Vinyl Wrapping Tutorial

[Demonic1]

I spotted this on the internet, I figured people here could use some of the information. And it's a BMW website.
Original posting is here -> http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

Original Poster name: djaemac

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!!!!!

Second post with more info...

WOW! so many comments from just a day!... Thanks for all the great comments. I really appreciate it!...

As for the material, my friend makes stickers on the side, so he orders loads and loads of vinyl and i just bought 25 yards of Oracal brand flat black vinyl from him.


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!!!!!

I hosted the pictures in case the guy ever takes his down.

[mikeinaus]

thats awesome. im totally gonna try that, maybe next summer. i wonder how well it would cover cracks/chips in the paint?

[Demonic1]

I'm sure as long as you sanded down the edges or did a light bondo/buff/fill it should cover.
Another thing is that a pattern (like camo) would hide imperfections, but a solid color would make them more noticeable.

And a solid gloss would make them the visual center of your car!

[mikeinaus]

im thinking of a matt or glossy dark grey. vinyl looks pretty cheap on ebay. i found a local company that will sell 3 18'x48" rolls for $140, can also mix/match colours. thatd probably be enough to do the car twice eh?

[Daninski]

Oh man how about plaid for that Scottish effect. Hair sporn window visors. The possibilities.
I'd be concerned dark colours would get too hot and possibly bubble.

[wytbishop]

I imagine the vinyl is manufactured with the heat of the sun taken into considerations Dan I can't see that being a problem. My question is, how do you repair it if you get a tear like from a large rock chip etc?

[mikeinaus]

peel and reapply

[matt91gt]

that looks amazing. i wonder what my car would look like if i attempted this.

[ninjajim4]

i am thinking about doing this.. for 200 bucks, why not?

i am curious what they did around the door handles. it's obviously impossible to do it all in one piece without taking the handles off, which it doesn't look like they did... looks good in the pictures though

[mikeinaus]

theres some videos on youtube of people doing the same thing. for handles and stuff like that it looks easiest to just remove it from the car then put back on after.

[Mooneggs]

This will be my next project - finally I'll have a real "paint" job lol

[turpro1993]

I didn't open this thred at first because I thought "oh boy. Here's a guy that put some ricey grafics on his car that was played out 10 yrs ago". Wow was I wrong. I'm going to do this when my swap is done. Best way to know for sure what color looks good on your car plus adds a bit of protection for when/if you ever do go to sell the car. Peel it off, get all the gook off and shine it up again. No new rock chips to worry about.

[Dragon1212]

Yea that would be something this would offer... Vinyl is tough when you throw rocks at it.

[wytbishop]

Keep in mind that the only reason this was only $200 was that the OP knew a guy who makes stickers and probably got a huge bulk price. You might not. You might not even be able to find the stuff locally at all.

I'm just saying.

[wytbishop]

FYI...

I found this site which sells the vinyl material the OP used. Now he said he got 25 yards (900") @ 48" wide. This place sells a 58" wide roll 240" long for $499. If he used most of his 25 yards, you would need at least 3 rolls at 240"x58"...the MX-3 is small...maybe only 2.

Unless you can find a way better deal than this you're looking at around $1000 I figure to do this.