Vinyl Wrap

[RamRod]

So I am looking at my options to cover up my decaying matte black paint and think I have settled on going with a vinyl wrap (not a full wrap just over the matte paint). But can't decide on exactly what I want to do.

I have been leaning towards just a gloss black finished over all of the matte black but I figure there must be more creative and better looking options out there to choose from.

Any suggestions? Colors or designs?

The #2 option that I have been thinking of is a matte dark grey over all of the black.... But I don't like this idea a whole lot due to the black plastic on the bumper, mirrors, etc.

Option #3 is to just keep the same scheme but cover the matte black paint with the more stable matte black vinyl (4-5year life expectancy).

I wish I had some photoshop skills to see what all of the options would look like in a photo edit... But that's not going to happen anytime soon!

I have tossed around the idea of going with one of the darker camo options but I tend to think that in a few years I may get tired of that design...

For those of you that forgot or don't know what my T looks like here is a pic:

Thanks guys!

Ps.... I might steal your idea if it's posted in this thread and I really like it! [emoji12]


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[skeptic]

Dip your car! Ok, I've never done it myself, but I've heard good things and I do want to try it myself one of these days.

 

[RamRod]

Dip your car! Ok, I've never done it myself, but I've heard good things and I do want to try it myself one of these days.

I have a few cans of that stuff in Black... I thought about trying it out on the tailgate and seeing how much I like it after I have had a chance to get it dirty and such... might still do that before ruling it out as an option

 

[derian06]

Cans won't give you a good result on something that is wide, you would have to buy a kit with a spray gun. But I dipped a friends Camaro matte black and it turned out really well.

 

[RamRod]

Cans won't give you a good result on something that is wide, you would have to buy a kit with a spray gun. But I dipped a friends Camaro matte black and it turned out really well.

Did you use the cans or a gun?

I have a paint gun, I'll look into what it takes to use it with dip (if possible)

 

[derian06]

You can use a regular paint gun, but it wont turn out as well unless you use a gun specifically for plasti-dip.

 

[rascole]

Why not just repaint it?

 

[RamRod]

Why not just repaint it?

Cost to wrap it myself $200.... cost of a decent paint job $2,500-3000

 

[rascole]

Paint yourself? $199 lol

 

[RamRod]

Lol yeah I don't trust myself with that! If I could I totally would

 

[Renagade132]

Definitely try plastic Dip, I have done it on several spots on my truck, and it not only looks good, but it has held out for quite some time brother.

 

[Panzer07]

Use the mate camo rattle can. About 200 or less if you use coupons and will look great and hold up...mine has...only problem you are a bit limited in color choice. But if you want black then u can have it.


Torres

 

[SedonaBound]

I'd do gloss black. Are your black panels true matte paint, or can you wet sand and buff them back to gloss? Its pretty amazing what the new gen of pro grade polishes can do.

Is wrap actually a DIY project? (I have an image of DIY bubbled window tint in my mind :whaa:.) Do exposed wrap edges need sealing? I doubt it'll stand up to the usual desert "stripers". Beware of DIY or unconventional paint (like camo); it means subtract the cost of a paint job from the value.

Just be careful...T's are going to be the collectibles of the Hummer line, and anything irreversible may prove really expensive at resale time.

 

[MTUH3]

Call my buddy Josh at Designs N Signs. He is in MI, but ships material all over the country. IF you think you can wrap it yourself, he could print up some rolls.


http://www.designsnsigns.net/public/pages/about/about.aspx

 

[Daytona]

I wrapped my H3 this spring. I also flat black Dipped the grill, and a few other accents. Someday I will do a complete writeup, but here's a few things I wish I knew before I started.

First, paint is a better finish than vinyl so get a few autobody shop quotes on a touchup to the black paint, it's probably less than you think. If not, read on.

Vinyl is definitely a better finish than the Dip. You really can't dip large surfaces without a proper spray gun and dust free booth. Don't discount the stress of waiting for the day someone peels your dip for you while you are parked somewhere.

Vinyl will cost more than you're budgeting (learning curve) and take more time than you think as well. It wont look as good either, even the best wrap jobs have flaws, especially over older vehicles with flaws like stone chips. Hummers pick up a lot of patina and vinyl will exaggerate every single one. Then you will experience dust, air bubbles, creases, seams and gaps. You have to be cool living with the flaws. Others wont notice, but you will know each flaw intimately because you worked them from 2 inches away for 100 hours.

I did my H3 myself in a brushed metal - looks awesome but I learned a bunch of lessons the hard way. It is not as easy as it looks. I get tons of compliments now, but I'm still going to redo some of my work.

Lesson #1 - Purchase your vinyl very wisely. Quality counts. Spend more to get a good quality vinyl from a proven source. The online auction sites have a lot of fake and low quality product. 3M is the gold standard, but there are a few other brands with very good reviews from the pro's. A good product has a 5+ year life, longer if the vehicle is garaged. I bought from vvivid vinyl because they are in Montreal with a US distributor (if I recall right your rig is in Alberta, so this will make exchange and shipping easier).

Lesson #2: Vinyl finish drives effort. Flat Black is by far the easiest to work with, especially for a first timer. Gloss is harder. Specialty finishes (chrome, carbon, brushed) are near impossible for anything less than a team of pro's. Trust me on this one (I did brushed, alone, as a first timer).

