Opinions on body wrap

[Tommy]

I am in the planning stages for a hot rod project similar to a fiberglass bodied Cobra replica. I'm wondering about the pros and cons of a vinyl wrap. Here are some questions that come to mind.

1. How durable is it (e.g., bugs, chips, sunlight, etc.)?
2. How does it look where it transitions from the outside to the door, hood and trunk openings?
3. How hard or easy is it to clean?
4. How long will it look good (miles, days, years)?
5. How would an as cast fiberglass body need to be prepped for a wrap?
6. What else should I have asked about?

If you have some experience with a body wrap on a car, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[Sledge]

Me too.

I've heard from one source (a person who tried wrap on his cobra a couple of years ago) that it did not work well on cobras due to the relatively few straight edges in the bodywork (which apparently help the vinyl to keep its grip). But perhaps the technology has advanced since then...?

[Blue66]

Go to someone that does cars. Ill be doin a RX7 next winter. Oh.... Not that cheap to have done. Def cheaper than painting the car with a quality job.

[g8rnbft]

Had spats done by an auto bodywrap company. They can do amazing things these days.

[Tommy]

g8rnbft,
How long have the spats been in place (miles)? Easy to clean?

[g8rnbft]

Just done earlier this week - whole thing took 75 minutes. To clean - just wipe of with damp cloth.

[Tommy]

I guess that why it looked new. I'll check back with you in a few months.

[Jaydee]

Is that the 3d carbon fibre print? I love the look of that. I've done my dash and door trims with it. But it has a rough texture. Would that be easy to clean? I'll be doing the same on the rear guards.
JD

[g8rnbft]

It is a 3M vinyl - textured finish with a wet appearance (gloss)

[RockBit]

A friend of mine wrapped an older Ford sedan. He said the curved sections were challenging. As I looked at the car, every blemish on the car showed through the wrap. His hood was painted matte black before the wrap while the rest of the body was glossy. After wrapping the hood looked noticeably different from the rest of the car..

From this I assume the body prep prior to wrap has to be as good as for paint for it to look good.

Good luck.

[JoeT]

"they say" that a quality wrap will last 10 years with proper care. A buddy of mine has has one (actually 2)on his porsche 911 for about 5 years. The wrap looked great when he took it off, and just wanted a color change.

"they say" no car washed, hand wash only...and it's best that the car is garaged so that the weather doesn't beat it up.

I've done parts on a car (trim mostly) and it held up well, but I switch cars every 3-4 years.

Have it done at a shop that knows what they are doing. I've heard stories of people using additional adhesive and damaging the paint when removing the wrap

good luck, and share pictures when done

[mtrain2000]

I think for the money I would pass. I've read about too many wraps starting to peel, and fade.

Of course paint can do strange things over the years so. However, I do know how to paint a car sooooooooooo. I will stick with paint.

[Legless]

Hi Tommy,
One of the local guys here wrapped his cobra, probably about a year and a half ago. I haven't spoken to him about it recently but he was happy with it at the time. You might want to get his current thoughts on it, his user name is Kimbo.

Cheers

[Tommy]

Thanks Legless. I sent Kimbo a PM.