R58 Added some 3M Carbon Fiber
5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
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Choosing ahead of time which way you want the pattern to flow, over-measuring the area your covering, and being patient, are the keys to succeeding. Also remember that if you mess up a bit or get a wrinkle in the vinyl, you can pull it up and redo it. If you see a wrinkle developing take care of it right away or it will be much harder to fix once you've laid more vinyl down. Take the contours of your object into account and decide the best way to flow ie. work from the center to an outer edge so there is always a place for the air to escape as your smoothing/squeege-ing the material out. GET A HEAT GUN! I bought mine, Porter Cable and brand new for $20 at a pawn shop but even an old beat up one is great. Be careful not to rub too hard with a squeege or your fingernail, etc. or it will cause the vinyl to shine in that area and you will notice it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I notice that sort of thing.
Sorry for the rambling post. It's late and I was just throwing out things that came to mind.
As for the little half moon door handles I did them in place. It would take MUCH longer to remove those suckers for the little amount of work it takes to do them.
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1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2010
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Don't want to change the subject too much, but there is another alternative I really want to try... It is called dip printing or hydro dipping
http://www.hydraphics.com
These guys sell DIY kits and have carbon fiber as well as some other options for parts... The main difference is it is permanent.
Someone needs to try it and let me know
http://www.hydraphics.com
These guys sell DIY kits and have carbon fiber as well as some other options for parts... The main difference is it is permanent.
Someone needs to try it and let me know
5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,073
Likes: 2
I googled some pics of the carbon fiber hydro stuff and I thought it was gonna look like crap but I was surprised it looks pretty good. That's pics though and I wonder how good it would look to the naked eye. Seems you'd lose a lot of the standout 3d effect and tone that real CF and CF vinyl has.
We use that hydro stuff on Military helmets though and it works great for that though we tend to go the cheap route and DIY it with spray paint.
We use that hydro stuff on Military helmets though and it works great for that though we tend to go the cheap route and DIY it with spray paint.
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1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2010
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I have seen the dip printing and it actually looks good... they have a clear coat you can spray over top and it makes it look similar to the real JCW carbon which has a clear coat over it.
Some of the metal and woods look decent too... I think it would be a good application for trim pieces like the scuttles, belt line, headlight/brake rings, hood scoop and grill surrounds.
If you make a mistake with this stuff, you just put another base coat on and re dip, but you aren't going to get it back to original because it is truly ink.
Just thought I would throw out another new alternative for people to be aware of. We all know about vinyl and plastidip... haven't seen much discussion about this though.
Some of the metal and woods look decent too... I think it would be a good application for trim pieces like the scuttles, belt line, headlight/brake rings, hood scoop and grill surrounds.
If you make a mistake with this stuff, you just put another base coat on and re dip, but you aren't going to get it back to original because it is truly ink.
Just thought I would throw out another new alternative for people to be aware of. We all know about vinyl and plastidip... haven't seen much discussion about this though.
4th Gear
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 341
Likes: 4
From: rancho
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't want to change the subject too much, but there is another alternative I really want to try... It is called dip printing or hydro dipping
http://www.hydraphics.com
These guys sell DIY kits and have carbon fiber as well as some other options for parts... The main difference is it is permanent.
Someone needs to try it and let me know
http://www.hydraphics.com
These guys sell DIY kits and have carbon fiber as well as some other options for parts... The main difference is it is permanent.
Someone needs to try it and let me know
I was like whhuuuuuuuut/ that **** is tite!!I looked through all the patterns they have i think the money or the skulls would look awesome,,,just not on my car....u should try it it looks really good....
4th Gear
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 341
Likes: 4
From: rancho
no
Indy's whole post was gold, take heed in it for sure!
Choosing ahead of time which way you want the pattern to flow, over-measuring the area your covering, and being patient, are the keys to succeeding. Also remember that if you mess up a bit or get a wrinkle in the vinyl, you can pull it up and redo it. If you see a wrinkle developing take care of it right away or it will be much harder to fix once you've laid more vinyl down. Take the contours of your object into account and decide the best way to flow ie. work from the center to an outer edge so there is always a place for the air to escape as your smoothing/squeege-ing the material out. GET A HEAT GUN! I bought mine, Porter Cable and brand new for $20 at a pawn shop but even an old beat up one is great. Be careful not to rub too hard with a squeege or your fingernail, etc. or it will cause the vinyl to shine in that area and you will notice it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I notice that sort of thing.
Sorry for the rambling post. It's late and I was just throwing out things that came to mind.
As for the little half moon door handles I did them in place. It would take MUCH longer to remove those suckers for the little amount of work it takes to do them.
