Over the past two years, a good friend of mine has opened a premium vinyl install shop for full and partial color-change wraps, printed vehicle wraps, and custom vinyl detailing. Recently he did a wrap on his Audi S4 to promote the business and challenge himself to recreate a 1980’s rally car driven by Michelle Mouton. basically, it was his car’s halloween costume. But, it turned out fantastic! What do you think?
OK, BUT WHY VINYL?
Why choose vinyl over paint or plasti-dip?? Well, paint is very expensive to be done well, and is a permanent commitment in addition to a lot more work if you want the job done right. Completely painting a car correctly involves stripping it down completely to a bare chassis and reinstalling everything once complete. Definitely not for the faint of heart, nor for those with limited budgets.
Plasti-dip is another alternative for temporary, removable color changing media. And, at times, it will be difficult to tell the difference between a well done vinyl job and a well done plasti-dip. The major difference with plasti-dip is the application of the media. Plasti-dip must be sprayed on, while vinyl is laid on. With Plasti, errors may not be as easily corrected since you will have to wait for the media to dry before it can be peeled off. Vinyl on the other hand… You can get much quicker results and a much better finish without having as many factors to work with. Plasti has a tendency to end up with a bumpy kind of texture if not done in a controlled environment by a professional. It is also not quite as easy to remove once the time comes to do so.
Don’t get me wrong, vinyl is not exactly “easy street”, and there is indeed prep work involved with the car as well as a time investment. But, vinyl does have more benefits than other forms of media. If you are looking for a low cost solution to changing to color of your car which enables you to peel it off and do it again when you are ready… Vinyl is the answer to that problem.
So, if you have been thinking about vinyl wrapping your car… Get in touch with your local wrap installation expert and take a dive. The customization options are endless and everything is completely reversible. As long as your vehicle’s paint is in good shape when you install the vinyl, it will be in good shape when it is properly (keyword) removed as well (hint: needs a bit of heat and peeled slowly). Although, vinyls is by no means a permanent color change solution, it will protect your paint in the long run only adding value to your vehicle by keeping its factory paint job pristine. Vinyl can, and will, take some light damage with normal everyday travel, and is fairly easy to scratch. But, if you ruin a section of your car… No need to have the entire thing redone, just have that section rewrapped and call it a day. Typically, the damage to the vinyl will save what is underneath it also... Think of it as a protective barrier to your paint.
With all of the available vinyl manufacturers today, it seems like a no-brainer when you need or want to change the look of your vehicle… Choose vinyl.
