DIY Vinyl Wrap

[Nova90]

It turned out great for a first time attempt

 

[ayoslickxd]

looks good but yea some ppf dnt reheal with some heat and some yellow up and stuff like that

 

[Maxx102]

For your first attempt, I'd give you a solid A-. Not sure if the Built To Serve look is what you were going for, but if you were, all you need is a BTS sticker on each side and you'll have a lot of people fooled.

 

[MarvsAMartian]

For your first attempt, I'd give you a solid A-. Not sure if the Built To Serve look is what you were going for, but if you were, all you need is a BTS sticker on each side and you'll have a lot of people fooled.

Not at all but I totally see it. Couldn't beat the price (nearly half off), just happened to be that color. It is quite the heatbag now though where I live (POP: 3500 ish). Been pulled over twice for, "creeping up on 70" in a 60 zone, and for my tint (like really? I play volleyball with a cop who murdered out his Tahoe). Both gave themselves away by mentioning basically the same, "had my eyes on you" sentiment. Flattering, sure. Annoying, very. Just let me enjoy my **** wrap in peace a**holes.

 

[HookedonRam]

Looks very nice, I’m thinking about doing my chrome front and rear bumpers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Reviving this thread. I came across an ad on FB Marketplace selling a full roll of 3M's 2080 Series Vinyl and well... I purchased it. Even cheaper than the last roll I got at only $400 for 25yds. That's nearly half what I paid last time!

Will probably take a lot longer on this project as I have a max steel truck so doing the bumpers is kind of necessary. I'll be sure to post pics and progress reports and I'll update my "how to" if needed/post any new advice I can give when available. I work a hectic schedule so I'll probably have mismatched panels for a good chunk of time before I can finally complete it.

Stay tuned!

 

[Geddyflea]

Reviving this thread. I came across an ad on FB Marketplace selling a full roll of 3M's 2080 Series Vinyl and well... I purchased it. Even cheaper than the last roll I got at only $400 for 25yds. That's nearly half what I paid last time!

Will probably take a lot longer on this project as I have a max steel truck so doing the bumpers is kind of necessary. I'll be sure to post pics and progress reports and I'll update my "how to" if needed/post any new advice I can give when available. I work a hectic schedule so I'll probably have mismatched panels for a good chunk of time before I can finally complete it.

Stay tuned!

Excellent! I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[Undaground]

Great read on this post. Thanks OP for sharing the journey and results. Also looking foward to the update. Ok, so I might go the vinyl wrap route with just my bumpers want to try and color match my granite crystal metallic body. Any one have any idea of a almost color match vinyl? Also how much material would I need for the bumpers? I found vivid vinyl candy charcoal grey on Amazon but the only sell in 5ft sizes. 1x5, 10x5, 25x5 etc. The length of the bumper is longer than 5ft. I was thinking of buying the 10x5 and splitting the 10ft length down the middle and working with 2 sections of 2.5x10. Any thoughts? Sorry not trying to steal the OP's thunder here.

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Great read on this post. Thanks OP for sharing the journey and results. Also looking foward to the update. Ok, so I might go the vinyl wrap route with just my bumpers want to try and color match my granite crystal metallic body. Any one have any idea of a almost color match vinyl? Also how much material would I need for the bumpers? I found vivid vinyl candy charcoal grey on Amazon but the only sell in 5ft sizes. 1x5, 10x5, 25x5 etc. The length of the bumper is longer than 5ft. I was thinking of buying the 10x5 and splitting the 10ft length down the middle and working with 2 sections of 2.5x10. Any thoughts? Sorry not trying to steal the OP's thunder here.

Personally I'd say its a good bet to have more than you think you'll need. 10×5 split down the middle lengthwise is actually pretty spot on for how much you'd need but it doesn't leave you much room for stretching the material width wise so you'd have to be pretty precise when you lay it down. 3ft width would be easier to work with IMO, but you CAN do it.

And no worries about hijacking the thread. It's an open discussion here and questions are welcome.

 

[Realtruck]

Your journey gives me confidence to wrap my own vehicle. I have no real plans to do so- but if I did, you've certainly made the job look pleasant and worthwhile! I can't wait to see your new wrap

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Your journey gives me confidence to wrap my own vehicle. I have no real plans to do so- but if I did, you've certainly made the job look pleasant and worthwhile! I can't wait to see your new wrap

That's quite the compliment thank you. If a roll of wrap was cheap I'd recommend everyone give it a shot! But unfortunately not everyone can justify the price tag for the uncertainty.

I've yet to start mine as I do the shift work thing and won't be home til Tuesday. With a short vacation booked next week as well I'm hoping to get at least a couple panels done before having to work again. Debating whether I'll show it off as I go along or wait til it's complete for a big reveal I got a little excited and posted my plans to wrap once again maybe a bit early.

 

[Geddyflea]

That's quite the compliment thank you. If a roll of wrap was cheap I'd recommend everyone give it a shot! But unfortunately not everyone can justify the price tag for the uncertainty.

I've yet to start mine as I do the shift work thing and won't be home til Tuesday. With a short vacation booked next week as well I'm hoping to get at least a couple panels done before having to work again. Debating whether I'll show it off as I go along or wait til it's complete for a big reveal I got a little excited and posted my plans to wrap once again maybe a bit early.

Ah, you've gotta show it as you go! It'll be kind of like watching a show on Motortrend TV.

