[Harvey Specter]

Seen this over on the BMW forum, not sure if I would wrap my own BMW but have to give this guy credit for wrapping his own car and saving major cash.

I vinyl wrapped my car flat black. This was just a random project i decided to pull the trigger on.... I had no experience whatsoever on vinyling anything. I just watched a few vids on youtube and got some advice from friends who do vinyl stickers. Here's a few pics of the process and outcome...

Hate it, Love it...It was my first time... it took me 1 week and a day to complete....did a panel a day after work =)

oh, and for the record... I didn't pay over $3000 bucks that most people pay to vinyl their car....

I paid about $120 for all materials... and i did all the work myself, with some help from my fiance from time to time

=) enjoy



DIY!!!!

so this will be my little DIY since there's not really much to mention =)


THINGS YOU NEED:
Vinyl (about 25 yards give it take..also depending how much you mess up)... measurements for the vinyl i got were 25 yrds and 48 inches wide....

2 qts of application fluid for the vinyl

I used a felt squeegee so it wont scratch the surface of the vinyl.

I also used a heat gun from Harbor Freight... $10 FTW!!!!

1 XActo knife and scissors

AND LOTS OF PATIENCE!!!!!


I fully detailed the car prior to vinyling including:
- Full car wash, Clay bar'ed the car, and waxed just to be sure the car was flawless.

It is important to make sure there are no specs of dust, bugs, dirt, or anything that would affect the vinyl application onto the car...


Applying:

1. Start with the easiest parts first (for me, it was the roof, trunk, and hood)

2. Cut the vinyl to the size of the section you are going to start on and make sure you cut an oversized piece just in case for stretching the vinyl.

3. Spray the application fluid all over the area you are about to vinyl, and peel off the backing of the vinyl and apply it to the section.

4. Be sure you squeegee the vinyl slowly because if you're too rapid, that may cause creases and lots of air bubbles; this is where the heat gun comes into play. With creases, just lift the vinyl back up and heat the area which you creased, stretch the vinyl until there is no more crease and reapply the vinyl. ALWAYS SQUEEGEE FROM MIDDLE OUTWARD...

5. The vinyl may keep coming up at the edges, this is due to the application fluid. Let it dry and you may continue to squeegee the vinyl down.



Now for the curvy areas!!!!

This is where you may need some help from a person or two...

FOR THE BUMPERS:

1. do not use application fluid when vinyling the bumpers or the most curvy areas of the car. If you do, it will be a Bi*ch to apply it.

2. Use A LOT of stretch and heat for this application

3. Start middle outward; squeegee the middle area of the bumper on, and have someone pull on the vinyl away as you heat the vinyl and squeegee it down. Do NOT over heat or overstretch the vinyl as it may lose its flat black appearance.

FYI: There will be a lot of bubbles on the sections where you do not spray the application fluid. NO WORRIES! try to get the bubbles as small as possible, and when you're done, let the car sit out in the sun and the bubbles will magically disappear!! (with the help of a needle from time to time) =)



when starting this project, you'll learn more and more as you keep vinyling sections of your car.

I learned as i went, and you all will too! (if you decide to tackle this)


Try vinyling a piece a time. I vinyl'd a section a day because that took all my patience in a day..

In the end, you'll be satisfied. This is a pretty straightforward DIY, so if there's any other questions, feel free to PM me.

Thanks again everyone!!!!!

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442



http://www.e90post.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=374378&stc=1&d=1271656698

http://www.e90post.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=374379&stc=1&d=1271656698

http://www.e90post.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=374380&stc=1&d=1271656698

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http://www.e90post.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=374387&stc=1&d=1271656698

[StE823]

i think it looks pretty good lol

[Supafly]

patients is key here....i would hate for someone to ding my car...and put a rip in the vinyl aswell as a dent...

[GabAlmighty]

So.... What's the problem here?

[greendb7]

makes me tempted...

[sunny_j]

it looks good

makes me wanna try to vinyl my roof black myself. where can we buy vinyl locally?

[FerrariEnzo]

hhaha.. how much would this cost?

i wunder if it comes in white???


but now he has to change is insurance policy, color is different...

