the wrapping thread (pic heavy thread)

[peteyb]

so... a thread about wrapping, how i started off, to where i am now, with afew hint tips a tricks ive leant along the way   s:) s:)  i am by no means a professional, ive got no 3M certs behind me, just a dude who started off small and its slowly getting bigger and better, also dont take this as a 'im after your custom' either, unless you want to give it  s:D s:D  hahaha

so where to start, this will be pic heavy, so we shall start in the beggining, bear in my, i didnt pass my test untill i was 29, due to not really needing it!!
so my first car, good old corsa c, altho not just any corsa c, my first car was a 1.8sri, 140bhp, 0-60 in 7 seconds kinda corsa, 51 plate, 98k on the clock.....

so here she stood, the day i got her, bog standard, bar the alloys and the awesome big bore exhuast that sounded more like a scooby on idle and rumble and popped like a rally car, so much fun!!!

not to shabby, altho that whip on the roof had to go!!!! not bad for 1100quid if you ask me  s:) s:)

the first wrap, the bonnet clear coat was failing, hell, its old, its allowed!! so being a silver car and wanting to keep away from the boy racer style i went for a silver 3d carbon, this was my first ever attempt at wrapping, after watching afew videos and bits i thought id give it a go



tip 1 : when removing the backing liner, and you only peal off half, and finish one half of the bonnet, the liner is EXTREMELY arkward to get to, so handy tip, pull on liner half way, cut the excess off, and fold it under, makes it a hell of alot easyer to pull off when you get to do the second half!!

after doing the bonnet, it looks like it needed abit more, mirrors are the hardest to do due to the concave shape, being a corsa, the back of the mirros just pops off, took me 2 attempts to get this right, over stretching was the downfall, the wrap tries to shrink back to shape over time



so tip 2 : sounds wierd, but makes sense and works a treat, harder to do with carbon effect because of the weave effect, learnt off a video, is to stretch the wrap first, a piece three times the size of the mirror your wrapping, u need a friend here, pull off the liner, attach one edge to the car somewhere, then hold it towards you, get a friend to put lots of heat in the wrap all over, the you pull it towards to you, and you friend puts down the heat gun and pulls it the opposite direction, hold it there till it cools, now you hav a bigger bit of wrap, start on the flatest section, using no heat, then get you friend to heat it slowly as you guide the wrap into place, it will shrink back to its normal size, as you guide ir round the mirrors, wrapping itself around it, no chance of failing wraps, all the tension is on the big flat part of the mirros, no tension in the edges  s;) s;)

next stage, interior, been asked this nurmeous times, a rule, if its glossy, you can wrap it, if its slightly textured, like where the clock and heater controls on the mr2 are you can wrap it but it might not stay there forever, proper textured finishes, no chance, not enough contact to stay in place, luckly the corsa centre console was pretty smooth, not glossy, but close enough, so i went it!!! if you plan to do it, try to get the lines running the same way!! also quite difficult to get them to match up, but this was my first time inside wrapping!!


then things went abit of a different route..... i wanted new headlights, and facelift bumpers lol headlights are black, top of the front bumper is black trim stuff, so silver carbon bonnet had to go!!!


in comes the 4D carbon effect, in black, is more glossy than 3d, and has a better effect in my eyes, more holographic like real carbon, you see that in later pics!! so bonnet rewrapped in the 4d carbon, aswell as the chrome detail at the front, not a lover of chrome!!






wouldnt be right without 4d carbon mirrors of course, same rules, stretch first, the shrink round!!


wondered about doing a mattgun metal grey on the corsa, so ordered a metre up and tried, in the dark, in the cold... but hey, it worked!!


will skip afew bits, this isnt a corsa forum!!! so with all the bumpers changed, headlights done, mirros done, next stage, roof, removed all the roof rails, wrap was only just big enough, i wanted the weave all pointing the same way, something again most people forget!! so here is the roof!!






as you can see, not ideal, the wrap was only just big enough, i mean like 10mm over hang each end, made one mistake on the roof so in for another tip, you can also the 4d effect as the wrap heads around corners and bends, looks far far better than 3d, infact id never use 3d again!!!

tip 3 : when doing a roof, do the front half first, remember to fold the liner like the bonnet  s;) s;)  start in the middle, work to the edges and work forward, squeezey it from the centre to the edge, head toward the front, then release the back liner and do the same, dont do what i did, on the back and thats get the the base of the aerial, the finish the left and right side, because you find it will bunch in the middle and you have to spring it all back up, either reomve the base or masking tape the base andcut a slit, wrap DOES NOT stick to masking tape, it will slide down it  s:) s:)

and heres the finshed corsa c, at wheels day last year  s:D s:D


next project, little bit different now, my friend track bike, yamaha r1!!!!





