Car wrap or spray ?

[Michael Montgomery]

Hi guys after searching on here & elsewhere i'm diverging on two possibilities to improve the faded poor paintwork of years of neglect from the previous 21 years....lol

Having had a price for the full spray I'm considering looking at the cheaper yet perhaps more variable option of a car wrap.

Any ideas or experience appreciated as I will get a price on this too soon?

Thanks [emoji4]




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[Firewout]

I was considering the same choice and was told that car wrap scratches very easily from branches etc.

 

[Citizen Brown]

Before splashing out on either I would see if the paintwork can be revived with a good cut and polish. I am sure there are detailers in Cyprus and if they charge similar to the UK then £150-200 gbp ought to get the job done.

Alternatively have a go yourself. A few simple steps:-

1. Good wash;
2. Clay bar (clay bar and lube £15.00)
3. Abrasive polish (£12.00)
4. Finishing polish (£12.00) these come with tints to match dark or light cars
5. Carnuba wax (£25.00)

You can buy a machine polisher from ebay or Machine Mart online for about £30.00 (doing it all by hand is a real workout!)

I have bought stuff from: http://www.bearswaxfactory.co.uk/

Look on You tube for videos on how to do it all

Post some before and after photos...

 

[clivehorridge]

All of the above post, but it depends on how bad a condition the truck is in.

In my case, there were badly repaired dents, loads of cracked filler and the like, so I had the body shop repair them properly, they actually had very skilled panel beaters, and the truck was very nicely re-sprayed.

So nice that I was then concerned about scratching the new paint by going offroad the main reason I have the truck!

I then got the attention of a wrapping company, and they provided me with an old car wing with 5 different samples of wrap, ranging from the thinnest (and cheapest) through to the thickest (and most expensive) clear wraps. He told me the same grades were available in colours, if I wanted them.

The thinnest grade was useless, I could cut right through it with my thumbnail. However, the thickest grade was amazingly tough, we tried the key test, and although it marked it, it stayed intact and full protected the paint underneath.

So that's the way I went. Scratchy bushes and branches have marked the wrap, but they polish out. I haven't yet cut the wrap, and I've been through some pretty scratchy stuff, scratcher than scratchy stuff can be scratchy. I'm well pleased.

Its its not cheap though, but worth it IMO.

Thats my pennywoth, for what it's worth.

A quick edit, the wrap was done after the re-spray, before all the trim was replaced, and if you just go for wrap, I'd recommend removing the trim, many cowboy wrappers simply cut around, leaving edges that will deteriorate over time and exposure to weather. JMHO.

 

[Blown80]

We designed and project managed this wrap of a Nissan Patrol for a good mate of mine.
I know it's the evil brand of 4wd, but look past that for now.
It was wrapped in a very high quality carbon fibre wrap, with several elements and layers as can be seen.
We also had the interior trims and external elements like mirror housings and door handles dipped in a special film to replicate carbon fibre effect as well.
Then the whole thing was clear coated in a special coating that helped protect the carbon fibre material.
Hellishly expensive, but looks fantastic no matter your marquee preference.
Difficult to get right, apply and maintain. Can shrink, bubble and lift, even using the best of materials.
A fresh paint job every year would be cheaper.
But hey, looks great if you want to spend the coin.
There's lot of other trick stuff we did to this over the years, but the wrap really finishes it off.

 

[roy]

I work in this industry, and i would go for a paint job over vinyl.

paint is far more resilient than vinyl, in many ways.

to do a good wrap you need to remove the same amount of parts from the car as a paint job, so may as well paint it.

 

[Shayne]

Wish we could expand profile pics or can we and i just don't know how . What colour is your truck indigo looks black in the said tiny pic ?

 

[Blown80]

Agree with Roy.

 

[Chas]

Wish we could expand profile pics or can we and i just don't know how . What colour is your truck indigo looks black in the said tiny pic ?

You could do a right click on the picture then save picture as a jpg file to your PC then you can enlarge it.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

More info

Citizen brown the paint work is far gone & faded by many years of scorching sun & neglect. Have the minor rust spots being rear window seal, door frames etc but nothing too bad. After having the car for 4 years & virtually rebuilding it in every way - engine, gearbox, starter, air pump, pulleys, fuel pump, turbo ....list go on & on
Spent most attention on this before & now looking at finishing the exterior. Underneath there is no rust being a in-house jap import but will seal this addicting to look new & add more protection for many more years.

Thanks clivehorridge for your experience. I hear that the wrap does not last that long & in a hot climate its not that feasible other than to advertise your business incline.
I am slowing looking at a spray job and agree with rob..... its costly but wouldn't want to do it again in a few years time again plus rest spots need attention anyways!!

Will pull out the windows & get all window seals from the USA.

Blown80 nice truck Wouldn't mind adding some flair to the dash like a carbon look & having my mirrors & door handles in chrome get the carbon on them too.

My car in two tone black

 

[Michael Montgomery]

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[Michael Montgomery]

This was when I got the car..... Look far worse now & the faded paint is not noticeable on the Bonnet & roof. Will take fresh pictures tomorrow & post.

Also wheels and fenders extensions are no longer on her ....neither are the spot lights. Stupid rules here all with no bull bars etc.





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[Shayne]

Great looking truck and it baffles me how black can fade i think i would de-wax and polish before asking a paint shop to repair the minor rust spots .

 

[clivehorridge]

Indigo, it doesn't look too bad at all, mine was in a dreadful state, all shades of rattle can and 20 yr old original...

If if it were mine I'd go with Shayne and Roy in that order. You'll probably be surprised what the original comes up like with a pro polish then the bits and pieces can be repaired and blown in, avoiding a full re-spray altogether.

I'm being optimistic maybe, but the LC original paint is tougher than you may think...

 

[Blown80]

Indigo, nice looking 80 mate.
Refurbish or Respray the paint per the advice so far, but no need to change from how it looks.
She's a great looking truck already.

 

[clivehorridge]

"Thanks clivehorridge for your experience. I hear that the wrap does not last that long & in a hot climate its not that feasible other than to advertise your business incline"

Can't say I agree indigo, it's hot here in summer usually up to 40C anyway, and I've had no peeling or other effects. Actually, I think it's more in danger from extreme cold and it's cold in the winter here too, down to -20C

 

[120mm]

You did not mention the fourth option: Plastidip.

While the materials are slightly more expensive than paint, an amateur job can easily be made to look professional, provided you can get the plasti-dip to your location. It takes several coats, but it is a very high tolerance coating.

Drew

 

[Chas]

You did not mention the fourth option: Plastidip.

While the materials are slightly more expensive than paint, an amateur job can easily be made to look professional, provided you can get the plasti-dip to your location. It takes several coats, but it is a very high tolerance coating.

Drew

Plastidip? it just looks too easy;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNY9Dx617N8

 

[120mm]

Plastidip? it just looks too easy;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNY9Dx617N8

The downside is that a) It takes a lot of coats to finish the job and b) You kind of have to accept the finish. You're not going to get a super high gloss deep finish with it. It's rubber, after all.

You could probably train a chimp to spray it though, so it's made for the do it yourselfer.

 

[womble_]

Roughly how much is a full respray (in southern UK). I've been avoiding doing mine for a while, but never had a quote.