves very well.

The bumper is the toughest part because of so many recess, curves, and angles. The nice thing is the vinyl becomes easy to work with, especially under heat. Rear quarter took 10 minutes to wrap, while the fender oddly took 2 hours.. (then again the fenders were wrapped at a much earlier stage of the project, as opposed to the rear quarters where attacked at the late stage of the project.. experience)

The end result is;
-the color I wanted, protected paint, removable film (should a different vinyl be applied)

[Modelexis]

Di NOC CF is played out and cheap looking. Matte white is the only way to go on the hood. Stay classy san diego.

You'll thank me later.


» Click image for larger version

[Skyline_Addict]

very cool

[rage2]

I got sold on vinyl being paint protection, it's not. Be prepared to redo your bumper over and over again, because every vinyl chip will be black spots up there with a color change.

Remember, paint protection film is over twice thicker than vinyl, and a billion times more resistant to rocks tearing it up.

[Nissan_Fanboy]

Its so tedious, but i love the out come!

AND YES i agree with rage, you see every rock chip and its brutal. If i pull the vinyl off im painting the car anyway.

[v2kai]

Originally posted by Modelexis
Di NOC CF is played out and cheap looking. Matte white is the only way to go on the hood. Stay classy san diego.

You'll thank me later.


» Click image for larger version

+1

Looks good for DIY first attempt

[swak]

How did you wrap the weird edges?
I was looking to do a wrap on my R6, but a good buds of mine (professional in the field) told me not to for reasons of rock chips and the funky edges that would be near impossible to do...

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by swak
How did you wrap the weird edges?
I was looking to do a wrap on my R6, but a good buds of mine (professional in the field) told me not to for reasons of rock chips and the funky edges that would be near impossible to do...

Your bud is a sissy.

http://www.modelexis.com/beyond/cbrwrap/

I wrapped a tank cover with a single piece of vinyl.

[turbotrip]

Originally posted by rage2
I got sold on vinyl being paint protection, it's not. Be prepared to redo your bumper over and over again, because every vinyl chip will be black spots up there with a color change.

Remember, paint protection film is over twice thicker than vinyl, and a billion times more resistant to rocks tearing it up.

ok so what is the paint protection film called? and does it come in different colors or is it just clear like 3M?

Originally posted by Modelexis


Your bud is a sissy.

http://www.modelexis.com/beyond/cbrwrap/

I wrapped a tank cover with a single piece of vinyl.

thats the same bike i want to wrap, how has the vinyl held up so far? and was it extremely time consuming?

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by turbotrip
thats the same bike i want to wrap, how has the vinyl held up so far? and was it extremely time consuming?

pmd to keep thread on topic.

Sorry OP.

[rage2]

Originally posted by turbotrip
ok so what is the paint protection film called? and does it come in different colors or is it just clear like 3M?

PPF, Clearbra. Just the clear ones. Tons of names for it.

[star-k]

Originally posted by rage2
I got sold on vinyl being paint protection, it's not. Be prepared to redo your bumper over and over again, because every vinyl chip will be black spots up there with a color change.

Remember, paint protection film is over twice thicker than vinyl, and a billion times more resistant to rocks tearing it up.

Absolutely true!! the front bumper (first time) I decided to create cover the entire bumper from multiple (self pre-traced) pieces (for easier laydown of material), which in a way sort of defeats having vinyl wrap.. however the seams are honestly barely noticeable, only if the viewing distance is about 1ft away; nevertheless it is still a seam.
The film cast is 2mil approx. 0.05mm thick

So knowing the front end is at a high exposure to rocks, belts, bugs etc. at the front bumper, I made multiple layers ~ 3-4 w/ more coverage emphasized on the prone areas (ie. lip; to be mounted) so it is sort of a pain to have to multilayer the vinyl, it offers extra thickness. As to how much protection 1080 substrate offers is a mystery.

Rage is absolutely right. 3M is the best way to go with film protection; so anyone desiring to have 1080 installed; is assuming the risk of the film providing less protection than 3M standard. As for any potential repair (knock on wood) Im unsure of how about to deal with it.

During the installation, I was thinking about:
-Environmental factors
-Longevity
-Wash cycles
-Dust impregnation,
-Edge lifting

So I "bleeded" the film (overwrapped) deep into the inside of the panel pieces. Both the front fenders have bleed coverage and a generous amount of edge sealer. So as the appearance of installation is as if it was like paint.

Further to ensuring the film will stay, I "heat-treated" the film with a blowdryer after installation to help relieve the stretch stresses; this will help (hopefully) stabilize the adhesion of film to paint. Also note, a good clean would greatly help prep the paint surface for best adhesion possible.

A difficult part of the installation / laydown of film is the stretching. Ideally a warm environment is ideal (ie heated garage) however, the stretching creates bunching which can make an otherwise simple installation quite difficult. The wierd edges would require constant heat and sometimes if it was super difficult; (being beginner) trimming and placing an independant piece and then splicing was necessary; I think there is a link on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mBclTY_Uo

Although splicing is not a highly desirable ends to achieving an single wrap on a panel, it does offer an advantage if your going to do replacement on small areas where cut and paste is possible (dunno if that makes sense)

Modelexis is right too, I'm deciding on keeping a clean original look. Matte white will be going on the hood. Sick job on the tank!

There's also 3M competitors like Avery and several other manufacturers,I might entertain a few samples from the Avery stock.

O I also forgot to mention be sure to have at least 10 exacto blades bc cutting the film requires technique where I'm still gaining experience in. Please be patient, I will post more pictures, they are coming thanks!

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Next car I buy im just going to have the whole car 3Med in clear before anything happens.

[star-k]

Originally posted by turbotrip
looks good, what kind of vinyl did you use and where did you buy it? thinking of vinyl wrapping my bike instead of getting it repainted satin white which might be expensive

metrorestyling

[swak]

Originally posted by Modelexis


pmd to keep thread on topic.

Sorry OP.

Can you send same pm?
Im very interested as well....
Gonna tell my buds to get bent then (or get him to do it, probably just didn't want to help on a bike - is it that time consuming?) hahaha... Looks like you did a sick job on that bike!!

[rage2]

Originally posted by Twin_Cam_Turbo
Next car I buy im just going to have the whole car 3Med in clear before anything happens.

I did that on my old M3 Cab about 3 years ago now. Last time I saw it, it still looks brand new. Best investment for new cars and newly repainted cars.