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car wrapping cost and any recommendations?

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Old 04-03-2021, 08:36 PM
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JK88
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Default car wrapping cost and any recommendations?

Well,
I posted about my hood paint job failure. So I went to another body shop and they repainted.

At least, now the color matches pretty well. Still, it is noticible (at least to me). So now I am planning to just wrap my car.

I called a local wrapping shop and they said it would be around $3500. I think it seems reasonable but still is it??

Also about the quality... To my knowledge, wrapping seems a pretty easier job compares to a paint job. Still, are there any huge quality differences shop by shop?

if you live near Bend, Oregon, can you give a list of shops?

PS. what do you think of this Carerra T style??


Old 04-03-2021, 08:56 PM
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spyd
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I think it's one of the best I've seen....seems like it's 'classy'.
Old 04-03-2021, 09:12 PM
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asellus
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In order of best to worst, it's paint > wrap > plastidip. If you're looking for something that will last, get paint. If you're looking to change it up every few years, then look at wraps and plastidip. Anything that isn't a reapplication of OE paint will generally make the vehicle much harder to sell at a decent price. Even reapplying OE paint raises red flags, but at least not in the same way as wrap. James at Auto Amateur had his 991 wrapped, and just the other week I think finally got it all removed and the adhesive cleaned off. I believe he started that process in October of 2020.

Paint wins at everything from longevity, colour choice, effects, and availability as far as shops for application and care.

Wraps are getting better and better, but they still barely hold a candle to proper paint. The cooler effects and ANY sort of pattern design become a nightmare to install -- remember, wraps are stretched onto the car and glued in place, to simplify it. Like blowing up a balloon, the wrap gets distorted when you do this. Plain white? Simple. Metallic look? Little harder. Pattern? Nightmare fuel. There's also the life expectancy of a wrap, which is far, far shorter than paint. You have to worry about the adhesive as well as the finish itself. You can't buff a wrap to a nice shine again, you can't touchup a rock chip or a scratch, and if it starts peeling you're typically SOL -- all of these situations the two solutions are "live with it" or "redo the entire panel." Expect 6 or 7 years in an absolute best case scenario for a car that isn't driven too often. 3 to 5 for a daily.

Then there's plastidip. This is for the ADD people, and it's great for that. Easy on, easy off, relatively cheap, annoying to care for, extremely short lifespan (what are we at these days, 3 years tops?) and real good at being matte.
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Old 04-03-2021, 11:03 PM
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Jack F
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Sinc ethe hood has been painted a few times, you might have a problem when removing the vinyl wrap. Vinyl or PPF over factory paint should be no problem. In your case, when vinyl is removed you could pull up portions of the clear/paint. So many vids of this nightmare. Talk to a reputable shop about this specifically. I wouldn’t do it after seeing what happened to your hood. Get it painted properly so that paint is an exact match. Simple.
Old 04-04-2021, 01:35 AM
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thelampire
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Just get a carbon hood. That stays carbon forever

Jokes aside, try to find a good shop and get the hood painted again. This is what I would do.
Old 04-04-2021, 06:47 AM
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$3500 is a good price I was quoted $5000 by 2 different places although I have a GT3. I'd get the wrap it will protect the paint and I and could last up to 7 years.
Old 04-04-2021, 09:00 AM
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Whatever you decide, don't make your buying decision solely on price. Buy the installer and skill level, and work product, first & foremast.
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Old 04-05-2021, 02:15 AM
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My local place charges $6k to wrap a 991.
Old 04-05-2021, 02:21 AM
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Originally Posted by LexVan
Whatever you decide, don't make your buying decision solely on price. Buy the installer and skill level, and work product, first & foremast.
Take this advice to the bank! When I did my 991.1 last July, this forum taught me about choosing the installer and NOT the products. I looked long and hard locally and didn’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings only guys who wanted an arm and a leg and said they could complete it in a day or so. Went with a reputable installer, Appearance Solutions in Sacramento and allowed them to do what they do best. One of the best jobs I’ve seen and will never regret it.
Good Luck
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Old 04-05-2021, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by LexVan
Whatever you decide, don't make your buying decision solely on price. Buy the installer and skill level, and work product, first & foremast.
^ This. I've seen some really crappy wrap jobs and some flawless ones.

