AE86 Vinyl Wrap: Part 1

As I mentioned the other day, the Corolla was going under the knife this past weekend. Well, the “big secret” is that we have decided to vinyl wrap the car. Take a look…..

The decision to vinyl wrap the car wasn’t an easy one. The current, fading primer paint just isn’t cutting it anymore. So for weeks I thought about painting it. And although I still plan to paint (or have painted) in the future, wrapping the car was our best option at this time. The cost between the two DIY processes are identical (about $50-$100) but with paint comes other obstacles. First and foremost, we didn’t have a suitable place to paint the car. We live in an apartment complex with lots of neighbors and lots of neighbor’s cars. Over spray from our car to the others could have proved costly. I did, however, have the option to drive the car to either my parents’ house or Atlanta; both are 3hrs away.  On top of the commute itself, we would have to knock the job out in one weekend which was an unwanted pressure. Instead, I dropped $30 (shipped) on a 24″x40′ roll of matte black vinyl and took my time without pissing off the neighbors or traveling to the ends of the earth. And to be honest, I think the vinyl is turning out better than paint anyway; for now. That may change as I move to the other, more difficult, panels.

In general, it was pretty easy and I’m pleased with the way its turning out.  There is not doubt the remaining panels will be harder and much more frustrating. So we’ll see how it goes.  In the mean time, here are some pics from Sunday’s Hood install.

Rubba Dub Dub… Corolla in the tub.
Take note of the red paint showing through the primer. This alone was enough motivation.

Measuring length.

Using a hinge method to apply

To keep the vinyl level and straight I used this yard stick. Very useful when applying large sections of vinyl and don’t have an extra set of hands

First section done, but with lots of wrinkles.

The cause of the wrinkles; Washers

I hate wrinkles in vinyl. Bubbles aren’t too bad cause you can pop them and they are gone. Wrinkles on the hand are much harder, if not impossible, to get rid of. So When I moved to the driver side section, I removed the washer with much better results

No wrinkles

I then went back to the passenger side section and pulled up the vinyl I put down originally. A lot of the primer came up with it.

Much better

Finished off the hood with a small section near the fender

You would think that the 3 sections would have created creases or seams, but I was very surprised at how well they blend in; from a distance anyway.

More pics of the finished hood

Be sure to subscribe so you can watch the progress of this project as it unfolds. Its going to be interested to say the least.

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Posted by Chris
http://www.chrisrhoad.com/bio/