It's a wrap! (at least a partial one)

Once upon a time when you wanted to make a cosmetic alteration to your car, the options you had were limited. Paint was the the main option and as time went on, some undesirable to many but still creative options were devised due to the cost and desire to spend the money elsewhere in the build

Although not the first choice for many, if done tastefully alternative finishes can be cool...

The ability to create multi color schemes is possible with plasti dip, but it is time consuming and takes multiple coats to achieve the desired effect. Photo borrowed from the plasti dip forums

As technology progressed and different options became available, the realm of creative you had at your fingertips to change the appearance of your vehicle became wide and all encompassing.

I've played around with just about all the options through the years. This year, since my real project car is just that, a project and might see the outside of the garage if only just to move something in there I decided to try and clean up my daily driver. Or at least have a little fun with it so I called up Josh at Art City Signs to mull around his thoughts on my car.

Plain, white, looks good from 30 ft but has some very undesirable characteristics up close, like the hatch....

Banged up, rusty, duct tape holding the license plate tub in. Tsk tsk......

Otherwise a relatively clean example of a mk3 GTI, there were definitely some areas I had to address before taking it to shows, get togethers, etc.

After commiserating with Josh for a bit, I decided to go with a winter camo theme as I didn't want to do the whole car (I am really digging having a white car) and it would be a relatively clean blend into the white of the car. I decided to cover the hatch and just follow a theme through the rest of the car. 

What color do you want? From solid color, metal flakes, carbon fibre prints, and tints. I've learned vinyl has an almost infinite list of possibilities for color.

First step in the miserable Wisco winter is to let the car warm up and thaw out

So after pulling the car in to thaw out, we went about making the product for this application.

The wrap material is vinyl, and it is as specialized as anything else out there. There is a material for just about any application out there. They have the formulation down to the point that there are materials for flat smooth areas, compound curves all with a combination of different thicknesses and laminates to provide the greatest success in the venture. Shortly into my investigation of wrapping, I realized that the people who do these applications have tips, secrets, and proprietary techniques just like any other professional tradesmen. It is not just putting a big sticker on a car.

Capable of printing a 52" wide piece with infinite length, this is cool stuff

Starting with white vinyl we selected the pattern and pretty much just printed off what we needed. As I watched this come out of the printer I couldn't help but be bedazzled by how awesome this process is. With minimal teardown, affordable, and non permanent, I was about to dress my car up. Unreal. Not that I thought it was going to happen, but if I didn't like it, I could just pull it right off. Try that with paint. Even peeling plasti dip off a panel is a pain in the ass.

The next step is the laminate and is one of those "proprietary" things I mentioned earlier.

So with the vinyl ready, and the car warm, the next step is a little basic breakdown of the car to help with a smoother trouble free application.

I took that license plate tub out, but of course forgot to take a picture. oops....

So with that done, the real work starts. first step is to lay the material over the car and position it where you want it to lay out.

Done! How's it look?

With this fastened in place with magnets, it is trimmed down to the basic size and shape of the panel.

Start at one side and work your way across, it's taking shape.

With a process of pulling, heat, stretching and pressure the wrap is put in place. Trim the edges and move on across the panel. This stuff is pretty pliable and more so with the addition of heat. Once the panel is covered you think "whew" but with this revalation from me Josh mentioned that we had just barely just begun. Here's why.

There are alot of nooks and crannys and detail features on a car. Things most wouldn't think of unless embarking on a project like this.

Heat, roll, tuck, heat roll, tuck over all the features. Clean is a must as this is sticky, and dirt will not be a desirable application surface.

I'm not going to lie. At this point after standing back and looking I was getting giddy like a kid at christmas.....

So after it is all laid out, trim the edges, make sure it is down all the way around, cut out the window and tuck it, and viola! One panel done. with the grill, mirror covers and license plate tub left to do it is definately a time consuming process but very rewarding in the end.

How about some more photos?

My humble contribution. I worked on this while Josh did the rest haha. Well, I had to start somewhere...

So my take on vinyl wrap. Affordable, non permanent but durable enough to last a long time. The technology behind these materials is amazing. Limitless possibilities for color and pattern, there really aren't any drawbacks. Of course there are limitation, the hatch on my car was equatable to "polishing a turd" with areas of rust and clearcoat delamination that the wrap wouldn't stick to well at all. Just to clarify though, paint, plasti dip, or any other surface treatment wouldn't have worked either without major surface prep. The only thing that would have stuck to it is more rust.

About Art City Signs:

Josh Marquardt is a 3M certified installer. He opened Art City Signs in 2007. With a shop large enough to accommodate just about any job, and a creative eye for design and style, no job is to big  for him. You can contact him for quotes for all of your sign or vinyl needs either via his website:Art City Signs Or by the phone number or email listed there. 

I'd like to thank Josh for his time and patience putting up with me and all my questions while he did this. Awesome stuff. We are working on a program for Dubs In the Valley customers, stay tuned for details on that. 

Till next time! Joe D