Vinyl Wrap - Anybody used it?

Anybody had experience with vinyl wrap? I'm thinking about doing it to my bike (tank, fairing, bags, trunk), but just wanted to see what people thought. There are definitely some nice examples out there of people doing it to cars, and it looks like I can buy way more than enough for about $90 for the tank and the new Vetter bags, trunk, and fairing that I just bought...

 

We have wraped vans for work. If you have a vinyl guy that can do the graffics it can be awesome. Not to mention it holds up better than paint if taken care of.

MN

 

I'm not planning on doing graphics, just solid white. It'll sort of look like a police bike with the hard saddle bags, trunk, and the Vetter Fairing...

 

I think its something that going to "Catch-on" very soon.

The ability to select from Millions of colors.
The option to use Photos and Graphics.
The way to be able to get what you dream-up for a design on to the Tank and Panels is going to get popular.

There will be two groups.
Paint and Vinyl.

 

well finally something i truely know about Vinyl i have wrapped a few buddies bikes in it and i do signs for a living its great stuff is you treat it right rule one whats under it will show through have a smooth surface its a must it will make a small scratch look twice the size that it is rule two ammonia is not good for it aka windex and other house hold cleaning supplies and some car cleaners will dry it out and crack it up ~ unless you want a faux finish~ best wax to use on it is a bees wax and finally no gas on it what so ever it will eat it up is a hurry and i done full dresser bikes for under 35 $ for material look for your local sign supplier or online if you need tips an pointers in doing it your self send me a pm and ill share with you the tricks of the trade

 

Keep us informed about the viynl project. I kinda like that idea.

Also the vetter bags and trunks are P. E. plastic and nearly impossible to paint and glue to.

Check pm for off topic questions.

So basically you need the surfaces perfect if want to wrap it? More work but can get creative without painting ;-)

 

bob vetter bags take to Vinyl very well

 

Well the doors will. That is why this is a cool idea!

 

My bags actually aren't Vetters, but they came with the set. Not sure who made them.

Thanks for the tips serenmaster. I bought a roll of white Avery ultimate cast vinyl for $90 online, and will probably only use half of it. Couldn't find any smaller sizes. I'll need to really go over everything and make sure all the cracks/dings are taken care of before attempting the vinyl. Luckily, it's an easy thing to undo (unlike paint) and I've got plenty of material on the way.

 

bob the whole vetter can be done trick is heat gun or the wifes hair dryer and a stiff brush like doing gold leaf with heat when applying it use a spray bottle fill with water and a couple drops of dish soap use a felt squeegee if you dont have one a old credit card with the loop side of velcro glued to it to push the water out from between the vinyl and project peice

 

serenmaster:

Use the heat gun to help it stretch, right? What is the stiff brush used for? Spray the project piece with water mixed with a little dish soap before applying the vinyl, then squeeze it out with the felt squeegee? I don't have a felt squeegee, and I plan to use a thin, flat plastic tool that I bought made by Bondo for fiberglass resin application. I'll use a credit card for the small/tight areas..

Thanks for all the tips! I'll be doing this towards the end of next week.

 

heat gun/ hair dryer is to help stretch it and make the curves if you dont have any felt pads the plastic tools will work fine but be carefull not to tear the Vinyl the stiff brush is for those places way to small to get anything in to like around that gas cap before you start on the bike get a odd shaped bucket or can and practice with the heat gum find the right distance for you to work safely with out over heating or tearing the product

 

This would be a project that needs a pictorial, would be cool to see the step=by-step process

 

not fuel proof.....ouch! i would like to get rid of the chrome fenders on the maxim though, smoke tint over chrome. does it go over chrome ?

 

Good info, Seren. but please, for the sake of my tired brain, use some punctuation.

 

@Polock - I know. I'll just have to be extra careful when fueling up. I'm fairly certain it can to over chrome without an issue. If my fender weren't in such good condition, I'd consider covering it as well...

@zaghost - I plan to document it, so I should be putting up a pictorial of sorts in the not so distant future.... We'll see how it works.

 

I use black vinyl for my maxim side plates. It's the easiest paint job I've ever done and until now, no one else knew.

 

Received the vinyl today. The rest of the week I'll be doing prep work when I have time for the rest of the week and will be wrapping over the weekend. I have my fall break on Monday and Tuesday from classes, so the goal is to be finished on Tuesday!

 

i will try to include some pics this week on step by step instructions this week using the tips i talked on earlier in this post ok



and to those whom do not understand my typing with out punctuation please here place them where there needed ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ................................... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?????????????????????????? ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; :::::::::::::::: ''''''''''' """""""""" yes i was born a smart azz but some one smiled

 

I want to see some pics. Seems like some of you have used it, show us what it looks like.

 

I'm a printer jockey at a place that specializes in vehicle wraps. We work with 3m controltach 180 w. 2mm lam. It's great conformable stuff, removes clean. but if its got ink on it make sure your place lets it gas out a full 24 hrs before lamming or it will peel right off. Our install guys shy away from installing anything too crazy on steep contours cause the art will warp and colors get thin, but it can be done. If all you're doing is white you should be fine. Priming the seams isn't a bad idea either.

 

This is one of the most horrendously terrifying posts I've
ever read.
I've had meny unsatisfying career's over a life time.
I've now spent the last year at the local JC learning body work
and custom painting, airbrushing and pin stripping that has been
a "back of the mind" dream since the first time I saw a custom
car as a kid.
This stuff you speak of makes me think of what happend to the
typewriter industry after the PC took over. That only took
about ten years (maybe less) to kill a machine that had just
started to become "smart".
I shiver still, lol

 

Ok so I thought I should check in with the progress (or lack of) that I've made so far..

Basically, I've found that it's extremely difficult to wrap items with lots of contours. I've started to get the hang of how to do it, and I think I could do a pretty darn good job on a flatter item like a car's side panels. The problem on the luggage, is that none of it is flat at all. You can see in the pics that once the vinyl starts moving around the contours, it really starts wrinkling. If you are able to get it applied nicely (like the top, flat section of my sidebag's lids, it looks REALLY good. I'm amazed with how glossy it is. If applied correctly, I don't think paint can really compete with how good vinyl looks (unless you go to the pros, of course )

To see this in action, watch this video. I think the 'action' or 'behavior' of the vinyl is represented extremely well by this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pH6j9lmwrE

For an item like my sidebag's lids, I can get around the first corner fine, by stretching the vinyl out like they do in the video, but the problem is that the application doesn't end there. And now the vinyl has become so thin, that you don't want to stretch it too much further, for fear of ripping it.

Like the video, you'll really want to do this with an extra set of hands. It's WAY better if you can have someone applying heat while you're shaping the vinyl.

Like MoralDK, this stuff would work well for the side panels and would work well for the front tire fender as well.

I'm trying to decide whether to keep trying again and again or cut my losses and just sell the remaining vinyl for whatever I can get for it.

I didn't show thumbnails here because you really need the full resolution to see the details..

Pics here