[JSALES]

Pretty nice, I bet I could vinyl wrap my own car if I wanted. Worked with 3M trimline and NGSI for a bit haha
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[jing]

LOL @ Federal tires on BMW

I guess they go well with his Formula D licence plate frame :lol

[RC0310_EJ]

he must be part of SR Autogroup now.. lol

[tonyvu]

exhaust could use some work, other than that looks good

[Vale46Rossi]

wow great job.

[hotong]

w0w i don't think i have the patience to do this

[invader]

Looks really good

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

he must be part of SR Autogroup now.. lol

indeed

everyone is vinyl fucking their cars now


played out thats all i can say

[tofu1413]

not bad for DIY.. i see a crinkle on front fender though...


hes good. props to him

[Pt20]

very nice for DIY.

[alex.w *//]

why does this guy remind me of

bredan s

[kookoobird88]

looks pretty good. I did my side mirrors on matte then ordered some cf. when i took off the matte black off my mirrors it took some of the paintoff... like huge chunks. so now im getting my mirrors repainted. and then i put the cf on but looks like shit, so one i my mirors has this super shitty vinyl peeling n shit off till i get it repainted, not really sure why it stripped the paint. but matte black vinyl is really cheap i got it for 3.99/ft by 3ft wide

[Kim Jong Un]

where's the SR auto group sticker at?

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

why does this guy remind me of

bredan s

they do look alike

:p

[The_AK]

pretty good job, looks pro, except in the little air bubble in fender (last picture)

[jdmhaze]

Thats impressive.

[jing]

looks pretty good. I did my side mirrors on matte then ordered some cf. when i took off the matte black off my mirrors it took some of the paintoff... like huge chunks. so now im getting my mirrors repainted. and then i put the cf on but looks like shit, so one i my mirors has this super shitty vinyl peeling n shit off till i get it repainted, not really sure why it stripped the paint. but matte black vinyl is really cheap i got it for 3.99/ft by 3ft wide

Did you use a heat gun?

[kknater]

looks pretty good. I did my side mirrors on matte then ordered some cf. when i took off the matte black off my mirrors it took some of the paintoff... like huge chunks. so now im getting my mirrors repainted. and then i put the cf on but looks like shit, so one i my mirors has this super shitty vinyl peeling n shit off till i get it repainted, not really sure why it stripped the paint. but matte black vinyl is really cheap i got it for 3.99/ft by 3ft wide


Where did you get the vinyl?

[- kT]

his stock colour was hot as shit

regardless though, amazing job for a DIY

[!Aznboi128]

who wants to do this at the next rs meet lol

[LiquidTurbo]

I think I'm the only one who prefer the stock color.. :)

[TRD Rs200]

that looks sick

[sleazyho]

that looks pretty dope, might want to try that one day

[asian_XL]

am I the only one who thinks it's ugly as fuck...?

gosh, matte black is like last decade thingie

[hk20000]

some tend to think "it's the same as a reventon so it's awesome" *cough*Endlezz*cough*

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

I think I'm the only one who prefer the stock color.. :)

u are not the only one

[VR6GTI]

That doesn't look good in the pictures so im sure it doesn't look good in person. I would rather have the blue than this tacky flat black.

[Benz_05TSX]

Actually, the flat black looks better than the blue... looks more stealth!

Props on the time spent!

[- kT]

I think I'm the only one who prefer the stock color.. :)

his stock colour was hot as shit

regardless though, amazing job for a DIY

nope, you're not the only one

[3seriesBeeM]

that blue he had was sick. but nonetheless he did do a good job on vinyling hes got some balls to attempt that and it turned out good

[q0192837465]

good craftmanship, but matt black only looks good on a ReBenton, that's about it.

[thumper]

I think I'm the only one who prefer the stock color.. :)

no i was just about to say the same thing... i liked the stock blue :o

[blackwidowsg]

holy cow. this guy is amazing.. feels like getting it on tomorrow. if only i have the time... :P

[97ITR]

I get frustrated enough putting a stupid screen protector onto a phone, I can't imagine how frustrating vinyling my own car would be....

