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Paint vs Vinyl Wrap

20K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  DaRooster 
#1 ·
I wana go flat black (mtte i guesS) with the bike. Does anyone have any information on just wrapping the plastics in matte vinyl. I have seen it done on high end sports cars etc. What does it cost. Is it difficult to do yourself? Would i be better off just painting it?
 
#2 ·
The cost of Vinyl wrap is not that cheap, plues installing it (not everybody has the patience, much less the technique). I've seen race cars after the wrap was removed, and it wasnt pretty.

For the price, I say go with paint, unless you plan on moving from one wrap to another (if you ever need to remove the wrap)
 
#3 ·
ebay search for the vinyl. They usually sell the stuff by the square foot. I'd say they cost would be about half of what a paint job would be if not less. If you do a wet install, the stuff isn't hard to move around at all. With an extra set of hands, and patience, you could do it.

Watch mad youtube videos, and start with something small so that you can get the feel for it. Get a few friends to help so that you can get it pulled tight so you don't get wrinkles. Sounds like a fun project if you ask me.
 
#4 ·
If you do a wet install, the stuff isn't hard to move around at all. With an extra set of hands, and patience, you could do it.

Watch mad youtube videos, and start with something small so that you can get the feel for it. Get a few friends to help so that you can get it pulled tight so you don't get wrinkles. Sounds like a fun project if you ask me.
Thats all good till you get to a "curve" or uneven area. Fun turns ugly really-really quick.
 
#5 ·
I have the lower fairings on my cbr done in vinyl wrap with a design that I did & it looked great, until I had a closer look & unless you have someone that, as already posted in this thread, has a shit load of patience, it doesnt come out as good as painting.. And yep, vinyl wrap (especially the one Ive got with the extra hard coating on it) didnt work out to be that much cheaper than the paint job of similar style wouldve been...

Im going airbrushed next time instead...
 
#6 ·
I've had my truck wrapped twice. not a huge deal to remove, if installed correctly. It looks fine after removed. My current wrap is over 5 years old and looks great for an off road truck. temperature changes, mud, cleaning etc.

Ok ONLY differences, you can go back to "stock" as long as the guy installing/removing knows how to use a heatgun and a razor.
Second, you can get a "complex" scheme cheaper with vinyl, vs paying a guy to airbrush (that's good.)


Oh, and matching color, replacing, fixing a section easy with vinyl too...
 
#7 ·
I can't comment on the vinyl, but I would imagine the matte black will chip easy on the road since no clear coat is used.
 
#8 ·
I recommend paint because of the clear coat application on top but I do think vinyl accents are a good move though.
 
#9 ·
Vinyl is a pain to do on a bubble type surface. If it was only curved one way it's not too bad but once you get into 2 way curved surfaces it becomes very hard. If you want to see what I mean, try wrapping a helmet. It's alot more extreme curves but you will get the idea.
 
#10 ·
These guys have a tutorial on install and links to shops that do it.

Most body shops have or know installers as well. You'd be surprised how much vinyl they is stock on most vehicles.
 
#11 ·
I visited a buddy who owns a detail shop the other day and he said he has been knocking out vinyl wraps on cars left and right lately. Going to go back in a few weeks and have him work something up for my trackbike. The 3M carbon stuff actually does not go on wet, he uses heat and says its a lot easier on complex surfaces because of this.
 
#13 ·
I just did my bike. Used 3M 1080 film (bubble release). I used the matte metallic gray. I used 4 feet of vinyl (60" wide roll), which cost me $45. I am totally stoked with it! I have two seams on my tank, but got everything else done intact - will likely redo the tank, now that I know how to approach the more complex curves.
 

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#14 ·
Sorry, that pic from my phone is a little blurry. I'll see if I can clean the lens before I take another shot - it does't really do the film justice. It is WAY better than paint in my mind - although it is a bit more fragile - it's easier to get good results with this stuff. If I had help, I bet I could have done most of it in an afternoon, as it was, I took two afternoons ;)
 
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