Wrap or Paint ?

[wedge69]

Has anyone ever had the road runner Wrapped instead of Painting it ?
I was just thinking about it as I am Not building a Show car of sorts.
If so lets see it and how much it is compared to Paint ?

 

[gkent]

Just keep in mind that what's under the wrap is important ... every ding, chip, flake of dust, paint line, etc will show through the wrap.

There was a car at Mopars at Carlisle two years ago - a pretty nice custom. It was wrapped. Looked good from a few feet away but up close you saw all the seams, etc.

Last person I knew that had a wrap done on a late model Challenger it was $6k.

I was considering having my A12-style hood wrapped in carbon fiber (wrap).

 

[Cranky]

How long does a wrap last vs paint?

 

[nitro_rat]

How long does a wrap last vs paint?

Not long. Look at the service trucks riding around with the fancy graphic wraps. They're pretty tired by the time they're 5 years old...

 

[gkent]

Given what they go through I doubt paint would fare any better !!!!!

 

[OneWheelPeel]

How long does a wrap last vs paint?

Not long. Look at the service trucks riding around with the fancy graphic wraps. They're pretty tired by the time they're 5 years old...

Well it depends on the quality of the wrap too, but I’d wager in all cases not as long as paint. I partially wrapped a car and it just sat in my yard ignored for 8 years, it took around 4 years for it to start cracking and shrinking in areas that were laid down with too much stress/stretch. There are still nice shiny sections tho. You can see me doing a terrible job trying to figure out the process here:

 

[Gord87]

I've seen a few wrapped Mopars and they look decent but like others said, you'll see every imperfection underneath and it just doesn't have that deep paint look that makes these old muscle cars pop.

 

[Don selleck]

my son in law has done car wraps for about 15 years, has the vinyl printer etc. He does high end cars to buses etc. there are different qualities of the wrap itself which the better stuff lasts longer of course, and any little ding or imperfection will show. He said the good stuff lasts about 8 years if its a daily driver and you take care of it. He was telling me about a customer that bought a wrapped car and wanted it redone. When they pulled the old one off the last guy spread bondo over some bad areas on the car with no primer or anything on it. About half the bondo came off when while removing the old wrap. The old newspaper and bondo trick with a Earl Sheib paint job scams are still happening. He said he sees it more and more. , would I buy a wrapped car, HELL NO...

 

[Cranky]

Well it depends on the quality of the wrap too, but I’d wager in all cases not as long as paint. I partially wrapped a car and it just sat in my yard ignored for 8 years, it took around 4 years for it to start cracking and shrinking in areas that were laid down with too much stress/stretch. There are still nice shiny sections tho. You can see me doing a terrible job trying to figure out the process here:

Haven't done all that much paint work but based on your vid, it sure looks easier to paint one lol

 

[Rebellion]

Hey all,

I work at Express Signs, Grand Rapids, MI. We do all facets of this business, including commercial and personal vehicle wraps. From golf carts to huge vehicles, we've done it all.

Personally, I would never do a wrap on my own vehicle. Vehicle must be extremely clean anywhere there is to be vinyl attachment. As was mentioned, the wrap life is 5 to 8 years, then requiring replacement/removal.

When it comes time for removal, adhesive residue, seam cut imprints and more, may leave a damaged finish underneath (not ideal for those that wish to return to original paint).

There are times where the vinyl will pull clear coat off as well. Bodywork too, as mentioned.

If you wait years past the ideal replacement time to pull, well...ugh...don't ask.

 

[nitro_rat]

Given what they go through I doubt paint would fare any better !!!!!

I'm talking about fading, not damage...

Here's the deal with wrapping old stuff - a quality wrap job approaches the cost of a real paint job. In order to do a wrap, the surface has to be in good condition. So you have to do the body work anyway. And the body work is the expensive part of the paint job. So you're kind of getting the worst of both worlds if you wrap it. All the work of a paint job less the easy and satisfying part of laying down the color + all the cost of the wrap on top of that which isn't as good or as durable as the paint would have been. I don't see the point.

On something new with a suitable surface, sure. Especially if you want to temporarily change colors or if you want to apply a complex color scheme graphic design or something that's easier printed on vinyl now days. But for an old car? Just paint it, you're doing the work anyway...

 

[Runcharger]

I wrapped one of my bikes so the neighbors wouldnt bioch about the smell of paint fumes. Since then Ive painted 3 bikes, let them bioch.

 

[WileE]

OR

 

[OneWheelPeel]

Haven't done all that much paint work but based on your vid, it sure looks easier to paint one lol

I'm lucky the video didn't end with me stuck to it like a fly on flypaper!

I got a couple of fresh pics of how the wrap is holding up that I will add later when I am on a different machine.

 

[Cranky]

I wrapped one of my bikes so the neighbors wouldnt bioch about the smell of paint fumes. Since then Ive painted 3 bikes, let them bioch.

If the breeze is out of the north, I'll paint....but have done some work when the 'slow' breeze was out of the south and so far, no one has bitched. Hard to paint here since the humidity is usually high in the summer time.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

I'm lucky the video didn't end with me stuck to it like a fly on flypaper!

I got a couple of fresh pics of how the wrap is holding up that I will add later when I am on a different machine.

So 8 or so years later, only washed like twice not counting rain. The piece on the door is actually still shiny and somewhat reflective, but the hood that gets all the sun is roasted.

 

[nitro_rat]

It’s totalled…

 

[OneWheelPeel]

No low balling I know what I have!

 

[Cranky]

No low balling I know what I have!