[Teriyaki]

Yea. This could get messy really fast. I vinyled a few interior pieces and that was frustrating enough. Props to him for sticking with it.

[Shun Izaki]

Actually, the flat black looks better than the blue... looks more stealth!

Props on the time spent!

wrap your winter beater then... that champagne's starting to bug me fag >_<

[G-spec]

this one was wrapped by the owner as well, proof anybody with patience and a steady hand can do it..... and the wrap is 2 to 5 k depending on what quality you want. The typical is 3mm thickness, but if you want better protection and extras like semi gloss clearcoat you can go with 5mm and satin clearcoat overspray, that would be what I would personally do.



http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u19/CandlestickPark89/G35/LeftCoastLowDec2009/DSC_1928copy.jpg

[hotong]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/Anointeddc5/DC5/Body%20Kits/Maxracing.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x231/rockybabb/_ND31584.jpg

[sweetcivic]

That's impressive! This guy done a great job on his BMW. I've done full car graphics on my car one time. Maybe I'll try this too and see how it turns out. Yes, lots of patience.

[PDA_86]

Wow, that's pretty amazing. I love matte black.

[Mancini]

patients is key here....

Patients? Are you saying only doctors should attempt this?

[DsZ24]

Patients? Are you saying only doctors should attempt this?

Vinyl doctor, or vd for short :D

[hyperloop]

Better get the vinyl that has "air release"...I worked with those once, super easy to get rid of bubbles =]

[E_Fahlman]

for 2-5 k I think Ièd just spray the car flat black; either way I think it looks pretty cool.

Here is two I saw at the luxury auto show a couple summers back

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p176/5TonneTruck/KRZR/P9121114_2.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p176/5TonneTruck/KRZR/P9121270_2.jpg

[MindBomber]

Since someone has already bumped this thread..

Does anyone know somewhere locally that I could buy enough vinyl to do a Civic for $120, I might do it before the RS meet just for shits and giggles since its so cheap. The material prices I've heard are a lot higher.

[6insomnia9]

That looks pretty sick and nice little project

[Matsuda]

My friend at GPFX had to repair some DIY wrap jobs, he said it was pretty bad. Cuts on the paint, chrome trim, rubber mouldings missing chunks.

[MindBomber]

My friend at GPFX had to repair some DIY wrap jobs, he said it was pretty bad. Cuts on the paint, chrome trim, rubber mouldings missing chunks.

What could have caused those things to happen, sloppy work with the knife?

[1exotic]

^ you aren't going to buy material for $120... the guy just got hooked up from people he knew.

you are looking at about $400 for materials to wrap a car with avery vinyl... +its not that easy to do. Most ppl use 3M which costs about $1000+ for material alone.


for 2-5 k I think Ièd just spray the car flat black; either way I think it looks pretty cool.



why do that when you can just remove the vinyl and change it back to the original color in the future.............

[6insomnia9]

^ you aren't going to buy material for $120... the guy just got hooked up from people he knew.

you are looking at about $400 for materials to wrap a car with avery vinyl... +its not that easy to do. Most ppl use 3M which costs about $1000+ for material alone.




why do that when you can just remove the vinyl and change it back to the original color in the future.............

cause he is ballleringz..........

[MindBomber]

^ you aren't going to buy material for $120... the guy just got hooked up from people he knew.

you are looking at about $400 for materials to wrap a car with avery vinyl... +its not that easy to do. Most ppl use 3M which costs about $1000+ for material alone.


That explains it.

thanks..

[Jgresch]

PM me if you want 3m stuff, I haz hookup.

[donjalapeno]

because that beutiful blue metallic paint was ugly? :facepalm:

[VrrM604]

two toned might be badass too

[buddha1]

imo, matte wraps on bmws look best on e92's
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/4840480/img/Picture-Box/matte-3-final.jpg

[Matsuda]

What could have caused those things to happen, sloppy work with the knife?

probably, that an inexperience

[taylor192]

I would have done this instead of painting my car if it was more popular, ie better and cheaper, at the time. Hell I am considering a CF wrap for my hood since the fiberglass cracks and needs to be repaired every couple years. Rewrapping would be cheaper than repainting.