Vinyl vs Paint

[mineo77]

Been going back and forth about this for days...should i vinyl or paint my roof?

If i vinyl i would use the shadowline vinyl, which seems like that would be extremely sensative to scrapping etc...but it is a little cheaper ($250 vs $375) and can easily be removed. I have heard vinyl also looks funny/cheap around the sunroof etc.

Has anybody painted? thoughts? Not interested in matte black or carbon since i have none of this on my car.

[jibaholic101]

well, it depends on how serious you are with doing the mod, and if you KNOW it will look good and you will like it

paint is permanent for the most part. it would be expensive if you didnt like the look in the future to get the roof stripped and repainted/matched for the sun wear and tear.

vinyl is nice because, if you get sick of it, you can take it off and it was like it never happened

my advice would be to get the vinyl. see how you like living with it 6mo-1yr. if you like it, then get it painted, if not you can always remove it

[randomquickness]

One guy on here had it painted but i can't remember who. I had mine done with vinyl and love it. The installer did a good job and most people who look at it think it's painted. You have to look really close around the sunroof to see that it's vinyl. As far as the vinyl scraping, as long as it is a minor surface scrape, wax or sealant makes it look fine. I highly recommend vinyl over painting just for the fact it's easily removed if you change your mind.

[TPLSM3]

Tim, I highly recommend going the vinyl route as well. I've had mine done for well over a year and have had no issues with it. The scratches are minimal and you can always use some polish/wax on it as well. As long as it's a good install, you shouldn't really be able to tell. I did however paint the side rails & sharkfin to match. You can easily peel the roof if you decide to change the look.

[mineo77]

thanks for all the input...looks like i am going check into the vinyl route. Can you vinyl the shark fin as well?

Ben, do you have any pictures?

[fmxomar]

check around for pictures of my car. i think i was one of the first few to vinyl my roof on this forum. mine came out perfect. Also vinyled the shark fin in one piece separately, no bubbles no seams lots of time + heat gun for the fin

[TPLSM3]

Tim, unfortunately I never took any pics! I could probably snap some for you tomorrow. The shark fin can be vinyled as well. Lots of patience & heat gun for that. I had mine wrapped at first, but then I painted the mirror caps, stock rear diffuser, roof rails shadowline, I decided to just paint the fin as well.

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by TPLSM3

Tim, unfortunately I never took any pics! I could probably snap some for you tomorrow. The shark fin can be vinyled as well. Lots of patience & heat gun for that. I had mine wrapped at first, but then I painted the mirror caps, stock rear diffuser, roof rails shadowline, I decided to just paint the fin as well.

sounds sweet. I was planning on having my mirror caps and stock diffuser painted too..thats what got me on to painting the roof. The guy who is gonna do my other work suggested painting the roof. I am waiting to do the diffuser at the moment cause i am doing a cut out in it and placing mesh in the center. Def would love to see a pic.

[LA-Bimmer]

Vinyl....much more flexibility as your tastes change.

[TPLSM3]

Here's a few quick shots I took this morning. Don't mind the 3rd brake light, I still have to tint it. BMW replaced it since it was cracked & didn't get around to tinting it yet.









Throwing this one in just because I like the profile shot! lol

[aacabriolet]

Originally Posted by TPLSM3

Here's a few quick shots I took this morning. Don't mind the 3rd brake light, I still have to tint it. BMW replaced it since it was cracked & didn't get around to tinting it yet.

Dude that looks so mean! Nice work! That's exactly how I want my car!

How did you do the white time attack ring around the rims? Is it painted on?

Cos i heard the vinyl time attack rings only work if you have a lip. And afaik, the stock 135i rims like yours dont have a lip as such??

Also the tint, what tint colour is it? Lamin-x?

Did you cut the part out for the reverse light with a blade? I prefer it like that, much cleaner!

[mineo77]

Ben, it looks f'n sweet! Love the top and mirrors. Well i have made up my mind..will be vinyl on top and painted mirror caps. Been contemplating getting my rims powdercoated gunmetal too...yours look sweet.

[TPLSM3]

Thanks guys! I think you might be the first to have a Tiag 135i with black roof. Seen alot of AW, but no silvers! Having the wheels done either gunmetal or matte black helps with the horrible brake dust as well. I couldn't stand washing the car and driving around the block only to have my wheels dirty again.

My wheels are powdercoated matte black and the time attack stripe was done using white pinstriping tape. There's just the edge of the wheel that I used stripe on. Just use thin pinstriping tape and you'll be fine.

The tint on headlights are a light tint film, and the rears are a medium tint film. The rear taillight reverse section was cut out using a blade. Just be careful! It was not from Lamix, just some film my local vinyl shop uses. The windows are 30%.

By the way Tim, IMO $275 for the roof vinyled sounds a bit high to me. I paid like $100 to have mine wrapped.

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by TPLSM3

By the way Tim, IMO $275 for the roof vinyled sounds a bit high to me. I paid like $100 to have mine wrapped.

Ben,
from what i have found in these parts is about 200-400 for wrap, that includes the materials too which should be too expensive anyway. I am trying to find local shops that actually have done wraps before, so that is prob driving up my cost....but that is why i considered painting so seriously. What wax/polish do you use to keep swirls/scratches off?

[aacabriolet]

Originally Posted by TPLSM3

My wheels are powdercoated matte black and the time attack stripe was done using white pinstriping tape. There's just the edge of the wheel that I used stripe on. Just use thin pinstriping tape and you'll be fine.

The tint on headlights are a light tint film, and the rears are a medium tint film. The rear taillight reverse section was cut out using a blade. Just be careful! It was not from Lamix, just some film my local vinyl shop uses. The windows are 30%.

Thanks dude, really appreciate the info!

[TPLSM3]

Originally Posted by mineo77

Ben,
from what i have found in these parts is about 200-400 for wrap, that includes the materials too which should be too expensive anyway. I am trying to find local shops that actually have done wraps before, so that is prob driving up my cost....but that is why i considered painting so seriously. What wax/polish do you use to keep swirls/scratches off?

I would imagine any wax/polish would work fine, but I have boxes of Mothers synthetic wax that I was given to me when my previous M3 was sponsored, so thats mainly what I use. I can't say I'm biased towards a specific wax/polish though, I try a bunch of different stuff that I have accumulated in the garage (Mothers, Meguiars, Pinnacle, etc.)!

[mineo77]

damn! all the local shops here are charging round $300+ for vinyl wrap! doesnt make sense cause it is $400 to paint, wtf! AHHH! Maybe i will hold off and just paint my mirrors and get me some side skirts.

[mineo77]

damn! all the local shops here are charging round $300+ for vinyl wrap! doesnt make sense cause it is $400 to paint, wtf! AHHH! Maybe i will hold off and just paint my mirrors and get me some side skirts.

[TPLSM3]

Tim.....DIY!! It's not too difficult if you have an extra set of hands. The material shouldn't cost too much, just takes some patience.

[Irishace]

I just did my wrap today, matte black and it looks sick. I suggest vinyl!

[Bimmer-Bob]

This kind of makes it look like you've taped a Hefty bag to your roof...

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by Irishace

I just did my wrap today, matte black and it looks sick. I suggest vinyl!

I was wondering what matte black looked like, do you have any pics?