Vinyl wrap or paint

Technical and Repair Discussions

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:54 pm
Just got a SRF. Any opinion on weather vinyl wrap or paint is better?

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 11:53 am
I spoke with a couple of wrappers a couple of years ago and was told that no one had yet developed a template for the car. Even if they did since the car has so many compound curves they would not be price competitive against a paint job.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 1:24 pm
Bob Breton had one done by his employer a few years ago.
Dave Harriman
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:16 pm
Peeling it off can be a B...H! :( if for some reason you have to remove it. After and accident trying to match it up could be a problem, also.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:58 pm
A story from a few years back...

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/columns/story?seriesId=2&columnist=newton_david&id=2874550

Dave
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:55 pm
I experimented with wrapping sections of my car's nose in an effort to beat stone chips. It was NOT a successful experiment.

Side effect: The vinyl wrap is flexible and if the body cracks (or worse) the vinyl sort of keeps the pieces in the same general area.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:10 pm
GregCirillo wrote:I experimented with wrapping sections of my car's nose in an effort to beat stone chips. It was NOT a successful experiment.


What made it unsuccesfull? Were you not able to get it put on to meet your standards, or not robust, or something else?
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 10:30 pm
Martinracing98 wrote:
GregCirillo wrote:I experimented with wrapping sections of my car's nose in an effort to beat stone chips. It was NOT a successful experiment.


What made it unsuccesfull? Were you not able to get it put on to meet your standards, or not robust, or something else?


It looked OK. But stones still nicked it up. Not chips, but like miniature ball marks (like on a putting green). Better than paint but not much.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:39 pm
We are still finding our way with vinyl. Cutting numbers and letters is pretty simple, but beyond that is gets very complex, starting with the variety of adhesives and materials. Also printing vs. cutting.

There is also a wide range of vendors. We have a place down the street that will do standard numbers and lettering for < $40 overnight. At the other end is a place that has all sorts of materials and wraps, etc. who takes a week to do basic lettering for > $100.

One downside to printing on vinyl is printing can come off if it isn't laminated, which costs more and is harder to lay down. But you need it if you want it to last very long.

My impressions is laying it is more of an art than anything, but for it to look as good as paint, you have to prep the surface as well as you would for paint.

I think the chipping factor is due to fiberglass vs. metal...

Dave
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:43 pm
Thanks. I think I will stick with painting. It does not sound like vinyl is a clear winner and I have a fair amount of experience with that and a brother that used to work at a body shop. Between the two of us we can paint fairly cheap and easy.
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