Wrap (1 Viewer)

[eatSleepWoof]

Things have went up tremendously in the last 10 years. I have been using the same painter for 20 years and we have gone from $5-6k for a color change full paint job on a BMW(4 door) to up around $10-12k for a non-color change repaint on a straight E36 M3. New gaskets and seals, windows out, misc trim pieces here and there. It's so expensive now to do good paint jobs with quality materials and a painter who stands behind his work.

That's crazy. Do people actually pay that much for a re-spray? Given those prices, I can see the wrap being a bit more economical.

 

[c2dfj45]

That's crazy. Do people actually pay that much for a re-spray? Given those prices, I can see the wrap being a bit more economical.

Yes. We have been restoring a lot of 90s cars. My brain has always had $5-6k for a paint job for some reason(wishful thinking most likely).....it surprises me every time. Paint costs have skyrocketed over the last 3-4 years. Good paint at least. There is some very cheap material out there that will not last. There was an Audi A6 at my painters the last time I was there....maybe a 2000 or something....nothing special at all but special to the owner. $12k is what that paint job cost. Yikes.

Just had the door, quarter panel, rocker and rear bumper painted on a 17 S550 coupe.....$3500 wholesale. Incredible.

 

[Moby]

FWIW I could not get a good quality full paint job on my FJ-62 for anywhere near 8k when I had the quarter panels patched (CCoT panels) 10 years ago. And I don't mean show quality although I did talk to a couple of very high end places (>20k at the time). But not Maaco either. I ended up just getting the quarters painted. These are big cars. Lots of prep and materials. You can always pay less for bad work, overspray and a quarter inch of filler.

This is also why I passed on every FJ-62 that I looked at before I bought the HE. They had all been painted.... Badly. I knew I'd have to redo it in 5 years.

Those that think this is crazy, fine. I've been accused of worse. Do what is right for you.

 

[Moby]

Nice work! I did not do a ceramic coat on top but there is one from XPEL.

There is a thicker version for industrial, off road and track. My shop uses it occasionally but apparently it doesn't go on as well. I opted for a balance. We'll see.

It has come a long way, even in the last 7 years since I had the hood of my GX done. The self healing is really cool to watch.

Beautiful work on this truck. We do full PPF on new G-wagons....they run about $12k. Our guy wants to quit the biz after every one. HUGE jobs. Curious to know how its holds up off road.

Ceramic coatings do really well on top of the PPF....not sure if the Xpel has it built in or not....that seems to be the trend now. The gloss we get out of some of our full clear bra cars with ceramic(usually Ceramic Pro) is next level. Clean up is a snap with it.

It's come a long ways since the days of the small 3M kits!
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[Moby]

What's the lifespan on this material? I though I read that some of the wraps have to be removed in 4-5 years to prevent permanent paint damage.

10 year warranty with annual maintenance at the shop the did the work by XPEL. I've heard of it being problematic to remove from headlights but the general protocol is to use steam to lightly heat and remove at a 45° angle (both to reduce the amount of left over adhesion/minimize cleanup work).

 

[c2dfj45]

10 year warranty with annual maintenance at the shop the did the work by XPEL. I've heard of it being problematic to remove from headlights but the general protocol is to use steam to lightly heat and remove at a 45° angle (both to reduce the amount of left over adhesion/minimize cleanup work).

Our clear bra guy won't do Porsche headlights as they have some kind of coating on it.....if you remove the clear bra, it will pull the coating and cause issues. Not sure if there are other lights that have that coating but I know the Porsche ones were an issue.

 

[bencallaway]

Looks great Moby! I’ve got an HE in my future and will consider something similar as I park outside.

I sold my last project vehicle before I completed the paint and body work because to do it correctly would have been pushing $20k. I will NEVER buy another vehicle with even a spec of rust.

Off topic - what do you consider ultra distance gravel in your neck of the woods? Our Saturday am loop is 80-90mi.

 

[Moby]

I sold my last project vehicle before I completed the paint and body work because to do it correctly would have been pushing $20k. I will NEVER buy another vehicle with even a spec of rust.

Off topic - what do you consider ultra distance gravel in your neck of the woods? Our Saturday am loop is 80-90mi.

I said the same after fixing the rust in my FJ-62.

Ultra is such a range. I base it on the mtb scale of marathon being 50 miles and ultra 100 or longer. I'm not doing RAAM. My gravel and mtb races are 90-100+ miles with 8k-12k of climbing and multi-day stage races. We have a great gravel race series that I've been doing for 6 years with more events popping up all the time. The single days go 6-10 hours for me but I usually do pretty well depending on how tech it is (I'm better at pure endurance gravel than 100 miles of tech single track but I enjoy both). The race formerly known as Dirty Kanza, the Breck Epic, Leadville and Rebecca's Private Idaho are on my bucket list. I would also like to do a solo 24 hour, but those events are disappearing.

I may get to race in two weeks. High Cascade 100 Bend has limited the field to 250 and converted the race into effectively a remote/start finish 85 mile technical mtb time trial to provide distancing. I split my time between Seattle and Bend. In Bend I'm right at the start of the 300+ miles of singletrack so I can ride to the start of High Cascades.

 

[bencallaway]

I said the same after fixing the rust in my FJ-62.

