[gdiman]

I've seen a lot of exotic cars wrapped in vinyl in recent years and it seems like they are always matte grey or black and quite a few in carbon fiber. I'm not a huge fan of those colors but it got me curious about wrapping my car in a gloss black. The same color as it's original paint.

My original paint wasn't that bad, but over the course of the car's 16 years, it has accumulated some rock chips, door dings and minor scratches and swirls and I wanted to spruce it back up without doing a total paint job.

My brother does vehicle wraps for a living (mostly fleet vehicles with signage) and offered me a good deal and so I had him do it and just got it back. I thought he did a great job with the application and am really happy with the material (Oracal 970RA). It apparently has a life of up to 10 years, maybe more on a car that sits in the garage most of the time.

Anyway the chips and scratches are gone and the car looks great once again.

 

[TNPerformance]

DANG SON! Looks awesome!

 

[SupraSlow]

wow I never relized that a gloss vinyl wrap could look as glossy as paint, at first I was not sure but looking at the pictures it looks amazing to say the least, now are you able to wax it or use any cleaning products on it and what if a bird takes a poo on it will it come out or will you be in the same position as paint if it was to sit there a while.

 

[Yotaholic]

Wow ,now that's a wrap ! You brother does excellent work, it looks like a paint job in those pics. Keep us updated on how it handles the weather, cleaning and general wear and tear.

I was thinking this would be a great on the front bumper for those long road trips to shows and meets. How hard is it to remove ?

 

[94nasupra]

Any up close pics on edges or where body panels meet? Curious to see it up close. Looks awesome though

 

[SupraSlow]

O and another thing what about where the doors, trunk and hood meet when you open those areas is there a vinyl line really obvious or stands out just wondering.

 

[rex03]

And what would this normally cost, in addition to the other questions?

 

[gdiman]

wow I never relized that a gloss vinyl wrap could look as glossy as paint, at first I was not sure but looking at the pictures it looks amazing to say the least, now are you able to wax it or use any cleaning products on it and what if a bird takes a poo on it will it come out or will you be in the same position as paint if it was to sit there a while.

There is a very faint texture to the material. I wouldn't call it an orange peel, but it also isn't quite the same as paint. Very close though. You can't see it unless you are looking closely, which took me a bit to get used to at first, but it also gives it kind of a unique feel that I am liking.

You can't use carnauba based waxes but there are polishes formulated specifically for it. The one my brother uses is from Crystal Tek and it really seems just like wax to me. It put a very slick finish on it. It can be cleaned with normal car washing detergents.

 

[SupraSlow]

Thanks on the info, Car looks good.....

 

[StickyRice]

You sure there is wrap on there, cause I can't tell at all.

 

[turboking97]

looks clean man

 

[MKiv_element]

O and another thing what about where the doors, trunk and hood meet when you open those areas is there a vinyl line really obvious or stands out just wondering.

I'd like to know this as well...looks amazing though

 

[gdiman]

And what would this normally cost, in addition to the other questions?

He cut me a deal because he's my brother and had an open window of time for it, but I think he said it would normally be around $2500 for this job.

 

[benzo555]

wow that looks really good.

 

[j_mejia17]

That look awesome, and I guess 2500 isn't too bad. I wonder what are your options as far as colors? Can they wrap in any OEM supra color?

 

[gdiman]

I'd like to know this as well...looks amazing though

Yes, my brother took a lot of pictures as he was doing it. With a lot of closeups too. I'll post some of those up but I'll probably go ahead and take some of my own and post them too now that it is done because yes these were the same concerns that I had.

He addressed those up front and said that there would be seams. There are but he was meticulous about hiding them. He had the advantage of wrapping a car in it's original color, but with vinyl material you are working with a dimensional thing that wasn't really designed for the car per se, and so you find the best ways to make it work and he did a great job of that.

All of the lenses (headlights, taillights, decals, side lamps, wing etc) came off and the vinyl was wrapped into their respective spots. Then it got reassembled after it was all done.

There are only a couple of seams that I could find on close inspection, and he chose areas that you wouldn't be able to find unless you were really looking hard.

 

[gdiman]

That look awesome, and I guess 2500 isn't too bad. I wonder what are your options as far as colors? Can they wrap in any OEM supra color?

They have a lot of colors in that material but they don't try to match OEM as far as I know. We tested the gloss black (070) on a fender first and I was shocked how closely that matched to OEM though. YMMV.

 

[charles_patton]

Wow I cant tell its wraped cant wait to see the install pics looks great!

 

[gdiman]

You sure there is wrap on there, cause I can't tell at all.

Well thank you for noticing. yes I am sure. We put it there. You will like this story about the car. Well, maybe. I unfortunatley know the whole history of the car. What is sad to me is that it was purchased by a rich man in California that purchased it for his over indulgent daughter in Beverly Hills. Her divorce though clearly did not end well and as far as I can tell, they were both kicking the car in some heated debate.

I assumed the role as owner of it from of a like minded (to me) individaul from St. Louis who had bought it from her in her effort to divest herself of assets before her SHTF.

The car wasn't destroyed, but it was clearly a mall parking lot qween and it took a couple hits. The husband (or ex husband) had no no latch on it and that is how I ended up with what I think is an awesome car. I'll bet that (what would be now) that old women would love to get her old car back.

But that ain't gonna happen for that old girl.

 

[supradrifter83]

i cant believe this is a vinyl wrap. you sir just blew my mind!