Matte Blue Pearl Vinyl Wrap

[bogart]

A lot of people have been requesting close-ups. Here are a few:

[NKatsim]

Looks great...well done!

[eric@helix]

I *Love* that color. What vinyl is that? I've just found my next color. My matte grey might not stay on too long...

[bogart]

I have no idea what brand it is. I bought it off ebay from a company called Status Motors. Appears that all they do is sell specialty vinyl. They are located in Canada. The vinyl I'm using is called matter blue pearl.

[bogart]

Sooo... I tried wrapping the roof... 3 times

Let's just say it didn't work out so well. I wasted about 15-20 feet of the vinyl, which sucks. I might have to buy more, but oh well. We shall see. Here's what I learned:

- DO NOT RUSH!!
- Take your time
- Don't try to do vinyl when it's about to get dark
- Don't wrap large pieces alone
- Start in the middle of large pieces
- Watch lots of 3M vinyl wrap videos on youtube
- Learn to use the heat gun in multiple ways, it will save you every time
- And lastly, DON'T RUSH! haha

I laugh about it now, but at the time I was so pissed. I almost gave up on the project, but it was another warm sunny day this morning, so I decided to give another part of the car a shot... the top of the trunk. I figured it is pretty small and fairly flat. It was a good decision and came out amazing. I definitely learn more and more as I go, and it is getting easier. Lots of things that happen with the vinyl that I used to think were the end of the world, really don't matter anymore, because I learned how to fix them.

I'm wrapping the trunk in two sections, because I'm leaving the top of the CSL lip exposed so there is a hint of carbon fiber. Total time for this part of the trunk was about 1.5 hours. Same cleaning technique as before. To cut a clean line I used electrical tape, because flexible, and I marked out the path I wanted to cut. As I do more of the car, I like the color more and more. Anyways, here is the final product:

[bogart]

And a reward for a good days work...

[Ammonia]

Nice man, definitely looking forward to your next update.

[Satalite]

I like the exposed portion! Nice touch. Good luck

[Simon_135i]

APPLAUSE! For the brilliant color choice, the effort and above all the patience!

[t02t]

good work! love the choice in colour, glad you didnt go for black or white.

[ken1137]

Yes, very nice. +1 i did watch a few videos of wrapping the roofs and the best way was the two people method. Kind of like taping dry wall when you first DIY ...you can see a huge improvement on the last few meters versus the first few. I applaud you for tackling this project...still wondering if I have the patience

[bogart]

Damage from hail last night: 3 dings in rear quarter panel, 1 ding in front a-pillar, 2 dings in roof, chipped edge on carbon fiber trunk, dent in rear bumper.

[Satalite]

Originally Posted by bogart

Damage from hail last night: 3 dings in rear quarter panel, 1 ding in front a-pillar, 2 dings in roof, chipped edge on carbon fiber trunk, dent in rear bumper.

... Damn dude. Any chance of recovering from the hail?

[bogart]

Hopefully they can pull out the dents... the one I'm worried about is in the a-pillar, it's pretty significant. I documented the aftermarket trunk with the insurance company, so they should cover that. I think I have a $500 deductible. A long time ago I had a grand prix that had hail damage and it cost $3,000, covered by the insurance company of course. Should be fine. I might get the SleK trunk. We shall see... if there is enough money and I can go to a shop and get a deal, maybe I will get the FE widebody kit... that's probably stretching it, but I will keep this thread updated.

[bogart]

This was the hail size in my area...


This was the hail that hit some of my friends' cars...


Other friends' cars...




Thankfully I didn't go to the racetrack...

[Sylon]

Thats crazy dude! You never want to see hail damage on a car, that just hurts to see.

[M3Newbie88]

Damn those are bigger then golf balls.. sucks.. man I feel bad for your friends cars.. that looks pretty brutal..

[IancoleTX]

Jesus dude, that hail is a b&(*$@

Hope you get back on track soon!

[3ThirtySeeEye]

i feel your pain about the hail. Im in O'fallon IL. Car got pummeled by hockey puck and tennis ball size. Roof truck and hood are pretty trashed. Quoted to get fixed at 5k. Also looking into the trunk, but will prob keep stock hood.

[bogart]

Hail damamge: PDR, 2 dents on roof, 5 dents on front fender. Bodywork and painting at A-pillar all the way back to quarter panel. About $1.5K worth of damage.

I'm a little worried, because they do have to repaint and clear coat the A-pillar back to about halfway down the quarter panel, so I'm not sure if I will be able to complete the wrap on that side. The body shop is going to let me know how long it will take before it is safe to wrap, so that I won't screw up the paint.

Anyways, I dropped the car off today and should get it back on Friday.

I wrapped the driver's side door on Saturday morning. I removed the mirror, door handle, and trim on the top of the door. Suprisingly easy to remove all those parts. I cleaned the door following the same process as before and then measured for the wrap and cut piece roughly 32-inches by 55-inches.

I started at the top of the door and worked my way down. This was a difficult panel to do. It seems fairly flat, but there are some complex lines and curves, so it took a lot of heating the vinyl and stretching to eliminate wrinkles. The part that I liked doing the most was the deep curve of the door handle. All I had to do was heat the vinyl and then slowly work the material.

Overall it took a fairly long time, roughly 4 hours. That included removing all the parts and then reinstalling them afterward. I'm sure when I do the other door it will go quicker due to what I learned doing the one side. I think I will do the fenders next and other door when I get the car back from the shop.

I hope to have the car wrapped by the time I go to Topeka, KS for Flat Out. Time is running out and it's hard to remain optimistic that I will accomplish that, but I'm going to try.

I have a set of KDW's on the way. 225/35 and 255/35. I can't wait to have them mounted so I can set the ride height lower and get an alignment. Also, can't wait so I stop rubbing in the front and rear (currently running 245/35 and 265/35). Got to stop the rubbing before I can do the fenders.

Here are the photos:

[Ammonia]

Looking nice man, I know you'll be able to finish in time!

[IancoleTX]

Great, clean work. That is going to look so unbelievable when you are done.