fatkhoa

iTrader: (5)

Ive been looking around and seeing a lot of people vinyl wrapping their cars and wanted to find out what you guys think would be a better option since i have just completed all the body work for my car and need to move it on to the next step.

What are some of the pros and cons of vinyl wrapping and painting a car?

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

paint = permanent and expensive

vinyl = temporary and cheaper alternative

Depends on your budget really. There are loads of cool vinyl colors offered by Oracal and 3M.

fatkhoa

iTrader: (5)

i was thinking about doing a matte white in vinyl but also looking at some shiny colors with paint so many options to choose from

2BENVD

iTrader: (1)

He pretty much summed it up, tabaka your sig is hilarious

N00bie909

iTrader: (5)

Don't do vinyl. Paint is better but make sure you use top quality paint because cheap paint will just flake off through time. I work at a body shop if you do vinyl the shop would charge u an arm an a leg to take it off. Just do It right the first time is my advice.

greens14

iTrader: (28)

paint unless youre unsure about the color choice. and then if youre unsure you should just wait. i guess its paint all around

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

Paint, you wont regret it.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Vinyl seems like a great alternative.... however:

Do you know how to properly care for vinyl wrapped cars? What do you do if it gets dirty and contaminated? Can you clay and polish it? Just something to think about because if you can't maintain it in the long run, it will look like crap pretty quick.

ihiryu

iTrader: (7)

Yeah IIRC vinyl has to get washed off, there's not a way to polish it or anything. It'll fade one day.

poorsupra

iTrader: (11)

Get a good paint job then clear vinyl coat for durability. Ha ha. ;-)

CalitriSC

iTrader: (13)

To fully vinyl wrap a car right by someone who knows what they are doing is not cheap. It will cost as much as a decent paint job. The cost of the material alone is not cheap.

NYCKID

x2. wrapping is just a waste of cash.

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

You will need two 48"h x 10 yard rolls of vinyl. Each roll is roughly $250.00 from an Oracal distributor. That is a total of $500 + shipping. This stuff is really easy to install, I could teach a monkey to do it. The film has air release technology which allows air bubbles to breath and complete disappear during install. I've been doing them for over 15 years now and I can assure you that cleaning them is simple. Visit the 3M, Avery, or Oracal websites for cleaning suggestions. Imagine just going outside with a spray bottle with a water and alcohol mixture and never truly having to polish paint ever again. Shoot, you really won't even need a hose unless you go off roading or have it covered in salt. Over the years I've seen a huge variety of matte and gloss colors from the vinyl manufacturers. For a cleaner install remove your fogs, headlights, and tails. Watch some install videos on youtube for tips. I'm all for vinyl because it's what I do for a living lol. Obviously with paint there is an unlimited palette of metallics, pearls, etc. and the gloss if taken care of is unmatched.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

The only advantage to wrapping is not having to do the finish detailing to the surface. Most vinyl looks horrible though if it is not absolute picture perfect clean......... which is impossible. So for the other 350-ish days of the year the car will look like crap when a paint job would look good most any day.

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

Yo OP...rethink the matte. I did mine in matte black and the upkeep SUCKS. Everything sticks to it, the special matte paint and wax/polish for matte paints are expensive as crap. Looks pretty cool though, im going back to onyx or bmw black now!