sprouts-car
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 10:23 AM |
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Vinyl wrapping bare aluminium
Hello all,
I'm going to try vinyl wrapping the ali panels on my 7. Ie bonnet side and rear panel.
Currently these are bare (never painted).
Can the wrap be applied directly to the ali or does it need anything first?
Like an etch primer would be used before painting?
Thanks,
C
Build blog
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loggyboy
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 10:33 AM |
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Just clean it first, get rid of any oil/greases etc.
Mistral Motorsport
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Irony
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 10:35 AM |
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The more the Ali is polished the better it'll stick. If the Ali is at all shiny it'll stick okay. Clean with white spirit and allow to
dry. Use a water sprayer and mist the surface before mounting. Start in the middle and work towards the ends. Push the air out from the middle
vertically up and then vertically down again from the middle. Work from the middle horizontally to one end then from the middle the other way. Heat
gently with a heatgun to form curves. Cheaper the vinyl the less it'll curve and withstand heat.
Lots of people will tell you to use washing up liquid. Professionals don't use it. I don't use it. If your struggling then use a tiny
amount. It will help you get the vinyl on but it'll make any tiny fold around panel gaps much more difficult to apply. If it's just not
sticking or pulls off easy (generally because you have used to much washing up liquid), just leave it to dry out and then go back and stick down the
non-stuck bits.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 12:03 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
The more the Ali is polished the better it'll stick. If the Ali is at all shiny it'll stick okay. Clean with white spirit and allow to
dry. Use a water sprayer and mist the surface before mounting. Start in the middle and work towards the ends. Push the air out from the middle
vertically up and then vertically down again from the middle. Work from the middle horizontally to one end then from the middle the other way. Heat
gently with a heatgun to form curves. Cheaper the vinyl the less it'll curve and withstand heat.
Lots of people will tell you to use washing up liquid. Professionals don't use it. I don't use it. If your struggling then use a tiny
amount. It will help you get the vinyl on but it'll make any tiny fold around panel gaps much more difficult to apply. If it's just not
sticking or pulls off easy (generally because you have used to much washing up liquid), just leave it to dry out and then go back and stick down the
non-stuck bits.
I tried one bit with washing up liquid... I failed miserably.
I tried one bit just with a water mist... I failed miserably. Didn't seem any better than washing up liquid.
Dry worked fine for me. I used a hairdryer rather than a heatgun, it was plenty to get things moving around curves. Even with the hairdryer it was
easy to get things too hot and I was starting to burn my own fingers.
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Irony
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 01:00 PM |
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You can buy proper vinyl applying gloves. I wear one and they are brilliant white. You look a bit daft but it saves burn't fingers.
Each scenario is slightly different, if I was to wrap my side panels I would clean thoroughly paying special attention to the edges and any nooks and
crannies. I would be trying to wrap the vinyl around the edges to create a nice edge. Cleaning the other side edges is a good idea. I'd take
the rear arches off and wrap straight under them. I would probably take half of the backing paper off and stick the rear half to the middle in one go
using an assistant. I'd then squeegee the air out from the middle working towards the rear. I would roll the backing paper back as I worked
from the middle to the front. The front suspension arms will get in your way.
By far the best option would be to take the rear arches off and the front suspension. I would then mist the sides with water and plonk one long
length of vinyl on in one go.
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AndyW
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 01:30 PM |
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I have just wrapped my ali bonnet, sides, scuttle and rear panel. I just cleaned them, made sure no grease and stuck it on.
Before.....
 
Description
After...
 
Description
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Andi
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 02:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by AndyW
I have just wrapped my ali bonnet, sides, scuttle and rear panel. I just cleaned them, made sure no grease and stuck it on.
Before.....
Description
After...
Description
how did you get round the wishbone problem
Andi
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Slimy38
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 02:55 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
You can buy proper vinyl applying gloves. I wear one and they are brilliant white. You look a bit daft but it saves burn't fingers.
I might have to find those, I tried a few options but I either got lint off the gloves (in the case of fabric ones) or managed to get the glove itself
trapped (rubber or nylon).
Good call with the assistant though, even if it's a non-wrapper just holding up the one end. A few times I was getting tangled up in the sheet,
and I was only wrapping a motorbike!
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CosKev3
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 04:07 PM |
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Good quality vinyl now does not require any wetting at all, it has air release technology.
Just had my whole car wrapped couple weeks ago.
Remember anywhere you heat to get around curves etc needs heating a second time, otherwise the vinyl will try and pull away and go back to its flat
state.
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Irony
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 04:29 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Good quality vinyl now does not require any wetting at all, it has air release technology.
Just had my whole car wrapped couple weeks ago.
Remember anywhere you heat to get around curves etc needs heating a second time, otherwise the vinyl will try and pull away and go back to its flat
state.
How much did that cost you? If you don't mind me asking?
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CosKev3
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 04:48 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Good quality vinyl now does not require any wetting at all, it has air release technology.
Just had my whole car wrapped couple weeks ago.
Remember anywhere you heat to get around curves etc needs heating a second time, otherwise the vinyl will try and pull away and go back to its flat
state.
How much did that cost you? If you don't mind me asking?
£650.
In 3M Matte yellow, think he said it took 7mtrs of vinyl.
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AndyW
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| posted on 20/4/15 at 08:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Andi
quote:
Originally posted by AndyW
I have just wrapped my ali bonnet, sides, scuttle and rear panel. I just cleaned them, made sure no grease and stuck it on.
Before.....
Description
After...
Description
how did you get round the wishbone problem
Andi
I removed wishbones and brake lines, each side took about an hour to remove, with several cups of tea!
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