decal sheets are intresting things, all printed onto one huge clear sheets, which you have to cut out by hand, find matching decals on different sheets and try to mirror to the opposite side, this was a 2day project, i can giv only on tip for these, use the wet app method, spray the area, spray the decal sticky side, place and wiggle into postion and carefully squueze out the water, then use a heat gun on a medium heat to try to dry it out abit, best leaving over night or out in the sun tho for24hours, else the wind will rip them off!!!

last project i can find in my pics, my friend Amys mazda mx5, which someone kindly keyed up the boot!!!

this is a different approach, there are badges and emblems to take off and replace, so get your pen and paper, and a decent ruler or tape, pic points of the car to measure from, draw it on the paper, so when you done u can stick them back on again!! again, we went for 4d carbon, you wont find a wrap that will match you paint work properly, and she ddnt wanna hav a odd color panel, so went all out for a carbon boot  s:) s:)  you can really see the 4d effect on this one!! still think its miles better than the 3d!!






so now youve seen some of my stuff, excluding my roadster which is in the other thread, and uve heard all my waffles and seen the pics, here are some method, what u need to do and best things to get :

things to buy :

the wrap of your choice, dont use ebay cheap crap, its crap, doesnt last, use kpmf, 3m, arlon, hexis or isee2, kpmf is te cheapest but thats what i used to do my roadster, easyest way, length on the car times x4 the panel that uses the most on a mr2 is the rear quarters, wrap omes in 1520mm by the metre, the rear quarter is 1600x900, door was 1100x800 so 4 time the length of the car should cover you

Cotton applicator gloves, they dont fit properly, they dont last so buy afew pairs, but they are the best thing in the world for this, sometimes a squeedgey isnt right for getting it down, and your finger or thumb is better, do it bear thumb you will get a very hot thumb and hand and the wrap will bunch up where you running you thumb across, cotton gloves protect your hand from the heat (abit) but let you fingerand thumb slide along the wrap with ease, no friction to cause u problems

Magnets, i saw these, and bought them, 10quid for 4, by far the single most helpfull thing i ever bought, they are stupidly strong, u can sitck them to the car to help hold things in place instead of trying to guess while holding the wrap in the air, just put the wrap with liner against the car, magnet it in place, cut wrap to shape, move you magners half way dow and let the wrap roll towards you, peel off the liner, cut off the excess, remember to fold it under, and proceed, masking tape works but its harder to use because sometime there inst anything to tape to or it pings off!!

squeeges, i use 2 types of squeeges, one is teflon edge one side, and felt the other, and the other is a felt block, no rules here, use which ever suits you, or is best for what u are doing, just keep them clean, no putting them on the floor!!

knifes, or one knife, and a scapel, the thinner style stanley knife that takes 9mm blades, blades will dull very very quickly, i used 11 blades in all, useing every snapped off section on each!! big rule here, sharp blades means nicers cuts, else it will look like uve sawed through it

knifeless tape/wrapcut pro, awesome stick, 4mm wide tape, high intial tack, contains a kevlar element, if you doing stripes, inlays or door shuts, place the tape down where you want the cut, making sure the filament is where u want the cut to be, leaving 50-100mm over hanging, lay down all your wrap striaght over it, then pull the filiment out the tape, might need a knife to release it, then pull it 45degrees in the direction you pulling it, leaves a perfect cut line, and no knife goes near the paint, remove the remain tape and flatten down the egdes  s;) s;)

infrared thermometer! explained later

a spare bin, coz there will be lots of off cuts and liner paper floating around lol  s:D s:D


lets get wrapping

step 1 : if you can remove it then remove it!!! trims, handles, lights, mirrors, indictors, if u can t remove it and replace it later then take it off!!

step 2: clean the bloody car, jetwash the crap out of it, if its you home jetwash, the stick fairy liquid in the soapy bit, its a deagreaser, will strip all wax and residue from the car, you cant wrap to wax, it wont stick, and if it does it wont last long, you cant wrap to dirt either!!! claybar if u realy wanna go full banana, then dry it, then dry it again, and again, get any trapped water behind trims, handles, rubbers, anywhere where water will hide, u need to dry

step 3: u need to buy some isoprop alchole, turps, meths, thinners, white spirits, forget it, has to be isopro alchole, it wil near on surigally clean the panels, spray, wipe over, repeat, clean is a repeated thing here, the isoprop evaporates aswell, so just buff off till its gone

