Anyone wrap their vehicle (or part of it)?

[11thHour]

I was looking for a product to protect some aging paint on the hood from getting worse, and had no idea of the market for this stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXln8s5KFOs

At $2/sqft on Amazon, it's pretty affordable if you're patient and don't mind the learning curve, and maybe have some help.

 

[Bacstar]

I had a clear bra on my 300S that covered the entire front end of the car against rock chip damage. Streets puts down a lot of gravel during the winter months. Really does a number on windshields and paint jobs.

I found a auto detailer that did it for about $350. The shop could custom cut the film to cover additional portions of the car at extra cost. When I got into an accident two years later, the body shop had to use another company since the original installer I used no longer offered it. According to the itemized invoice I saw, it was almost $1000.

Now I've seen in car shows where they'll use colored wrap to cover an entire car like a new paint job. No one in Alaska does it though so I can't comment further.

 

[madoka]

I've done the front of my IS-F and did the whole car for the Cayman S and the GT-R.

 

[Rallispec]

I wrapped a miata using about $400 worth of 3M matte film, a heat gun, and some squeegees. Never having done it before I think it turned out good. The key is going slow and being smart with the heat.
I had been quoted nearly $2k to have it professionally done, and I can see how they justify the cost, it's a lot labor. I easily put over 15 hours into it on a small car with few crazy curves.

I'm going to wrap my Focus next spring after it gets warm.

 

[slag]

Not wrapped, but I've been debating getting my car dipped. They've come a long way with color changing paint/dip with pearlescence and an entire car can be done for around $4-$500 by a professional.

 

[X3NIA]

The front end of my car is clear bra'd by a professional installer and I wrapped a few pieces on my JCW Mini. The key with that 3M colored vinyl is patience and heat. I wouldn't do it again, as it took WAY more time / patience / skill than it was worth to me but if you're willing to go slow at it and remain patient you can typically DIY this stuff after a few attempts and getting a feel for the material.

 

[core2slow]

Wrapped the front bumper+hood+quarter panels on my RS5 and it saved my ass tremendously over the weekend. It kind of drizzled here a bit in SoCal the last couple of days and as luck would have it, was driving in Cerritos at night when I see these heavy "raindrops" making a *thud* sound on the car and didn't think much of it until the next morning.

Walked into my garage and saw dark water droplets all over the car and went to rub it off only to find out it was tree sap!! Spent like 5 hours today removing the sap with some hand sanitizer (does work!) but the majority of that was to the rest of the car. The parts that were wrapped took a mere hour to removed the sap.

 

[KentState]

Had my car wrapped with Xpel. The last car was sandblasted and needed the front repainted after 20k miles and that never turns out like factory paint.

 

[11thHour]

Before/after pics?

 

[razel]

Installed a clear bra on my weekend ride 8 years ago but just the lower portion below the headlights. It was semi permanent and once the sun aged it 4 years later, I always noticed it. Luckily as I mentioned it was only the lower bumper so it never bothered me.

Last year it was in an accident and where that bumper was repainted and boy does it look better raw paint/clear coat. I actually recommend these plasti-dip type removable clear wraps. Thing to watch is the price of labor if you plan on having someone else professionally install.

Respraying/clear coat a bumper can be done in the $120-$150 range. I wouldn't mind doing that every 5-10 years depending on how much it'll bother you, but for a front bumper of a weekend ride that you love it's worth it. These wraps/plastic dip will help against smaller rocks.

 

[Rallispec]

$350 and several hours in my garage later.... Very happy with the result and I would do it again.

before:

After<

 

[11thHour]

$350 and several hours in my garage later.... Very happy with the result and I would do it again.

before:

After<

Really nice looking, great job.