I have been researching the past couple days the possibility of wrapping my car instead of painting it. I have looked at alot of photos and videos by googling the subject and it is interesting. A roll of Oracal, (comes in 15 metallic colors) is around $600. Of course there is a learning curve on installation but much less so than painting it myself. The photos Ive seen are impressive, the life of the product is 8-10 years for "normal" driving conditions.

Does anyone have any thoughts, experience on this?

Doesn't Chrysler do that with wood grain looking stuff? (sometimes call shelf liner)

Check the installation on a Porsche Boxster at:

Dennis

Doesn't Chrysler do that with wood grain looking stuff? (sometimes call shelf liner)

You are right, they have been using some form of vinyl on cars for many years. Dating back to (at least) my moms 1968 Olds station wagon woodie.

The technology has vastly improved, especially over the past 5-6 years. Typically, a wrapped vehicle incorporates some type of graphics for advertising. Now they come in solids, metallics, transparents, etc. I will ahve to serach out some of the links I've found to post here. I have seen everything from a guy doing an entire car in his garage to a Ferarri, Porrche, even a McLaren Mercedes being wrapped in a flat black.

I am just kicking around the idea, it would be MUCH cheaper than an average paint job, even with professional installation. Just thought I would throw this out here for discussion, I searched before posting and didnt come up with any previous threads.

I recently saw one of these vinyl wrapped cars (a minivan with corporate logos). As a graphics professional, I was very impressed, and I immediately started imagining how I could apply this process with my own printer output (although I only have a 17" carriage width). That said, the seams were quite visible, and it was anything but a perfectly polished finish. I suppose it would be better than an old, weathered paint job, but certainly not as nice as paint. It's obviously a very slick way to do complicated, full-color graphics on a car, but I don't think I would use it as an ordinary car finish.

A note about the longevity of the graphic: The film might last 8 years, but if the car sees daylight, you'd better have your graphics printed in pigment-based inks. Dye based inks will fade very reliably and very quickly.

Sarah,

I agree with your opinions, especially concerning printed graphics. I would not go that route though, I was more interested in doing a solid opaque color. I've posted a few .jpg's along with a link. I figured if its good enough for a new GT-R or F430, my Z might work as well.

I'm just throwing it out there, I actually orderd a sample of a product today to play with.

It is silver metallic, 4 mils thick with a gloss laminate. It comes in a 60 inch wide format. I am trying to figure a layout to eliminate any seam using this product. I have seen a company that makes one much wider, to where you blanket the entire car thus eliminating any seam whatsoever.

Check out the photos, especialy the sweet GT-R.

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/2728/3681/31819340024_large.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z79/rbmuscle/header_gtr.jpg

http://www.carblog.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/ferrari-f430-scuderia-black-matte-1.jpg

http://www.carblog.co.za/2008/05/05/car-of-the-week-ferrari-f430-matte-black/

The paint underneath that film better be damn smooth. You'll see every chip and flaw under it. If you're going to have to put that much effort into the prep, you might as well just paint it anyway.

The paint underneath that film better be damn smooth. You'll see every chip and flaw under it. If you're going to have to put that much effort into the prep, you might as well just paint it anyway.

Speaking of paint, I'm curious about how well it takes other car doors opening against it in a parking lot - rips, peels? Looks good initially and it might be fun to have a shrink wrapped Z! Who will be first?

Dennis

Speaking of paint, I'm curious about how well it takes other car doors opening against it in a parking lot - rips, peels? Looks good initially and it might be fun to have a shrink wrapped Z! Who will be first?

Dennis

I have seen a few wrapped cars where I work and some were very impressive! I have also seen one that I thought was paint until I saw a small chip/peel on the doors edge. All of these were on new cars with perfect body panels.

I work for Toyota and will have a parking lot full of new cars. I had a friend looking for a white Tundra in a parking lot full of them and couldn't find it. Turns out it had a vinyl wrap with Houston Rockets logo's all over it! haha!!

I had a truck wrapped a couple years ago. Great for advertising......but no sustitute for paint.

Maybe not for my Z. But..

I have been looking at wrapping my (non-Z) track car in vinyl. It needs a couple fenders replaced and some minor rust repair. Once the repairs are done, the panels will need to be painted.

However, a roll of vinyl is much cheaper than paint. Also, if I damage a body panel at the track, I can bolt on a a new (or junk yard) part, wrap it, and have the car looking good in a day or two.

Another advantage is that my track car has a lot of paint blemishes including peeling (factory) paint. A proper paint job would require stripping all the old paint. The vinyl would not.

In the end, the vinyl is extremely appealing. I suspect the results will depend a lot on the quality of the vinyl purchased.

Al

Maybe I can wrap my new daily driver. Its an 88 Supra Turbo with no rust and perfect body. Except for maybe one or two door dings. But the paint is faded and needs a respray. Vinyl might be cheaper. hmmm