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So as some of you may know, the 'sleek machine' used to look like this
But then this happened
Nope, not jealous locals out to ruin a one-percenter's day but the simple urban fox, a number of whom live in my road and like, for reasons best known to themselves, to climb on the cars. With their claws.
I had previously had the car coated in Gtechniq Crystal Serum, which is marketed as an ultimate detailing product that puts a protective coating on the car. A word to anyone considering it: I know it's not meant to protect against fox claws, but it really didn't seem to protect against anything. The paint still had swirl marks, and I only ever cleaned it myself and very carefully. That said, it did make the car very easy to clean (and never need waxing) and the paint looked fantastic when it was clean.
Anyway, decided to wrap the car to protect it from the varmints so took it down (for any UK members who are interested) to Monsterwraps in Southampton, and dealt with Sean who sent me a bunch of samples and was generally great.
I wanted a colour that continued the stealthy look of the car, but wasn't just a straight matte black or similar, as these are pretty common round London and to me look a little bit nasty now the novelty's worn off. My last car was wrapped 'brushed black' and can be seen here with its happy new owner.
I loved that colour, but wanted something different for this car and so ended up going for 'Satin Dark Grey'. This is new from 3M, and had a lot of texture in it, looking dark but then metallic under light. I've been promised some more pictures of the process at some point, but the car in Monsterwraps' photos now looks like this
and this
In my much less professional photos:
and
I'm currently parking it on the next street along from mine while the wrap hardens up (apparently this takes about a week) and will then bring it back to run the fox gauntlet. My kingdom for a garage. Still, as 'protection' goes I don't think it looks too bad.
Looks cool oh btw I'm 99% sure you can wet sand and polish those scratches gone
Unfortunately if your fingernail catches on the scratch then it's too deep for any sanding/polishing. However, polishing can smoothen the edge of the scratch and make it slightly less visible.
Magic - My god, that's beautiful. I absolutely love what you did. Great job.
But I have two questions:
Did that happen in London?
Are you one of the guys that park great/expensive/exotic cars on the street in London? I travel there often and usually stay in the Kensington/Chelsea/Belgravia area. I'm always AMAZED at the cars parked on the streets. The last time I was there, there were two different DB4s parked overnight just a couple of blocks from each other. It's eye candy just walking around.
This is the first picture I've seen of a Porsche with a matte finish. I've always wondered why Porsche doesn't offer a matte paint like BMW and MB.
And the real beauty of this particular matte finish is that it is not paint! Have you ever seen what happens to the BMW, MB paint jobs when someone rubs them wrong, etc.? And they require special care, routines for protecting, etc. A real PITA!
BUT, with this vinyl, you can wash it just like any other paint job, and if you don't like it, or it gets damaged in some way, you aren't faced with a very $$$ custom paint job (you know any paint shops that do matte paint on a regular basis??) you can peel off and replace one section or the entire car! I've had matte black vinyl on my car for over a year now in sections, and love the look. I haven't had any issues at all with care, despite the crazy NE weather that I drive in year-round!
I just purchased some 3M matte blue metallic -- not sure when I'll get to putting it on, but soon......
I do park it on the street in London, but in the quiet bit of South London where I live. I'm not one of the guys who parks up by Harrods and gets in the news
The work was done in Southampton by www.monsterwraps.co.uk Their gallery section has a lot of good pictures of different colours that they do.
It took about a week - dropped the car off Monday night and picked it up Saturday (was ready on Friday). I don't think there was any disassembly as they're very much a wrapping place not a garage, but I couldn't say I was sure! The door sills are done, yes, though obviously my greatest indulgence (*cough* illuminatedcarbondoorsillguards) are still visible
Will post some more detailed pictures when it stops raining.
The only other thing to add is that the car has been de-badged. I didn't ask for this, and was a bit surprised when I saw it, but apparently the glue they normally use to re-attach the badges wasn't strong enough to stick to the particular wrap I chose. Sure I could get it done somehow, but I'm kind of getting used to the lack. Gives a clean look to the back of the car, especially under the ducktail.
08-10-2015, 03:41 PM
Vinyl wrapping a GTS Cab - satin dark grey
