Wrapping my wagon - clear or....

[ghostbutts]

As I mentioned in the spoiler thread, I just had a fair bit of work done on my wagon. Replaced the passenger door, blended into rear door and fender, replaced hood with an owm BMW ( PO apparently replaced the hood at some point, not sure if aftermarket or oem or what they did to it, but it was waaavy. I'd say at least 7-10 good sized dents that no honest PDR guy want to touch), repaired din on driver side fender and new bumper. Oh yeah and Lee's excellent spoiler.

Now since the whole front end is pretty pristine, I'd like to protect it. I was thinking doing a clear wrap of the entire front up to the doors, including fenders bumpers and hood. And finally the whole roof as well - we take our bikes on the rack and keeping the top from getting messed up by whatever might happen.


So - questions- are there some wraps better than others or is it more about finding the right shop and letting them make the right choice?

How long is the correct time to wait between Fresh paint and applying clear bra or wrap?
Are vinyl wraps more/less difficult to do than clear wraps?

For those who have done it? Any issues down the line with yellowing, coming off, getting brittle with age and needing to be replaced?


Finally my mechanic friend suggested I do a carbon wrap on the roof. Not sure how I personally feel about it but heck, if we're going down that path why not just wrap the whole damn thing imola orange?! I must admit I have a weakspot for orange bmws and probably could be talked to it.

[cheapE46]

We paid a local body shop to apply clear wrap to the hood and fenders on our Sienna when it was new. I remember paying about $200 for it. It has been on for about 6 years now with no yellowing or peeling. Body shop recommended not covering the bumper since repainting the bumper is relatively cheaper and the plastic wrap they use (3M or something) is not as flexible as the bumper plastic.
So in very light bumper hits the plastic wrap would crack or warp making the bumper look rough.

If you are going to wrap the car, Estoril Blue is always the right color on a BMW. This is not an opinion, it's a fact!

[Plattus1000]

"Ceramic Pro" has a nano ceramic base and topcoat for wrap films called "PPf" to add a protective layer to the vinyl that blocks UV, adds a light scratch resistance and keeps everything else off the vinyl. It should extend the life of any wrap by a good margin. Look into that. If you need a shop near you, pm me.

Or, have a product like Opti-coat, C2-Quartz applied to the car or, have a shop apply Ceramic Pro to your whole car and get the Gold pkg and have it warrantied for life. You scuff a wrap or scratch it, you can't buff it out. As a detailer, I hate breaking that news to folks.

Expell film (or something cool like that) on your lights and front bumper/hood would be a good idea...?

[Plattus1000]

I'll add, thanks for the shout-out.
But then I'll add, if $ is no object:
Coat the car with ceramic, wrap the car and have a ball with some crazy design ie...

- slimmbones' Dinan wagon he built for his late father. (All Alcantara interior)



Awardwinning custom car I saw online. Not personally a fan but they were so I'm a fan of their showing us the vision they had.

[Plattus1000]

Expel, sorry.





Or just go crazy and have fun. Its wrap easy to change every few weeks/months... Make money on the side with advertising for local businesses. Might pay for gas and a beer weekly...?

If you decide on flames, try not to make this rookie mistake :


Unless you drive in reverse a ton, in which case, hazzah!

Now, if you want to 100% protected panels, nut-up and remove them and store them at home. Do what this guy did to the 540i, to the wagon.


Wrap that if you want to keep rain and dirt out but fuuuuu----uuuuuuun

Or, keep it simple and cost effective plus avoid small-scale radiation?

[ghostbutts]

How much does something like ceramic pro cost for an e39's worth of surface?

Also, would you use it on less than ideal surfaces? It sounds nice and would make sense on newly painted areas, but how about on a surface that has a pretty deep scratch, or touch up paint, or rock chips?

When I talked to the shop that did my paint they recommended that I not do any kind of wrap for about 2 months or so, does that sound about right to you guys? Should I generally avoid getting any cleaners, polishes, etc, on the surfaces until the appropriate "cure" time?

loving that ambulance wrap!

[Plattus1000]

loving that ambulance wrap!

Me too. It's got removable lights for the top.
It would run close to $2k with a lifetime warranty. It is best over good paint, nice finishes. There are other ceramic coatings for less and you can simply coat the panels in good shape and roof with it to lower the cost. Do the wheels and your exhaust tips too but as to the gassing-off of the paint:
I think it depends on the paints used, cure processes and application. WagonsHo could fill in the blanks here. Sometimes no wait time and others, a wait time. Marine and aircraft paints are sometimes months to years before "coating" according to their manufacturers.