Decided to wrap - Now the colour??
Discussion
Hi all, I've made my mind up that I'm going for a full vinyl wrap. Long story short, but I'm bored with silver and there are too many blemishes to put up with and to spray is going to cost nearly as much.
So......what colour??
It's a 996 C4S. I've seen metalic vinyl wraps before, and clearly you can't get the depth of colour like you can with paintwork, so I think I'm going to avoid metalic. I'm not opposed to wild colours (like orange, etc) but I need to know they'll suit the car, I also like the look of that matt black (like a blackboard effect).
So.....question is, what would you go for, given the car??
So......what colour??
It's a 996 C4S. I've seen metalic vinyl wraps before, and clearly you can't get the depth of colour like you can with paintwork, so I think I'm going to avoid metalic. I'm not opposed to wild colours (like orange, etc) but I need to know they'll suit the car, I also like the look of that matt black (like a blackboard effect).
So.....question is, what would you go for, given the car??
A customer of mine (who does wraps for a living) has his X5 done in a matt grey colour, he even wrapped his wheels black-I shouldn't like it but I do-it just looks really good.
My favourite though would be to make yours look like frozen grey-it's a limited edition BMW colour & is essentially matt silver.
You could either wrap your car in clear matt or actually buy matt silver vinyl, I'd go for the clear matt vinyl (that's how ford did the matt black rs500 focus's, it's actually a mettalic black car with a 3M cleat matt wrap).
It means your door & bonnet shuts won't look out of place & due to the fact that vinyl wraps never polish up well like paint you won't have that problem either
Might need some bling 3 piece wheels to complete the look though.....
My favourite though would be to make yours look like frozen grey-it's a limited edition BMW colour & is essentially matt silver.
You could either wrap your car in clear matt or actually buy matt silver vinyl, I'd go for the clear matt vinyl (that's how ford did the matt black rs500 focus's, it's actually a mettalic black car with a 3M cleat matt wrap).
It means your door & bonnet shuts won't look out of place & due to the fact that vinyl wraps never polish up well like paint you won't have that problem either

Might need some bling 3 piece wheels to complete the look though.....
nickfrog said:
LuckyP said:
How far gone is the paint? I'd be tempted to get a paint correction and try to fall back in love with with the original, freshly restored silver deep shine?!
+1.Whatever you do make sure you get any paint chips sorted before you wrap - you don't want to take more paint off when the time comes to remove the wrap (i.e. because of selling on, repairing the wrap, or replacing it entirely if/when you get bored of whatever colour you wrap it in now).
I'd go for a respray rather than a wrap. If you're NEVER going to sell the car it won't matter at all but if one day you do, even if its in 5-10years, you'll need to take the wrap off to sell it and then you'll be left with your blemished silver paintwork.
Colour wise, if you are set on doing a temporary colour you might as well push the boat out and go wild with some form of bright orange, green or blue.
OR
Have you thought of something like this that Mercedes do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIGzpi9lCck
(OK - MB might not actually offer that yet...)
Colour wise, if you are set on doing a temporary colour you might as well push the boat out and go wild with some form of bright orange, green or blue.
OR
Have you thought of something like this that Mercedes do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIGzpi9lCck
(OK - MB might not actually offer that yet...)
Have to agree with comments regarding wrap.
If you wrap anything but perfect paintwork there is a strong chance that some of the lacquer, body repairs and repaired paint chips will come off when the wrap is removed. The longer it stays on the more chance there is of some sections staying attached to the wrap.
I have been there and ended up respraying the effected area. A real pain in the proverbial when it comes to selling on!
Selling a wrapped car does NOT produce a price premium as most people will want it removed to inspect the bodywork. Consequently you could end up spending more money than simply dealing with the imperfections the car has now.
If you wrap anything but perfect paintwork there is a strong chance that some of the lacquer, body repairs and repaired paint chips will come off when the wrap is removed. The longer it stays on the more chance there is of some sections staying attached to the wrap.
I have been there and ended up respraying the effected area. A real pain in the proverbial when it comes to selling on!
Selling a wrapped car does NOT produce a price premium as most people will want it removed to inspect the bodywork. Consequently you could end up spending more money than simply dealing with the imperfections the car has now.
Edited by Pugley on Sunday 11th March 17:26
Some wraps are indeed crap, but some are excellent. I saw a Bentley GT in white recently and you couldn't tell the difference between that and paint.
Remember, even on perfect factory paint, wraps can take the lacquer off at the edges, even when professionally removed. I've been there with my once-perfect BMW.
I'd go for the frosted Silver BMW look myself. I think the clear 3 matt film Craig is talking about is Ventureshield Matt (?) - if that's the case it's good but extremely expensive. Anyone know of any other clear matt wrap finishes?
Here's a pic of an old 911 done in grey matt, which is currently for sale under £9k. I would disagree that you don't need a deep shine to show off the 911 body shape. I think this does it better than shiny!