step 4: cut wrap to required size, leaving a 100mm or so over lap, weather its a door, front wing, bonnet or whatever, nothing worse than getting near the end and youve not got enough, you be surprized how much the wrap twists and changes shapes and you applying it, as a rules use the least amount of heat possible, less heat, less stretch, less tension

step 5: lets use a door for example, youve cleaned it, cut the wrap to size, use the magents to help you postion on the door properly, and this is why u need 4, pin each corner so you know its gonna cover, take the top left magent, place on the left side in the middle, take the top right magnet, place on the right side in the middle, then use the last 2 to space in between, make sure your as smooth as u can get it here, if u need to reposotion it, then don so, no rush  s:) s:)  now pull the top of the wrap towards you and let it hang down over the magnets ( see why these are awesome ) pull off the liner, and trim off the excess, remember to fold it under itself so u can get it later, now grab each corner and pull them to wear they need to go, keep the wrap tight but not pulling to hard, then start to apply the wrap from the middle, working up, not from the top down!!! work all the way to the top, making sure u push it all the gaps, heat will help on this bit, it will soften it, and if it wrinkles just pop the wrap off abit, add some heat and will be like new again, once u get to the top, remove the magnets and work you way down the door, no need to remover all the liner, it helps to leave it on and work in sections, and that fold under u did helps keep the wrap off the car, so remove abit, apply abit and remove some more, if wrinkles start to appear, then add some heat to soften it up, dont be shy, ud be surprised how much heat u can use, if you muck up dont worrry, just pull it off, and heat it up, it will go back to normal, if the sticky side touches the sticky side dont worry again, just unstick it, think  sshit shit sshit , looks at those finger marks, add heat and all is gone  s:) s:)  carry on till u cover the door  s:) s:)

step 6: trimming the edges, this makes or breaks the finishing, if the edges are crap then the whole project looks crap, so now your dooor is wrapped up, what to do here, grab your heat gun and heat along the edges, folding it behind the door edge, dont try fold it all at once, little folds at a time, else it will just fold in half or wrinkle, this is where u take your time, as for finishing the cut, i always aim for the weld seems, gives a nice straight edge to cut to, if u press to hard on the knife and cut the paint it show to much on the seem joint, and is a good place to practice cutting the wrap without cutting your paint work!!

step 7: post heating, this is where the infrared them comes it, slowly heat the edges to around 90degrees all around the edges, remember to move you heat gun beforeu point the themometer at the wrap, post heating removes all the memory from the wrap, basically reseting its shape, all wraps will try to remember its shape eventually, wether it takes a week or 6months, once it stats to rememebr it will try to flatten out, you can use abit of 3m primer of the edges to help, just a small 5mm band of primer to giv it some proper grabbyness, but will be harder to get off later in life

step 8: move to the next panel, check you off cuts and they may serve purpose for a smaller section later, i know the off cuts from the wings i use to do the cills under the doors, carry on till u complete the car  s:) s:)


afew tips......

deep recesses, example, facelift front bumper, biggest misconception, a wrap is one peice of wrap, for the main part it is, but somtimes its just not possible, so plan ahead, you want to hide joints here u can, my front bumper is in afew sections, section one, inside the foglight, fog light removed, cut a rectangle shape, and wrap as deep as u can get it, makeing sure the join it at the top of the foglight hole, trim it about 10mm below the hole opening, so its near where the lens is, next section, the fog light recess, it will stretch that far, but i promise u, it wont stay down there, so inlay that section in, starting at the bottom of the reccess and working you way to the top of it, trim round the edges or to where u want you join to be, next section, the bottom lip, cu , lay, tim into place, then the underside above the bottom lip, repeat, then do the main bumper, you will be able to see the wrap line from the inlays when your done, neatly trim about 3-5mm overlaps, do it right and your never notice it

spoilers... i have a ducktail, wrapped in to sections, i wrapped the top first, wrapping about 20mm underneith, then wrap the bottom, doing it this way means air floin over it isnt trying to get under the wrap because the cut is faceing backward to the airflow

door shuts... i did mine gloss black, because i dont plan on doing them twice, gloss or matt black shuts leave it open to color changes later, if you plan on doing door shuts like i did, do them first, so when u cange color later u can peal it off and the door shut stays black  s:) s:)

most of all just have fun, ive got around 250 colors i can get hold off, 3m, arlon, isee2, hexis, kpmf, and others, u can get just about anything, from gloss, to matt, gloss metallitcs to matt metallics, pearlescents to iridescents, carbon to brushed ali!!!! so try it for yourself, or ask how much for me to do it, or if i know anywhere near you  s:) s:)

wonder how many people lasted all the way through this!!!!!  s:D s:D

[Anonymous]

Love it! Thanks for putting so much time into explaining!

