Does the vinyl wrapping cause the chrome underneath to deteriorate faster? I know the reason to cover it up is you don't like the look, so who cares. I am thinking if it results in corrosion, it would weep rust stains and cause the bumper to look crappy that much faster?

Those wrapped bumpers look really good!

 

I think if properly done it provides an air/water tight cover and should delay rust if anything protecting it from the elements. I could be wrong but dont think I am lol. I'm welcome to being proven wrong otherwise, always willing to learn!

 

On Fellers you select the number of yards you want and they will send you a roll thats 1 continuous piece in X amount of yards. My neighbor turned me on to them when he wrapped his roof in black matte vinyl.

Dry. This vinyl isnt like anything you've seen before. You can stick and unstick a million times, and the RA in 970RA stands for Rapid Air, its a release tech that lets you easily push bubbles out. Its pretty easy to work with, but you certainly have to get a feel for it.

I bought it blind too! 090 is EXACTLY Ingot Silver. I stuck a piece on my door and it almost completely melted away, I could only tell it was there by the edges showing in the middle of the door. You're good!

If your bumpers are pristine now, they will be protected by the vinyl. It creates an air tight barrier. I would guess that if you have corrosion already under the chrome then its not going to do anything to protect it, but it certainly will if not.

 

tricon, do you have experience in the field with vinyl by chance? just ask, because it looks like you did a really good job and vinyl wrapping is not easy. I was in the sign business for years and the company I worked for specialized in vehicle wraps but they mostly used 3m 1080 vinyl. bumpers were always the problem areas in vehicles with the vinyl peeling back up. in the fog light areas the installers would use a 3m primer for better adhesion. in those corners where the vinyl tends to wrinkle a little often lead to failure.

oracal film tends to be pretty aggressive film in regards to adhesion, so once it was down it was tougher to pull back up to rearrange if need be.

avery film was the lower quality vinyl.

3m 1080 (pricey) was what our shop used mostly but I think they have even higher quality products now as I have been out of the business for awhile.

geek wrap squeegee's were used in our shop, pricey but very nice and had a cloth side that was less likely to tear the vinyl.

good prep is key. all surfaces should be cleaned and then wiped down with alcohol prior to installation. a clean work area is also key as the film draws a lot of static and can pick up lots of debris, which will stick out like a sore thumb under the vinyl. also note, if you are doing this outside on a hot, sunny day, the bumper will heat up and it makes install more difficult. the vinyl reacts to heat, which is why special heat guns are used or experienced users use torches.

fellers was always the most expensive in the industry unless you were buying quantity, not sure now. another place to look would be grimco, they have stores across the US and ship.

I am in no way trying to say that no one should try and do this themselves, but I hope that they know it is not necessarily easy, like slapping a sticker on. just my 2 cents, for what it's worth, hope it helps. good luck to all.

 

I've never touched vinyl other than putting graphics on MX bikes....and I am in no way saying this is an easy endeavor. I spent like 6 hours on this bumper positioning and repositioning it. Its my understanding that car wrap vinyls have come a long way in the last couple years. This ORACAL stuff was pretty forgiving, if I screwed up and and got it all wrinkled or what they call "crow feet" I just pulled it up and hit it with the heat gun for a couple seconds and all the wrinkles would fall out and I tried again. I must've done that hundreds of times, but once it was down it would stay down unless I really pulled it up.

Do not try this if you do not have the patience of a saint.

That's also why I suggested people try the grille or rear bumper first. You'll get a feel for how the material works and those surfaces are a lot flatter/easier to work on and with less material. Doing the front bumper was like jumping into the deep end, I knew it was going to be hard, but I was determined, and it came out great. There's some screw ups in there if you look really close, but from 2 feet away it looks like a platinum painted bumper. To me, its worth the $60-100 and a saturday afternoon...I enjoy jumping into new things and figuring them out. If that's not you....you'll be smoking cigs by the end of it.

One of the guys here said he paid $250 to have the bumpers wrapped, I would gladly pay that if I could. I was quoted $600-700, so for 10% of that it was worth giving it a shot.

 

$250 is a great price (and a no brainer) and $600-700 is probably pretty average. not sure what a paint job would cost on a bumper. most freelance vinyl guys in my area were charging $100 an hour. full size van and transit full wraps were $6k to $8k in my area including design work, vinyl, and install. most were business vehicles though.

again, that is impressive for first time and I hear you on the patience thing. I never had any interest in that area of the sign business as my ADD would kick in and I would be bored.

 

​​​​​​Has anyone vinyl wrapped their scratched up black door pillars? Not sure if the heat gun application would damage/warp the plastic underneath...

 

This is one of the things on my list to do. Mine look like complete crap. Think being such a flat surface it should go fairly smooth.

ended up making order from fellers. $142 after taxes for 60"x4 yards and a applicator.

 

Sweet, let us know how it goes! Take your time, and don't be afraid to step away and grab a beer or four I found that if I got frustrated at some points I'd come back 10 minutes later and it would just go right down the way I wanted.

 

Hmmm....i'm thinking i'll need a pallet of Pacifico's for this project. headlights took a case or two

 

Its a serious pain in the ***....you gotta really want it lol.

 

Well then i'll be playing "Work" by britney spears in the ground.

 

This is definitely a spring time project for me. Being in consistent -25c or colder temps up here in the great white north as of late and garage to small to fit truck in its gonna be some time!

Off topic...is there a vid to remove the chrome caps on the rear bumper? Might be a project I could do in mean time if it's simple enough to remove them.

 

Paid this fellow to clear-wrap my front bumper after he wrapped my grille bars at ThisGuysDecals in Chesapeake, VA. I took the bars to him loose & reinstalled them myself, and also installed the protective headlights wraps (thick stuff).

 

Anyone know if they make a color to match ruby red?