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Ok so here's what I've got done so far. Completed this in about 5hrs Sunday (11th) night. That includes prep time (wash, clay bar, alcohol and removing the fender flare). Was away in the mountains all week and only had a bit of time to work on it. Going to sit like this for the next 2 weeks unfortunately but hey, gotta make do with the time you have. Took some time to get back in the groove. I don't do this professionally or anything so it can definitely be tricky.

As an FYI, not that anyone asked, but you CAN wrap vinyl over PPF. My front end is covered and wrap sticks to it no problem.

Also opted to keep the color reveal for when I finally get this all done. At this rate sometime by Q3 this year My truck is Max Steel Metallic not black but that's a teaser. Wrap is a metallic satin finish. Figured this was a good compromise with keeping ya'll updated on my progress but not wanting to give away the color I've chosen.

This will be a slow process but bear with me.

 

[Realtruck]

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Managed to get the hood done. Been busy as all hell this time off. Might not get to touch this thing for a long while after. Looks much better already even though up close I screwed up a few spots. Just don't get too close and this thing is a beaut!

One positive for Max Mettalic owners is that it's so close to black that the seams between panels aren't visible at all so no need to wrap all the way around/in. Not that anyone asked but that's a plus.

 

[HookedonRam]

View attachment 178216
Managed to get the hood done. Been busy as all hell this time off. Might not get to touch this thing for a long while after. Looks much better already even though up close I screwed up a few spots. Just don't get too close and this thing is a beaut!

One positive for Max Mettalic owners is that it's so close to black that the seams between panels aren't visible at all so no need to wrap all the way around/in. Not that anyone asked but that's a plus.

Looks great, I'm seriously considering doing half-body two tone. I have a black truck with chrome bumpers. How many ft is needed for the front and rear bumpers? And how much do you think I would need to do mid sections of the body with the hood? I'm going to leave the upper portion of the cabin black as well as the bumper line all the way around. TIA!

 

[detroitm2]

Looking good. I'm looking into doing this myself. I shopped around quotes and it was anywhere from 3800 to 4800 from several reputable shops close by. I did some smaller wrap jobs in the past, so pretty confident in my abilities. Just a matter of time!

 

[Pikeman_66]

I posted in another thread looking for recommendations on wrap shops but figured this should get its own since I decided to forego a professional install and give wrapping a shot on my own. Wanted to share updates and have a place for anyone looking to do the same to post any possible questions. This is my first time ever using a vinyl wrap (3M 2080 Series) and its honestly not as daunting as one would expect. It takes some getting used to for sure and some panels came out much better the more I go on.

I started a few days ago and have been slowly but surely chugging along, working on it in my free time. If there's any advice I can offer now its:
- make sure you have the right tools (heat gun, felt edge squeegee, a wrap glove is actually very handy, sharp blades, wrap magnets and I 100% recommend knifeless tape)
- surface prep is extremely important. I had a couple spots in the wheel well where the vinyl didn't want to bond because I missed a section. My process was hand wash, clay bar, quick detailer, then wiped with alcohol. (the dust in the pics is pollen that fell literally all day and covered the whole front end peeking out the garage)
- be patient. The vinyl is very forgiving so just hit it with heat and reset if you make a mistake, but also because it is possible to tear the wrap if you're moving a bit too fast.
- on that note make sure the temperature where you're working is relatively warm. The colder the worse off you'll be.
- having a buddy would help. If at the very least you have someone to chat with and have a beer. I am doing this solo and there are panels I kind of wish I had help.
- don't take shortcuts. I attempted to do the passenger rear door without taking the handle off and up close its a train wreck. It looks absolutely terrible and I'll definitely be redoing that panel one day. Definitely make sure you remove as much as you can i.e. lights, badges, handles, side mirrors, bumpers and even the bed.

That's all I can think of at the moment but hopefully it helps anyone out there determined enough to try it out for themselves. I debated doing a video as when I looked all over YouTube I couldn't find very many in depth tutorials for how to do our trucks. Most are by professional shops as well so they skip out on all the finer details which I'm happy to discuss with anyone who's interested. Feel free to ask as I know when I was debating even doing this I had a bunch of little questions I couldn't find answers to. I'm planning on leaving the roof untouched as its mostly glass anyways, and I may not have enough material to do the hood right now (only have a 5' x 75' roll)

Anyways that's it for now. I'll be sure to post progress pictures as I'm hoping to have the majority of this completed in the next 3-4 days (fingers crossed). I'm having my level finally installed tomorrow so might not have much to share for a couple days.

View attachment 93754View attachment 93753View attachment 93755

that looks good from here me thinking out loud when looking at your hood that highest part with the sim vent in the middle, I bet would look cool to leave black.

 

[Adjutant]

View attachment 178216
Managed to get the hood done. Been busy as all hell this time off. Might not get to touch this thing for a long while after. Looks much better already even though up close I screwed up a few spots. Just don't get too close and this thing is a beaut!

One positive for Max Mettalic owners is that it's so close to black that the seams between panels aren't visible at all so no need to wrap all the way around/in. Not that anyone asked but that's a plus.

Ive been following this. Incredible job on the first round! I know you said "anyone can do it", but DAMN, it looks tough
Have you found this time easier than last, since its your second go around? You gonna go for the front bumper? I know you opted out last time. It actually suited the color scheme really well to leave it black

 

[dlakeman]

I took my 2024 RAM 2500 to a professional shop that does nothing but wrapping. He had a hard time with the bumpers. He spent hours, then had to remove the wrap because of the creases. I'm scheduled for him to try again this Friday.