I think I've now seen what I want to do to my car... Matt gun metal like you have done here



I think that would look awesome on my track car!

Now I just need to learn  s:( s:(

Let me know when you set up business  s;) s;)  lol

Keep the thread updated with your handy work, please!

[shnazzle]

Great write-up and very informative. I've done some mirror wrapping and it was a right pain in the hoop. This would have helped.

Can you give a bit more detail about the lining removal? I may be being  thick but I don't follow.
So for door: magnet in place, then move top magnets down to let the wrap fall over the magnets, then remove liner from the top edge and fold it over towards the car. Then what excess do you trim?

Do you mean trim a bit of the lining you just peeled off so that you only have to fold over a small "lip" to allow you to grab later to pull more off?

[peteyb]

Exactly that, sorry, was getting late lol i made the mistake of trying to leave the backing liner on, or trimmed and not folding it under, just becomes hard work lol

[peteyb]

Love the gun metal grey, its like a matt metallic, doesnt really show in the pic to well, but looks dam good!!

[Anonymous]

Love the gun metal grey, its like a matt metallic, doesnt really show in the pic to well, but looks dam good!!

I think that's what I want to do! Where do you source the wrapping from?

Would you be interested in helping? Are you based in Sutton as in Surrey?

[peteyb]

I get it from the distributors, took a while to set up the accounts, and yeah, im in sutton, where are you?

[Anonymous]

I'm in Camberley. I have some friends who live in Chessington and it takes about 35mins to get to their place

[peteyb]

I knoe camberley,  id the the glass front and doors for the romans on the corner lol im a architechual/structural glazier by trade lol

[IO2]

How much would it cost to do a mr2? And you have a website for all the colours to choose from?

[uktotty]

That carbon stuff is hideous!
Would like to see the R1 when finished

[StuC]

It's the pug fezza all over again!  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[peteyb]

No website yet, still working on that, plus colours always look different on screen, for me to do a roadster, as in you drop it to me, with a basic wash over, from start to finish about a 800-1400 depending on the finish, gloss and mattes are cheapest, metallics cost more, pearls cost even more lol all depends on the colors and also if u want the door shuts wrapped, and i mean the inside of the door and the bit it closes against  s:) s:)  the carbon is nicer than the normal carbon u see, nothing on the real thing, but does the job

[peteyb]

Also, another thing to add which i forgot, dents..... If u plan on leaving it wrapped and hav small dink etc, just fill it, sand it, and wrap over it, or get them out before u wrap it

[AckersMR2]

I wrapped parts of my old bike a few years back, came out pretty well.

[Ian3360]

This thread is no help at all!

I thought I was gonna get some useful tips on how to wrap my Xmas presents up!

I feel I've been misled!....... ;0)))

[peteyb]

This thread is no help at all!

I thought I was gonna get some useful tips on how to wrap my Xmas presents up!

I feel I've been misled!....... ;0)))

hahahaha sorry to dissapoint!!

[peteyb]

loving the bike dude!!!! i dont care what people say, abit of fake carbon fibery is awesome  s:) s:)

[jinxedkitten]

I have to say Ackers, that looks like sex on wheels. And I don't like carbon. Shiny  s:) s:)

[StuC]

Steady jk, we don't want it going to his head!!  s;-) ;-) s;-)

[Maverikk]

Good work, PeteyB, looks like you've self-taught to a high standard. I've tried my hand at wrapping in the past (wr-apping, StuC, not rapping...just pre-empting you!  s:) s:)  ) and it is a pain in the balls!

[cyclehead]

Also, another thing to add which i forgot, dents..... If u plan on leaving it wrapped and hav small dink etc, just fill it, sand it, and wrap over it, or get them out before u wrap it

What is best for paint chips?  I want to wrap my front bumper - full of rock chips.  Will the wrap smooth over the smaller chips?  Should I try to fill everything and sand smooth before wrapping?

[Maverikk]

Also, another thing to add which i forgot, dents..... If u plan on leaving it wrapped and hav small dink etc, just fill it, sand it, and wrap over it, or get them out before u wrap it

What is best for paint chips?  I want to wrap my front bumper - full of rock chips.  Will the wrap smooth over the smaller chips?  Should I try to fill everything and sand smooth before wrapping?

I had my hardtop wrapped and the vinyl definitely made the smaller chips less visible.

[peteyb]

Just fill them and giv a sand, matt will show it up more, carbon will hide most tho because of the texture  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Done anymore wrapping recently?