Alternative to Expensive Paint Jobs

[Tincup]

Let's face it, quality paint jobs are expensive, Due to the hundreds of man hours and expensive materials involved. There is a way to cut the cost significantly, a Vinyl Wrap. You still need to have a straight body, and painted jambs, but you can save on paint, clear, cutting and buffing. Best thing, if you have a problem, just peel it off and re-wrap. I just had my car wrapped, mostly because I wanted to change it up a little, but didn't want to paint it. Check it out....

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[Cheveezy]

What's the cost for this?

[Tincup]

What's the cost for this?

Depends on the car, the film you choose, but somewhere between 2 - 3K

[beater65]

2-3k for wrap is still reasonably expensive. Not in comparison to 10k paint... but still.


you can do Plastidip Pro and they make UV clear for their products to withstand elements much better. Depending on car size. $1000

I think plastidip is still a great alternative as well.


BTW wrap does look killer.

[oleyeller]

Your car looks GREAT! That is one good looking ride.

[Bugzilla]

That looks awesome! Do you have any pictures of the car right before it was wrapped? Like with all the prep work done?

[Tincup]

Your car looks GREAT! That is one good looking ride.

Thanks


2-3k for wrap is still reasonably expensive. Not in comparison to 10k paint... but still.


you can do Plastidip Pro and they make UV clear for their products to withstand elements much better. Depending on car size. $1000

I think plastidip is still a great alternative as well.


BTW wrap does look killer.

Agreed....but I had a friend that bought a car that was dipped, it was in every nook & cranny, not easy to remove.


That looks awesome! Do you have any pictures of the car right before it was wrapped? Like with all the prep work done?

My car actually has good paint underneath the wrap, I just wanted to change it up. I can always go back to my original paint.

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[Barrrf]

AutoFlex and PlastiDip Pro are great alternatives as well.

[CliffsBlueCamaro]

Looks awesome! What's a realistic timeline for how long a vinyl wrap will last?

[Tincup]

Looks awesome! What's a realistic timeline for how long a vinyl wrap will last?

For a car like mine, that doesn't see daily use, about 5 years.

[MikeJ67]

Wow! Right on. I'm trying to get mine done "before" Hot August Nights in 7 weeks. I have probably 3-4 weeks to go with the car. How long did it take them to do it? And what would you recommend removing so they can just wrap it up? I've got the bumpers ready to come off, and the window trim. I was hoping to leave the door handles on (unless I just have to take them off) but what else?

My paint is still decent. I could just cut & rub the paint out and it would look awesome, but the wife wants a different color. Pearl White to be exact. Looks like they may have that after seeing your Mystique color changing wrap. I figured about $2500-$3500 and was hoping less than a weeks time. I'm cutting it too close now to have any mistakes or processes take too long to work, but man, that would be nice.

Thanks for sharing. I was hoping to find some thing on here about that. Or I was going to start a thread myself. If I had to, I could trailer the car there now and bring it home with it's done to install the new motor/tranny. But I still have suspension & brakes to swap out too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH man I'm running out of time. And working solo isn't want I was hoping for on this one.

Thanks again. Now I'm really fired up to get this done.

[TheJDMan]

A local shop that does complete car wraps told me that to wrap a typical car takes 2 to 3 days and his personal Mustang just happens to be wrapped in Pearl white with a carbon fiber looking black stripe front to rear. You might want to contact your local installer and setup an appointment and let them get the wrap ordered so they are ready to go when you are.

[MikeJ67]

TheJDMan, Thanks man. That's exactly what I was looking for. Pearl White with carbon fiber stripe & rear tail panel. I thought about the front & rear spoilers too, but it might start getting too crazy.

Right on. I've contacted 4 of the local shops and not one of them returned my calls. Dang. Guess I'm just going to have to show up at the door to get some answers. I would imagine they can get the wrap with in a week or so? I'll have to find out.

Thanks again

[MuscleRodz]

Wraps are not cheap either, but way less than paint job. If your shopping for someone to wrap your car, look at the edges to see how they finished the edge off. I have seen what looks like nice wraps on outside, but the edges are horrible.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Eh, not really doable or worth it in desert climates like AZ, unless you keep on top of it and replace it every couple years before it dries up and becomes nasty to remove.

