Contemplating Wrapping The Vehicle..
 

At the present moment I am contemplating wrapping my vehicle with 3M vinyl instead of repainting my vehicle. With that said, if any of you have recommendations for an installer with a few hundred miles of Nashville, Tn, than I am all ears. I would rather shell out the money for quality work versus the cheap way out and being unhappy with their workmanship. I am considering three colors at present in the matte department: grey, silver, or black. Below I am including links to vehicles that in which have influenced the above considerations thus far, I am all ears and open to criticism. Granted it will not suit the interests of many, I am ultimately make the decision for ME. Your input is greatly appreciated, thank you!

Matte Silver Cayman

http://www.planet-9.com/attachments/cayman-boxster-chat/2068d1179272405-sorry-if-its-repost-neez-cayman-sis11qa5.jpg

Matte Black GT2

http://www.jwhubbers.nl/ring/trip31/img/img_1596.jpg

Matte Gray 986 Boxster

http://jonsibal.com/blog/2009/10/flat-box/

if you can achieve the silver effect like that cayman it would be severly dope. :cheers:

IMO, matte black is played out, silver matte is peaking, matte gray is dull in many ways.
My vote in this case was for Matte/Satin Silver.
Materials and proper installation cold cost nearly as much as a proper paint job but with the bonus of being reversible (albeit a major pain to remove depending on how long the vinyl is on the car).
Very interested to see the final result is you go forward with this.

Damn you for showing me those pictures. Now I want this too. lol
:cheers:

Exactly, the execution is extremely key! Which is why I am willing to search high and low for right shop to do the task for me. I would be disheartened by a job that in which I am not happy with after shelling out 'X' amount of dollars.

In all honesty, I am not too keen on vinyl wrapping my vehicle matte black, been there and done that on running all black. After seeing the matte silver Cayman with the Neez wheels I was sold. Only time will tell and money will tell! i will keep you all posted as the time and ideas progress.

Recommendations are greatly appreciated. I will drive as far as a few hundred miles for the right job to be conducted. As a point of reference I live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Couple of quick questions....

1. Do you still have to wax a wrapped car or is it maintenance free beyond washing and drying?

2. If I were to paint my car flat black, would I have to wax it?

I do have an answer for #1. Quoted by a gentlemen on 6speedonline whom had his E90 335 wrapped matte/flat black in vinyl.

"Vinyl that is washed/taken care of by using a mixture of water & baby shampoo & a micro fiber because there is no ammonia in baby shampoo."

Dont forget this one... one of my favorite matte cars!

I am also looking for someone to wrap our ITR race car.. The design I have is awesome! Anyone know someone around Atlanta?

Apparently, there is a whole site dedicated to pics of Matte cars: http://www.mattecars.com/
Looks to be some wraps on there, too.

Matte is generally not my cup of tea, but that silver cayman looks very nice.

Here's a nice link:

http://www.modernimage.net/_e/page/1053/RennTrack_Porsche_997s_Wrapped_Matte_White_with_Cu stom_Graphics_Decals_and_Stickers.htm


Or maybe the chrome look ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoTDfYJlJqk

Those chrome wraps are pretty cool. I think a Boxster would look great in one.
Maybe with some gunmetal color wheels.

http://www.911uk.com/files/chrom_613.jpg

When I had a small business, I looked into custom wraps for my Honda Element.
I talked with FastSigns.com in San Jose, CA. They quoted approximately $5,000 for a full car custom designed wrap. Even the windows could be wrapped.

Mark

I am not surprised seeing that a shop in Dallas, Texas vaguely quoted me they charge between $2,500-$5,000 for vinyl wraps, and matte finishes are on the lower end of the spectrum.

I could not agree more. As much as I would want to pull off a job to that degree, I feel that it would be better reserved for when I pull a trigger on a 997 in 2012. Thank you for the input!

Monobonic's vehicle is absolutely stunning! White holds my heart due to the fact my first Porsche was a 1999 2.5L in Glacier White that I miss dearly.

