Anyone on here done a car/vehicle wrap?

[kpc01]

Wondering how hard it is to do a wrap....want to wrap the top half of my boat a solid color and trying to decide if we should give it a shot or not. Seems like they want more in labor then the actual material. Looking for anyone with experience for some advice on it

[kpc01]

I emailed one of the distributors and they confirmed the avery sw900 vinyl would work good on a boat, but hoping someone with real experience could chime in or if there are any good diy sites/videos

[Tremor14]

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=diy%20vinyl%20wrap%20kit

not being a smart ass, but i dont think we have any wrappers here. I know that the only way to do a car correctly is to remove all trim, bumpers, etc. i dont know much about boats though.

[Z06killinsbf]

I've read up on it. Clean surfaces, lots of heat, work from the center out and make your cuts huge. Any blemish in the paint will show in the wrap.

[silverranger]

A boat wouldnt be to bad, I am sure there are youtube videos

[TeeShock]

Not hard, just tedious. Having two sets of hands makes life easier. High quality vinyl is much more forgiving and flexible. I had really good luck with 3M Di-Noc purchased from metrorestyling.com. Do each side in one piece. Nobody likes seams.

[kpc01]

thanks for the input, I was hoping we had a resident wrapper here that could chime in but I wasn't sure. I've looked at videos but there mainly professionals doing work, not so many diy videos, at any rate I'll keep checking it out and see if I want to give it a try. Its pretty much smooth and straight so definitely not hard as a car but I want it to look good so not sure if I should try it or not!

[Tremor14]

would it not get fucked up with water getting in the seams? have you thought of that plastic spray?

[CWO]

would it not get fucked up with water getting in the seams? have you thought of that plastic spray?

It sucks that you're back to your old ways. You're a pretty cool guy when you're not being an asshole.

[Tremor14]

ok i'll stop fuckin around. the first part of the question was legit. Can you post a pic of the boat and an idea of what you are trying to do, OP?

[CWO]

That worked?

[kpc01]

I'm only wanting to cover this green up to give it a little newer look. Planning on doing like a matte dark grey or even black. My wife can help me and is good with that kind of thing so we are thinking about it. I can pull off all the fittings and stuff. Thought about plastidip but not sure it would hold up as well?

[TeeShock]

As long as the wrap is above the waterline you should be fine. There is a 3M glue that can be applied to the seams to ensure the bond. I would only apply the glue to the top of the film at the seams overlap cause it might not come off of the hull. Buy some top notch film and take your time putting it on. Since you mentioned a matte color, the 3M Di-Noc Carbon Fiber film has a matte texture without too much gloss. Definitely do it while the temps are still high.

Those nose corner platform thingys would be a hassle.

[slow84lx]

You would be better off with paint but vinyl will work. Vinyl will not last as long as paint. I would not use any brand other than 3M. At my previous employer we would use the 3M vinyl + overlaminate as the only combination that proved itself to us to last more than 3 years. Of course we were printing on it also.

Quality wrap is a skill that you won't learn on your first try. You will need a small propane torch, a heat gun, an assortment of razor knives and squeegees, and odd and end tools. You can do it but don't be disappointed if it isn't perfect on your first try.

By the time it is all said and done a quality vinyl job will cost as much as paint and only last around 7 years.

[kpc01]

Thanks for the info. Maybe we'll look at doing some paint. I hate all the labor to repaint but know its something we can do so may decide to go that route