Clear PPF has really improved over the years - you wouldn't be able to tell that my car has full PPF unless you walked up to it and looked closely.
Old 04-05-2021, 01:08 PM
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There's always an issue with terminology with this topic - are you talking about full body PPF, or are you talking a vinyl wrap to change the body color?
Old 04-05-2021, 01:38 PM
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Never had much experience with wraps till we bought our used 2014 TTS last August. The original owner has all his cars wrapped prior to taking delivery from the dealership. My salesman knew where the car had been wrapped so I visited Premium Films with the TTS. The vinyl wrap was installed in 2014 and the cost was roughly $10K. Here are some points I learned:
  • The cost difference between a $10K wrap vs. a $3500 wrap is the short cuts the installer takes. The $10K project involves disassembling most of the exterior parts of the car, front & rear bumpers, front and rear lights, trim pieces, etc. The wrap goes into the vacant holes and is wrapped around the edges. Then the car is reassembled. These wraps tend to look flawless. The $3500 wrap, the installer cuts around the lights trim etc. When new these look good but over time all the exposed edges pick up dirt and start to look ragged. This why most wraps look crappy after 2-5 years.
  • Older wraps can be removed from original factory paints with little chance of pulling the paint due to the electrostatic bonding used by OEM manufacturers. Removing a wrap from a repainted surface, 90%+ chance some paint will be pulled.
  • Sun, UV damage is the main culprit in harming wraps. Keeping the car garaged extends life but there are vinyl lubricants that quality installers have access to that help keep the wrap looking and acting new. Apply these vinyl lubricants a few time per year can keep a quality wrap looking good indefinitely.
  • The wrap on my TTS is now 7 years old with 70,000 miles. From 5 feet away the wrap looks flawless. When I wash the car I can see and feel some pinholes on the nose and side-skirt areas, where the exterior of the wrap is damaged but has not penitrated to the paint. I've used the vinyl lubricant solution the installer sold me 3 times since August and the car just pops in the sun. I'm going at least another 3 years before I would consider making a change and removing the wrap.
As other have stated. Find a quality installer with an excellent reputation in your area. There are a lot of excellent materials to choose from but it's the installer and how good they are at their craft that makes or breaks the end result.
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Old 04-05-2021, 01:58 PM
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BMWExpat - that's some of the best information on wraps I've come across - thanks for sharing! Quite encouraging for those of us that have considered wraps.
Old 04-05-2021, 03:52 PM
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hcamp19
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Originally Posted by bmwexpat
Never had much experience with wraps till we bought our used 2014 TTS last August. The original owner has all his cars wrapped prior to taking delivery from the dealership. My salesman knew where the car had been wrapped so I visited Premium Films with the TTS. The vinyl wrap was installed in 2014 and the cost was roughly $10K. Here are some points I learned:
  • The cost difference between a $10K wrap vs. a $3500 wrap is the short cuts the installer takes. The $10K project involves disassembling most of the exterior parts of the car, front & rear bumpers, front and rear lights, trim pieces, etc. The wrap goes into the vacant holes and is wrapped around the edges. Then the car is reassembled. These wraps tend to look flawless. The $3500 wrap, the installer cuts around the lights trim etc. When new these look good but over time all the exposed edges pick up dirt and start to look ragged. This why most wraps look crappy after 2-5 years.
  • Older wraps can be removed from original factory paints with little chance of pulling the paint due to the electrostatic bonding used by OEM manufacturers. Removing a wrap from a repainted surface, 90%+ chance some paint will be pulled.
  • Sun, UV damage is the main culprit in harming wraps. Keeping the car garaged extends life but there are vinyl lubricants that quality installers have access to that help keep the wrap looking and acting new. Apply these vinyl lubricants a few time per year can keep a quality wrap looking good indefinitely.
  • The wrap on my TTS is now 7 years old with 70,000 miles. From 5 feet away the wrap looks flawless. When I wash the car I can see and feel some pinholes on the nose and side-skirt areas, where the exterior of the wrap is damaged but has not penitrated to the paint. I've used the vinyl lubricant solution the installer sold me 3 times since August and the car just pops in the sun. I'm going at least another 3 years before I would consider making a change and removing the wrap.
As other have stated. Find a quality installer with an excellent reputation in your area. There are a lot of excellent materials to choose from but it's the installer and how good they are at their craft that makes or breaks the end result.

Is the PPF wrap primarily to protect the paint? Does it enhance color or shine? Should one continue to wax or ceramic coat after? Thinking about doing it but need more info from you folks who have experienced it please...

Last edited by hcamp19; 04-05-2021 at 03:54 PM.
Old 04-05-2021, 04:15 PM
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asellus
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Originally Posted by hcamp19
Is the PPF wrap primarily to protect the paint? Does it enhance color or shine? Should one continue to wax or ceramic coat after? Thinking about doing it but need more info from you folks who have experienced it please...
PPF is for protection and, in the best case, optically clear. It is not designed to add shine or luster - that's all done before install. Prior to installation, a shop will (or should) do full paint correction on the panels to be wrapped to ensure the paint is at its best before being sealed away by the PPF.

Waxing or ceramic coating PPF is acceptable and, in fact, recommended.
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