I had stumbled over the website yesterday afternoon. There are a few wild cards in there alongside a handful of vehicles that were tastefully modified. Unfortunately, it appears the website/blog has not been updated since 2008.

If you voted for other, please specify in the thread the color you voted for.

Decisions, decisions.. Either I opt for the vinyl wrap next month or the TPC turbo kit in September. In any regard, I will have them completed in time, but it is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils!

This has a bold look.

Though, I would stay away from this !

I wonder how a wrapped car would respond to rock chips and such, seems it would protect the car better than a painted surface but what if you did get some small dings and needed it repaired?

Just spoke with a local installer about pricing and how high it was. He mentioned that there would soon be an inexpensive but quality option available using 3M adhesives.

Wraptivo News

Wraptivo

Sorry to throw a dose of reality on this love fest, but the 986 has many compound curves that may not do well with a wrap. I had a reputable clear bra installer try 3 times to do the front of my 01S. Each time it came out with "age wrinkles" around the lower outside of the headlights. Not sure I'd want to drop 5 gir on a wrap and have it look like crap. My 08 LE has a clear bra but they (a different installer) got the curves smooth by doing spliced pieces. You can get away with that on a clear bra, but I'm not sure on a wrap.

OK, party on.

^ I think the clear is a different animal from the vinly wrap. The wrap is not really protective in the same way, the clear bra has to be thicker and thus harder to mold. I saw the wrap on a NASCAR cup car up close a few times (once at the M&Ms candy store) and I noticed it was very thin, almost like stretching a hefty bag around a pizza box in some spots.
When I had the clear bra on my old bumper (before I upgraded to the GT3) it was much thicker...which I regret not doing again. I'm going to have to repaint while the clear bra eliminated nearly all the chipping.

The Purely Porsche magazine from the UK did a story on the chrome wrap for a 996 Turbo. They said it was a real pain in the arse to get all the little tiny curves, particular on the guy's rear spoiler. The result was amazing. He said he got the idea from the last McLaren F1 car.

exactly. vinyl typically used for vehicles will stretch some in order to contour. Finding the right installer is key to avoid this:
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....uires-wrap.jpg

For what its worth, if it's between choosing the vinyl wrap, and the TPC turbo.. my vote for your car goes to the TPC turbo... All the way...

That would be so awesome!

I would look at some wraps that have been done for a while. vinyl shrinks with time. seams start to lift etc. after a year to 3 years they can look pretty bad. not a problem if it's for advertising and it is still readable but not real pretty up close. I'd paint it. I've been doing vinyl signs for 16 years and I don't think you would be happy in the long run. just my 2 cents worth...

I would tend to agree with 02Box. Before I spent thousands on having my vehicle "wrapped", I would want to know what the long term effects were going to be. It seems to me that the art of "wrapping" has not been around all that long. Personally, I would be curious to know what the quality of the material looked liked 2 or 3 years down the road after normal use.

This and a number of issues (quality, durability, etc) are what frighten me the most in wrapping my vehicle in vinyl, its longevity throughou the years. Granted I am taking this project with a grain of salt in finding the right company whom can give me the assurance I am looking for. I will drive or ship my vehicle to wherever need be, aslong as they are up to the task and suprass my every expectation. Painting the vehicle is not a bad idea at this point seeing that selling the car is not in the deck of cards for me, it is a vehicle I will keep for the rest of my life.

Wrapping the vehicle is on hold for the reaons I listed below, it is not a project I want to rush into at this point.

As far as the TPC turbo goes, I am on the fence at current due to the fact I will be off of probation tomorrow in light of a wreckless driving offense, and I am not to sure if I want to further subject myself to an additional sentence if I get caught speeding in excess of 100+ MPH by a smokey, again. To make a long story short, the day I had my ECU flashed with FVD Brombacher's tune, I punched it on a straight away at 120+ MPH and as the good lord would have it, an undercover was on my tail. I served two days in a county jail and a 6 month probation sentencing that could potentially incarcerate me for 6 months or the 90 days minimum if I recieved another ticket within the 6 month time frame.