Car body wrap

[manifold]

Anyone thought of doing this yet to a dull gelcoat midas? Lasts about 3 or 4 years careful daily use, peel it off and do a different colour.

[DavidL]

Very labour intensive, especially if there are lots of little detail bits on your car (like that Porsche's spoiler). I once enquired about wrapping for my van, as I had thought about having it lettered (and all those Sky vans running around have it done) but the price put me off, just as well as the business doen't pull in a lot of money!

I can see the advantages for a matt black finish, since I believe if you order (for example) a matt black BMW 3 series, the care you have to give it is quite offputting. A wrap, on the other hand, I'd presume could just be washed like a normal paint finish (as long as you don't use a steam cleaner).

Quoted from another site:
"BMW is apparently requiring all owners to sign a "maintenance agreement" that insists the M3 is never polished or waxed, ran through an automatic car wash or even strongly rubbed. Additionally, BMW politely asks that you immediately remove bugs, bird droppings, tree sap and fuel spills with a soft sponge, and naturally, dealers are more than willing to sell you appropriate products for maintaining the matte finish.

According to enthusiast site Bimmerfest, BMW explicitly states the M3's warranty won't cover any damage due to owner neglect and it notes that all exterior repairs must be performed by a BMW-authorized shop. What's more, if you don't sign the agreement, no Frozen Grey M3 for you..."

[max midas]

I also made enquiries two years ago, but buying the vinyl and doing the wrap myself. The quote is as follows:

Vinyl Only
Size: 1520mm (W) x 1000mm (H)
Vinyl: High quality 10 year conformable
Colour: Tbc
£41.67

The size will need to be increased, but I couldn't believe how cheap the materials were.
I didn't peruse the idea as I wasn't convinced the finished article would look anything other than tatty after a few years.
Mind you, as my Midas is looking tatty anyway, maybe I aught to give it a go this summer.

[DavidL]

I wouldn't be happy doing the wrapping myself; I don't have the patience or skill. Although I did spray paint a Mini, once. (Not very well, though, and it was my car, so I didn't have to worry about pleasing someone else )

[manifold]

Theres not a lot of detail to do on a Midas. Especially a Mk1/2. A mk3 might be more of a problem due to the additional curves on the arches.

Take the front and rear bumpers off , mirrors, door handles, lights etc and theres even less to do....plus I bet the vinyl is less susceptible to stone chips. If the material costs 2-3 hundred quid and lasts about 5-6 years DAILY use thats not bad money spent. A kit car in a garage or stored away on a drive most of its time will probably last longer.

Might keep the good cars with still great colour impregnation from being attacked by the ultraviolets too.

[Rich]

As I don't have good colour impregnation to worry about it's certainly worth considering.

[wolfie]

I'm seriously considering it as it doesn't fade and you don't get stone chips. I'm waiting for a company called wrap kings to give me a quote as they're only about 15 minutes from me

[Stuart]

I'll be interested to see what they quote, also interested to see how they'll deal with the Midas body without the handy seams that steel cars have.

[b1zbaz]

It's all done in one on steel cars and fibre glass cars I got mine looked at by a backstreet company and they quoted me 880 quid matte black but they mentioned the headlights may pose a problem

[max midas]

It's the headlights that have got me thinking as well.
It may be possible if the film is sufficiently warm and stretchy.