Ultra is such a range. I base it on the mtb scale of marathon being 50 miles and ultra 100 or longer. I'm not doing RAAM. My gravel and mtb races are 90-100+ miles with 8k-12k of climbing and multi-day stage races. We have a great gravel race series that I've been doing for 6 years with more events popping up all the time. The single days go 6-10 hours for me but I usually do pretty well depending on how tech it is (I'm better at pure endurance gravel than 100 miles of tech single track but I enjoy both). The race formerly known as Dirty Kanza, the Breck Epic, Leadville and Rebecca's Private Idaho are on my bucket list. I would also like to do a solo 24 hour, but those events are disappearing.

I may get to race in two weeks. High Cascade 100 Bend has limited the field to 250 and converted the race into effectively a remote/start finish 85 mile technical mtb time trial to provide distancing. I split my time between Seattle and Bend. In Bend I'm right at the start of the 300+ miles of singletrack so I can ride to the start of High Cascades.

Awesome. Jealous of the options you have out there. We’ve got some good endurance gravel options here in N Georgia and Pisgah.

A big contingency from my team does Leadville every year. I hope to join soon.

I highly recommend the Huracan 300. Gorgeous route probably very different than what you’re used to. 350+ miles and a great organizer. I’ll be back for my 3rd time this February.

pic of said rust victim at Dirt Diggler last year in Brevard

 

[Moby]

That Huracan 300 looks awesome. I added it to my bucket list favorites. We have great routes with tons of climbing but not the length that you get. I wish we had something longer that was closer. Stage races is mostly where we get distance. There's a defunct 140 mile race near Bend that I will do solo next month. Lots of climbing, almost no pavement. I need more time so I can travel to races.

Too bad on the Vanagon (Syncro?). Would love that for races. Also big fan of the OneUp racks.

 

[18Cruiser]

Awesome. Jealous of the options you have out there. We’ve got some good endurance gravel options here in N Georgia and Pisgah.

A big contingency from my team does Leadville every year. I hope to join soon.

I highly recommend the Huracan 300. Gorgeous route probably very different than what you’re used to. 350+ miles and a great organizer. I’ll be back for my 3rd time this February.

pic of said rust victim at Dirt Diggler last year in Brevard



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Is that a 1up Bike carrier? How has it been? Just received mine, wife thinks I'm crazy as we already have a Yakima 6 bike carrier. It just seems so much more user friendly to me, and I am the one loading the bikes.

 

[bencallaway]

That Huracan 300 looks awesome. I added it to my bucket list favorites. We have great routes with tons of climbing but not the length that you get. I wish we had something longer that was closer. Stage races is mostly where we get distance. There's a defunct 140 mile race near Bend that I will do solo next month. Lots of climbing, almost no pavement. I need more time so I can travel to races.

Too bad on the Vanagon (Syncro?). Would love that for races. Also big fan of the OneUp racks.

Yea living in a van and traveling to races would be a dream come true! Sounds like we both enjoy climbing.

The Vanagon is a great bike race home base. I've had a few of them over the last 10 years or so. This blue one is a Syncro and it was fully built. I paid less for my 570 than what I sold it for.... they've jumped the shark. A Chevy G20 can do the same job better for $4k.

Is that a 1up Bike carrier? How has it been? Just received mine, wife thinks I'm crazy as we already have a Yakima 6 bike carrier. It just seems so much more user friendly to me, and I am the one loading the bikes.

The 1up is the LandCruiser of bike racks. Well built and will last forever. Its the only way to go!

 

[tincan45]

I noticed this AU company makes EXPEL DIY kits for the 200 for about $400 US. Anyone doing these domestically?

BushWrapz DIY Kit - To suit Toyota 200 Series - Slick Azz

 

[04UZJ100]

Anyone put PPF on headlights? Does it remove easily down the line (years) or does it chemically alter the surface of the light?

 

[PhuckItImDone]

I need to do somethint, because the pinstripes and trail marks are really adding up. I've thought about having the whole truck wrapped, just as a start, something.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Anyone put PPF on headlights? Does it remove easily down the line (years) or does it chemically alter the surface of the light?

I put PPF on the headlights. I have no idea how easily it removes or if it chemically alters anything (geez I hope not). It didn't appear to me to alter the brightness or other cahracteristics of the headlights.

 

[04UZJ100]

I put PPF on the headlights. I have no idea how easily it removes or if it chemically alters anything (geez I hope not). It didn't appear to me to alter the brightness or other cahracteristics of the headlights.

Can you post a picture? Is it completely clear?

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Can you post a picture? Is it completely clear?

It's completely clear as far as I can tell. If you look closely you can make out the plastic wrap border but I don't see anything from 2 feet away. Here's the photos - bear in mind the photos showing the plastic were on the darker part of the light - I couldn't get a photo that showed anything on the clear part of the lens. I turned on the lights to try and show the plastic but I don't think it did anything but add some glare. The only time I've seen the plastic border is when the lights get dirty.
Meet "Snowball":

 

[04UZJ100]

It's completely clear as far as I can tell. If you look closely you can make out the plastic wrap border but I don't see anything from 2 feet away. Here's the photos - bear in mind the photos showing the plastic were on the darker part of the light - I couldn't get a photo that showed anything on the clear part of the lens. I turned on the lights to try and show the plastic but I don't think it did anything but add some glare. The only time I've seen the plastic border is when the lights get dirty.
Meet "Snowball":

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Thank you. Do you recall what product was used? Installer near me uses Xcel.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Thank you. Do you recall what product was used? Installer near me uses Xcel.

I used 3M Pro. XPEL is popular too.