I would also add that even though I'm not Mr Polisher, there's a certain satisfaction of washing a car, leathering it off and admiring the shine, even if you only do it once a month. A wrap doesn't 'feel' like paint when you wash it, and you don't get that deep just-washed shine. Gloss wraps can also make the paintwork look a bit plasticky, a bit fibreglass kit-car look.
Having said all that, I don't around examining my car in close-up and I think the best way to appreciate a wrap is the overall effect - don't examine all the corners and underneath, because it's not as good as a respray, but it's half the price. I'm considering getting my 993 done in Gulf Blue. I can just about afford a £1300 wrap but not a £4000 respray.
Remember, even on perfect factory paint, wraps can take the lacquer off at the edges, even when professionally removed. I've been there with my once-perfect BMW.
I'd go for the frosted Silver BMW look myself. I think the clear 3 matt film Craig is talking about is Ventureshield Matt (?) - if that's the case it's good but extremely expensive. Anyone know of any other clear matt wrap finishes?
Here's a pic of an old 911 done in grey matt, which is currently for sale under £9k. I would disagree that you don't need a deep shine to show off the 911 body shape. I think this does it better than shiny!

I would also add that even though I'm not Mr Polisher, there's a certain satisfaction of washing a car, leathering it off and admiring the shine, even if you only do it once a month. A wrap doesn't 'feel' like paint when you wash it, and you don't get that deep just-washed shine. Gloss wraps can also make the paintwork look a bit plasticky, a bit fibreglass kit-car look.
Having said all that, I don't around examining my car in close-up and I think the best way to appreciate a wrap is the overall effect - don't examine all the corners and underneath, because it's not as good as a respray, but it's half the price. I'm considering getting my 993 done in Gulf Blue. I can just about afford a £1300 wrap but not a £4000 respray.
Edited by 993kimbo on Sunday 11th March 18:14
RudeDog said:
you'll need to take the wrap off to sell it and then you'll be left with your blemished silver paintwork.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIGzpi9lCck
Not Necessarily. Plenty of folk sell their cars with the Wraps intact, especially if it looks good and the its a top notch job done. Yeh fair enough, it aint everyones cup of tea, but i have seen nice EVOs for sale with Matt Wrap, and being honest, i'd have kept the Wrap on if i'd bought it!!
I'd take some photos before hand, despite the condition the paintwork is in, just for some evidence if you sell.
(OK - MB might not actually offer that yet...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIGzpi9lCck
Not Necessarily. Plenty of folk sell their cars with the Wraps intact, especially if it looks good and the its a top notch job done. Yeh fair enough, it aint everyones cup of tea, but i have seen nice EVOs for sale with Matt Wrap, and being honest, i'd have kept the Wrap on if i'd bought it!!
I'd take some photos before hand, despite the condition the paintwork is in, just for some evidence if you sell.
(OK - MB might not actually offer that yet...)
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