A friend does wraps, and she said it's about $800 in materials, plus the labor over a couple days to do it. $2-3k easily. The only paint job I had farmed out recently (I usually paint my own) cost $1500 with good materials. Granted that was ready to shoot, but then again, your foundation needs to be nice and straight for a wrap too. Same prep work in a way.

[MikeJ67]

Well, went and picked my colors on Saturday and just paid my 50% deposit today. Scheduled for "next" Monday (this is a short week) and ready to get this part done so I can finish getting the car together and running for HAN in 5 weeks. YIKES!!!!

I'll try and post some before & after pics - for some reason my pics are WAY bigger than the page. Newer computer doesn't have the resizer set up on it yet. =) But I'll get that done asap.

[MikeJ67]

Well, this is my "after" shot. What do you guys think? Now to get it back together for Hot August Nights. I'm running out of time. Heck, if I had someone around there that wanted to make some extra $$ helping me get my car running again. Lol.

[Tincup]

Looks good, I like the silver stripe....

[MikeJ67]

I wanted carbon fiber originally, but the texture thing held me up. Then I went with a black brushed aluminum, and the same thing. So this silver stripe worked out good enough and matches the wheels I picked up.

[Motown 454]

Mike the car looks great with the wrap, but then it look perfect before. Was it done in the city?

[Mr Nick]

Looks great!

Did they do the door jams too? Where they able to do the hood with one piece?

I'm VERY interested in wrapping my Cutlass, but I have some minor rust repair that would need to be completed first.

[MikeJ67]

Wayne,
It was done in Sacramento. I'll have to find the shop info and post it as they did a fantastic job. A couple of things I was unaware of, but for the money, I'll get some use out of it before I go to something else.

Vehicle Wraps Inc - pretty impressive operation

[MikeJ67]

Mr Nick,

Yes they did the door jambs. I'll try and get a few shots in here. I had the tail panel done in black matte. New wheels (to me) going on the car now.

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[another69]

From the pictures it looks excellent! I want to do this in the near future and was very curious about the jambs. I wonder if they pulled the doors?

[lsa1stgen]

is there any seams any place? Anything you dont like after haveing it done?

[TheJDMan]

I love the look and colors! Works really well with those wheels!

[MikeJ67]

I will say this .... next time I'll go a darker color OR think about the "vinyl top" look. Yes, the ONLY 2 seems you can see if you look are on the roof as the "sheets" of vinyl are only 6' wide. Bigger than most, but had I paid attention, I would have probably sat down with their design crew to do a work around. Other than that ... I'd do it again.
They didn't pull the doors off, but did get my emblems off (which I didn't have time to do before dropping off with them). It's not as perfect as a complete paint job, but at a third of the price, I can live with it for now. If you see it drive past you, you'd never know it. Oh, the vinyl sheeting isn't as strong as paint. I noticed when trying to re-install the rear bumper I cut a small spot on the vinyl. It will be covered by the bumper once put back on, but that is something that worries me now.
Yeah, the matte grey stripe really works with those wheels. It should be nice once I get it back together and running this week.

[Mr Nick]

I will say this .... next time I'll go a darker color OR think about the "vinyl top" look. Yes, the ONLY 2 seems you can see if you look are on the roof as the "sheets" of vinyl are only 6' wide. Bigger than most, but had I paid attention, I would have probably sat down with their design crew to do a work around. Other than that ... I'd do it again.
They didn't pull the doors off, but did get my emblems off (which I didn't have time to do before dropping off with them). It's not as perfect as a complete paint job, but at a third of the price, I can live with it for now. If you see it drive past you, you'd never know it. Oh, the vinyl sheeting isn't as strong as paint. I noticed when trying to re-install the rear bumper I cut a small spot on the vinyl. It will be covered by the bumper once put back on, but that is something that worries me now.
Yeah, the matte grey stripe really works with those wheels. It should be nice once I get it back together and running this week.

I know the OP has not been active in a while, but hoping he gets an alert about this thread.

MikeJ67 - after three years, how is the wrap holding up for you?