Lesson #3: Despite what you see in the video's vinyl does not easily wrap curves and there are limits to the stretch. Our H3's look easy to wrap... basically a flat sided box, right? Nope. Every H3 surface has a curve that requires a wrap technique. Doors are easier than fenders, but the detail around the windows is hard. My first door took 3 attempts and several hours. Elsewhere, the H3's corners and curves prevent using a single piece, and multiple piece seams look like crap. Because of my material choice my fenders required multiple pieces. So did the faux air breather covers. I came up with a more creative solution than seams. Flat black might allow you to do some pieces that my choice would not, but there are limits, especially for a non-pro installer. I talked to a guy who has wrapped hundreds of vehicles including several H3's and even he was skeptical you could wrap a fender in one piece and have it last.

Lesson #4: Yes. You have to remove everything. And each thing you remove requires researching the tricks and sourcing the right tools. Each assembly opens the door to a spin-off project. Door handles (may require a special trick to reconnect to the latch arm), Fenders (liners first, is it time for flares?), Mirrors (remove interior panels so might as well replace the speakers and do the drains), Antenna (really hard), Badges (damn that old dry glue residue), Grill and all Lights/Markers (might as well LED and Retrofit).

How long does it take to wrap a H3? It takes as long as it takes to do a good job. I invested 9 x 15 hour days, but did all the extra mods at the same time. It takes a special breed of insanity to take this on. Suddenly hiring a pro to wrap a H3 for 3 or 4 grand makes sense.

Flat black will be way easier to DIY but if you want a pro looking job you have to do the work.




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[Blue]

Very Nice "T" love the killer Wale look

 

[RamRod]

Very Nice "T" love the killer Wale look

Thanks! It's very well suited to living in the PAN. .. Home of the orca lol

 

[RamRod]

I wrapped my H3 this spring. I also flat black Dipped the grill, and a few other accents. Someday I will do a complete writeup, but here's a few things I wish I knew before I started.

First, paint is a better finish than vinyl so get a few autobody shop quotes on a touchup to the black paint, it's probably less than you think. If not, read on.

Vinyl is definitely a better finish than the Dip. You really can't dip large surfaces without a proper spray gun and dust free booth. Don't discount the stress of waiting for the day someone peels your dip for you while you are parked somewhere.

Vinyl will cost more than you're budgeting (learning curve) and take more time than you think as well. It wont look as good either, even the best wrap jobs have flaws, especially over older vehicles with flaws like stone chips. Hummers pick up a lot of patina and vinyl will exaggerate every single one. Then you will experience dust, air bubbles, creases, seams and gaps. You have to be cool living with the flaws. Others wont notice, but you will know each flaw intimately because you worked them from 2 inches away for 100 hours.

I did my H3 myself in a brushed metal - looks awesome but I learned a bunch of lessons the hard way. It is not as easy as it looks. I get tons of compliments now, but I'm still going to redo some of my work.

Lesson #1 - Purchase your vinyl very wisely. Quality counts. Spend more to get a good quality vinyl from a proven source. The online auction sites have a lot of fake and low quality product. 3M is the gold standard, but there are a few other brands with very good reviews from the pro's. A good product has a 5+ year life, longer if the vehicle is garaged. I bought from vvivid vinyl because they are in Montreal with a US distributor (if I recall right your rig is in Alberta, so this will make exchange and shipping easier).

Lesson #2: Vinyl finish drives effort. Flat Black is by far the easiest to work with, especially for a first timer. Gloss is harder. Specialty finishes (chrome, carbon, brushed) are near impossible for anything less than a team of pro's. Trust me on this one (I did brushed, alone, as a first timer).

Lesson #3: Despite what you see in the video's vinyl does not easily wrap curves and there are limits to the stretch. Our H3's look easy to wrap... basically a flat sided box, right? Nope. Every H3 surface has a curve that requires a wrap technique. Doors are easier than fenders, but the detail around the windows is hard. My first door took 3 attempts and several hours. Elsewhere, the H3's corners and curves prevent using a single piece, and multiple piece seams look like crap. Because of my material choice my fenders required multiple pieces. So did the faux air breather covers. I came up with a more creative solution than seams. Flat black might allow you to do some pieces that my choice would not, but there are limits, especially for a non-pro installer. I talked to a guy who has wrapped hundreds of vehicles including several H3's and even he was skeptical you could wrap a fender in one piece and have it last.

Lesson #4: Yes. You have to remove everything. And each thing you remove requires researching the tricks and sourcing the right tools. Each assembly opens the door to a spin-off project. Door handles (may require a special trick to reconnect to the latch arm), Fenders (liners first, is it time for flares?), Mirrors (remove interior panels so might as well replace the speakers and do the drains), Antenna (really hard), Badges (damn that old dry glue residue), Grill and all Lights/Markers (might as well LED and Retrofit).

How long does it take to wrap a H3? It takes as long as it takes to do a good job. I invested 9 x 15 hour days, but did all the extra mods at the same time. It takes a special breed of insanity to take this on. Suddenly hiring a pro to wrap a H3 for 3 or 4 grand makes sense.

Flat black will be way easier to DIY but if you want a pro looking job you have to do the work.




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Wow lots of great info in this post! ! Thanks, lots to consider now