Plasti Dip Or Vinyl Wrap

[Guest Jonathan.Ritchie]

Hi.

 

I'm looking for the best way to cover my stainless planels on my 2B.

 

I'm not too keen on the stailness look and have got some new GRP and looking to get a Matte or Gloss black finish on the rest of the steel panels.

 

I've noticed a lot of people plasti dipping other types of cars and thought this might be pretty durable on the stainless for stone chipping etc and is easily removable and re-applied if there is any damage at a later date.

 

My other option is to vinyl wrap the steel. I'm not too sure how this holds up over time with stone chips etc and how durable it would be.

 

All in all I can get a full Kit for the Plasti dip for around £400 and enough Vinyl for £200 (probably less for each but I'm over buying to account for my inevatable muck ups)

 

If anyone has any experience with either or or even if they know of another option that would work as well....

 

Looking to do the work myself so don't really fancy putting it into a garage or paint shop so purelly working with cost prices for parts.

[Guest Jonathan.Ritchie]

quick update.

 

I've decided to go for the vinyl wrap.

 

I went for the KPMF 100 micron air release vinyl from mdpsupplies along with a few of the application tools and liquids.

 

Thought it would be much better trying this at £200 than trying the plasti dip at £400

 

any pearls of wisdom for application will be much appreciated though might mean the difference between using 7 meters of vinyl or the full 14 I ordered haha

[WallerZ]

That was a quick decision!

My advice would be: a mate, a hair-drier, and a credit card/something similar.

I managed to do my bonnet and scuttle by myself but would have been much easier to apply using an extra pair of hands or two. The hair-drier helps make it easier to apply and the credit card helps to flat it/smooth the airbubbles out. If you can't get all the air out. a sharp craft knife or pin prick will help and it won't even be noticeable.

Also prep is everything, any dirt or dust on the panel will get shown up once the wrap goes over it.

Oh, and start on the smaller panels to get to grips understanding. Less waste if you go wrong or decide after doing a few bits that you can get it better

Edited October 26, 2015 by WallerZ

[Guest Jonathan.Ritchie]

Sounds perfect cheers.

 

I went fot the easy air release stuff thats got channels for getting the air pockets out easier with the squeegy thing.

 

Tried it before with some cheap stuff off of ebay and went the hair dryer route with a couple of credit cards.

 

Had a look at the application tools on the website I got the vinyl from and thought I'd better go for the propper tools for all the price that they were. so got degreaser and glue removal spray. A couple of good application cards with pro squeegy on the ends for flushing out the air etc. and they reccomended cotton gloves for not getting greese off our hands etc when applying.

 

Will do a few wee bits myself but think i'll definatelly be roping in a few helping hands for the bigger panels. I've got a heat gun aswell so that should come in pretty handy for all the other bits.

 

 

How has your wrap held up to everyday use on the roads etc? does it chip easilly or anything like that?

 

Also do you just clean the car as normal or have you found that some ways work better than others?

[WallerZ]

Mine was some cheap easy ebay stuff, with the air release channels, however you'll still find air pockets forming....they're just easier to squeeze out as you go.

Its help up well but on the bonnet and scuttle, stone chips are rare if not no existent. It does handle the rain and a wash/wipe down well and is making me consider whether I should paint the car or wrap it...

[Guest Jonathan.Ritchie]

That sounds perfect to me...

 

The only reason I'm going this route is due to prep time and how hard it would be to get the stainless proffesionally painted as a lot of primers etc won't take to the stainless so thought this would be the best option

[Guest mdav1970]

You can stretch it round edges etc with a hair dry, but be careful to not over heat it, it can just shrink up like a crisp packet in the oven. (if you've ever tried that, if not have a go its fun)

[Guest kevin booth]

There are some great video's on youtube, well worth a watch

[Guest kevin booth]

Sorry also look up knifing tape

[Guest Jonathan.Ritchie]

Wow had a look at the knifing tape.... What form of voodoo magic is this?????? think i'll stick to wrapping it under the creases and using the good old stanley blade..

 

I am very intreagued with the knifing tape though. might have to buy a bit to try it out

[Longboarder]

Or knife-less tape even. That's clever.

 

Nigel

[Bob Tucker]

Thats amazing....must be a very thin wire????

[Guest Joe_burtenshaw]

also spray a small amount of water on the surface before applying it and sqeeze it out with a credit car or similar as that allows you to pull it back off much easier if there is a mistake.

[Guest 2b cruising]

Edit for above.

"WHEN there is a mistake" LoL