3M Brushed Steel vinyl wrap

Inspired by ArcTec34's matte black vinyl wrap, I started checking out some options... Matte black had already started to get played out (although I still love it), so I looked into a matte red or grey. I laid out a couple samples on my car; I already had a GRP wagon, and the grey took on a primer look that enticed me to grab some sandpaper. Finally, I stumbled upon something new that I hadn't seen before... satin color AND brushed metal texture! After waiting 8 months for a turbo that I decided was never going to arrive (which finally did after 1 year) and I had already sold my old setup, I needed a big project to keep me sane. I ordered these three samples to try out:





After placing all three samples on the car and observing each piece in various light sources, the brushed steel became the winner.

I had laid vinyl on large decals on many cars for my dad's body shop over the years, so I figured this would be easy. No need to remove anything, I was expecting to go over door handles, moldings, etc. So I invited a few friends over and we started on the hood. 4 of us tried to lay the vinyl over the hood... One person stretched it too much, another didn't pull it enough, and eventually I got pissed off and threw it out and gave up. Then I tried on my own to lay what was leftover from the failed hood attempt and see if I could make it work on top of trim pieces and what not... what a disappointment. Every trim piece would need to come off. Anybody that has taken a door handle off a Legacy knows that they are a pain in the ass. Everything else is just a lot of disassembly.

So, I gave up. Called a couple of local shops. I offered to bring them the car fully stripped and ready to go, vinyl supplied and all. $2000-$3000. F*ck that! Then I came home from work one day and my girlfriend had finished my RBS rear lip spoiler and it looked killer. I jumped online and watched some vids and grabbed some of the scrap vinyl and learned how to manipulate the wrap.

I ordered a roll from a local supplier for about $550. Ended up needing a second roll and I still have some leftover for small projects, touch-ups, and interior pieces. I bought a couple of nice squeegees, an exacto knife with about 3 packs of extra blades, some 3M high-strength double-sided tape (for moldings, spoiler, etc.), and a heat gun. All in all, I spent about $1300-$1400 in supplies.

I took off every trim piece on the car so I could hide every edge and take my time to make it perfect. Bumpers, moldings, mirrors, handles, trunk trim, window trim, headlights, taillights, yadda yadda yadda.

Here are the results:

By myself, the hood took me 3 hours.

Any more pics I like the look ! Nice job on the hood

this thread needs way more pics.


also... for others interested in such things, instead of x-acto knife/blades, you can get disposable scalpels on ebay for less than $1/ea and they are retarded sharp. (plus, you don't have to worry about changing blades and shit)

Sorry, was in the process of posting more pics when nature called.

For the roof, I did the main section first... Then used 1/4" masking tape to line up my cut line. I wanted to do this without any visible seams, so I followed the roof lines.









Then I did a huge piece for the A-pillar all the way back to the quarter panel. No seams! Unless you look really hard.

love the leftovers all over the glass

when can we expect a finished pic in the sun?

Originally Posted by dudeondacouch

love the leftovers all over the glass

when can we expect a finished pic in the sun?

Yeah, it was a good way to save leftovers!

Pics comin...

I had DocHolladay cut me some pieces for the headlights...




Also tinted the tails in red and covered the shtupid chrome piece in vinyl to go for a monochrome look...

And the finished product...









Quick coolant piss

that is awesome. very nice job. where did you get the vynyl from and what size roll did you get? i'm pretty interested in this.

Awesome.

I kinda like the black under the tails from the garage pic.

Overall, it took me about 6 months to complete. I took my time with it since I was still waiting on a turbo anyways. It took A LOT of patience. It was more like meditation.

I had kept my car polished and waxed regularly, so the paint was perfect before I laid down the vinyl; although I did clay bar it for good measure.

I started on the wrap last July... In the heat, it's a pain in the ass. By the time winter rolled around, it was a lot easier to manipulate with the heat gun.

This car turns a lot of heads... young and old. I expected some criticism, but surprisingly... it's been a big hit. I had my car parked on Main Street in Park City for an hour and I had a couple old guys looking around the whole car trying to figure out if it really was metal. It looks and feels like it's real. Most people have asked me how I got the metal to look like that.