First attempt at wrapping car.

Steven Smith

Steven Smith

CCCUK Member
My C4 has previously had a poor respray and in the wrong shade of red, a Subaru red !
It looks lovely for a couple of weeks if I use a cutting compound and wax but unfortunately soon fades as the below picture shows.

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I have not got the money for a decent respray at the moment so I am going to attempt to wrap it myself 🤞🏻.
I have found a 3M wrap that is very similar to the correct paint, 81U bright red so going to give it a go, what could go wrong 😂.
Starting with the roof to see how difficult it is, so today I have repaired the damage from previously being dropped, removed the edge trim, only to find a thick ridge of paint, sanded that down smooth and painted the metal work satin black.
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I want to do the roof and see how it weather's over the winter, Iwill keep you posted with my progress.
 
Steven Smith

Steven Smith

CCCUK Member
Roof wrapped. It's not as easy as it looks on YouTube 😂 but it's not impossible.
I have a couple of air bubbles that I couldn't get out and ended up with small creases in the wrap 🙄 but overall not too bad for a first attempt.
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Wrap layed out and cut to approx size.
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Application tools to remove air bubbles.
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Heat gun used to soften wrap to bend around edges and to active the glue.
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Edges down.
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The 3M wrap has a protective cover to help stop damage to the wrap during installation.
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Done and metal trim fitted.
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Now a comparison with the paint that I have
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I think practice is the key here and knowing how hard you can treat the wrap without damaging it, it think the warmer it is the more flexible it is to use.
Let's see how it holds up during winter 🤞🏻
 
johng

johng

CCCUK Member
Unfortunately, I'm on holiday for the next Essex area meeting, hopefully you can bring it along in October as I'd like to see it in the flesh.
 
Nassau65

Nassau65

CCCUK Member
Reds from the 1970’s 80’s and even 90’s do seem to fade out over a period. A friends MB 280SL that he bought new in feb 1986 ( discounted as it was a 85 model with the 280 engine, not the new for 86 300SL) that suffers the paint fade. He still has it and regularly has to buff it back to brightness. Something to do with the pigment in the paint he was told.
 
Nassau65

Nassau65

CCCUK Member
That roof panel would probably be the easiest part of the car to wrap as it’s pretty flat. Have you enquired how much to professionally do it? Your eyes will always pick out your mistakes and it might bug you.
 
Steven Smith

Steven Smith

CCCUK Member
Nassau65 said:
That roof panel would probably be the easiest part of the car to wrap as it’s pretty flat. Have you enquired how much to professionally do it? Your eyes will always pick out your mistakes and it might bug you.
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That's why I started with the roof, to have a go.
It's around £1500 to £2000 to have done, but I like to do everything myself if I can.
The wrap for the roof was £55, with enough left over to do some other panels, will have a go at some harder parts as well after I have watched a few more YouTube videos 😂
I just wanted to see what it looked like, how difficult it is to do but most importantly how it lasts.
 
Invetterate

Invetterate

CCCUK Member
Steven Smith said:
That's why I started with the roof, to have a go.
It's around £1500 to £2000 to have done, but I like to do everything myself if I can.
The wrap for the roof was £55, with enough left over to do some other panels, will have a go at some harder parts as well after I have watched a few more YouTube videos 😂
I just wanted to see what it looked like, how difficult it is to do but most importantly how it lasts.
Click to expand...
Nicely done, Steve! Following with interest!
 
Chevrolet

Chevrolet

CCCUK Member
Steven Smith said:
My C4 has previously had a poor respray and in the wrong shade of red, a Subaru red !
It looks lovely for a couple of weeks if I use a cutting compound and wax but unfortunately soon fades as the below picture shows.
Click to expand...
Is that a '86 you have Steven? Out of the factory/when new, it would have had a clearcoat over the red base coat. My '85 did. Did you consider getting it ceramic coated to hopefully protect/retain the shine after polishing it up, rather than wrapping it?
 
Steven Smith

Steven Smith

CCCUK Member
Chevrolet said:
Is that a '86 you have Steven? Out of the factory/when new, it would have had a clearcoat over the red base coat. My '85 did. Did you consider getting it ceramic coated to hopefully protect/retain the shine after polishing it up, rather than wrapping it?
Click to expand...
Yes it is an 86, but unfortunately has previously had a very poor single stage respray, even in the wrong shade of red.
I have had the paint tested and it's a Subaru color !
I have spent a considerably amount of time looking for a "fix" to the bad paint but unfortunately there isn't one.
I can't afford a respray at the moment so wrapping looks to be a affordable compromise.
 
Chevrolet

Chevrolet

CCCUK Member
Steven Smith said:
Yes it is an 86, but unfortunately has previously had a very poor single stage respray, even in the wrong shade of red.
I have had the paint tested and it's a Subaru color !
I have spent a considerably amount of time looking for a "fix" to the bad paint but unfortunately there isn't one.
I can't afford a respray at the moment so wrapping looks to be a affordable compromise.
Click to expand...
I only mentioned the ceramic coating as for the first time ever, I had my daily driver machine polished and ceramic coated a couple of weeks ago. £625 (Surrey prices) for bodywork, windows, wheels and brake calipers. If I had yours and was sick of looking at that bad paint job, I'd be tempted to Plastidip it? ;)
 
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