Choosing ahead of time which way you want the pattern to flow, over-measuring the area your covering, and being patient, are the keys to succeeding. Also remember that if you mess up a bit or get a wrinkle in the vinyl, you can pull it up and redo it. If you see a wrinkle developing take care of it right away or it will be much harder to fix once you've laid more vinyl down. Take the contours of your object into account and decide the best way to flow ie. work from the center to an outer edge so there is always a place for the air to escape as your smoothing/squeege-ing the material out. GET A HEAT GUN! I bought mine, Porter Cable and brand new for $20 at a pawn shop but even an old beat up one is great. Be careful not to rub too hard with a squeege or your fingernail, etc. or it will cause the vinyl to shine in that area and you will notice it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I notice that sort of thing.
Sorry for the rambling post. It's late and I was just throwing out things that came to mind.
As for the little half moon door handles I did them in place. It would take MUCH longer to remove those suckers for the little amount of work it takes to do them.
ur not rambling thats exactly what i was looking for experienced people and great feed back thanks guys for all the info i am going to attempt this and i will get back to u on the progress and pics...
4th Gear
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 341
Likes: 4
From: rancho
thanks
As I mentioned earlier... I used a very cheap heat gun I purchased at harbor freight tools, an exacto knife and a hard rubber squeegee. If you order from Metro Restyling, they sell all the tools as well as the bonding "glue" terminalvelocity mentioned above (neither of us used it for our parts).
http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-wa...112-96289.html
There are videos on YouTube to get a sense of the ease/difficulty of working with the material. My guess is the people who have success with this are pretty detailed and patient. If you have ever worked with window tint or clear bras you will have a good sense of working with the vinyl.
Although I don't know terminalvelocity personally, I know we have similar styles. I have seen a few applications from members where the carbon patterns were going different directions, or the edges weren't folded over the lip, etc. If you notice his pics, everything is going the same direction, which is why it looks accurate and real. Simply laying out your pieces in the same direction before cutting will give you the consistency. I always cut a little more material than I needed because I could trim it away, but I could never add if it was too small.
I'm sure these are all common sense suggestions, but they're all I can really offer.
Regarding the door handles, I would think it would be fairly easy to do them on the door. All the other parts I did I removed from the car.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-wa...112-96289.html
There are videos on YouTube to get a sense of the ease/difficulty of working with the material. My guess is the people who have success with this are pretty detailed and patient. If you have ever worked with window tint or clear bras you will have a good sense of working with the vinyl.
Although I don't know terminalvelocity personally, I know we have similar styles. I have seen a few applications from members where the carbon patterns were going different directions, or the edges weren't folded over the lip, etc. If you notice his pics, everything is going the same direction, which is why it looks accurate and real. Simply laying out your pieces in the same direction before cutting will give you the consistency. I always cut a little more material than I needed because I could trim it away, but I could never add if it was too small.
I'm sure these are all common sense suggestions, but they're all I can really offer.
Regarding the door handles, I would think it would be fairly easy to do them on the door. All the other parts I did I removed from the car.
Now one last question before i get started , judging by the items i want to cover(interior door handles, dash pieces,and steering wheel pieces) what size sheet do you think i should order so that i will have plenty especially if i make some mistakes
.... they are selling a 60x12 for $24.95 would that be enough in ur opinion? please LMK asap thanks again bro
5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,073
Likes: 2
Now one last question before i get started , judging by the items i want to cover(interior door handles, dash pieces,and steering wheel pieces) what size sheet do you think i should order so that i will have plenty especially if i make some mistakes.... they are selling a 60x12 for $24.95 would that be enough in ur opinion? please LMK asap thanks again bro
.... they are selling a 60x12 for $24.95 would that be enough in ur opinion? please LMK asap thanks again broBest thing to do is measure each area your going to cover. Then add AT LEAST a couple inches (to play with) on each side of your measurement. Honestly since it's your first time I'd add more like 5 inches on each side. Like Indy said, you can always take more off but you can't ever add it back if your measured to little.
Once you have measured each piece that you're covering (with excess on all sides) add all those measurements up for the square footage. Then choose the closest size they sell available but if it comes down to chooses slightly smaller or slightly larger always go for larger. Chances are if you (and you will) have some left over you will find something to wrap!
5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,073
Likes: 2
I have seen the dip printing and it actually looks good... they have a clear coat you can spray over top and it makes it look similar to the real JCW carbon which has a clear coat over it.
Some of the metal and woods look decent too... I think it would be a good application for trim pieces like the scuttles, belt line, headlight/brake rings, hood scoop and grill surrounds.
If you make a mistake with this stuff, you just put another base coat on and re dip, but you aren't going to get it back to original because it is truly ink.
Just thought I would throw out another new alternative for people to be aware of. We all know about vinyl and plastidip... haven't seen much discussion about this though.
Some of the metal and woods look decent too... I think it would be a good application for trim pieces like the scuttles, belt line, headlight/brake rings, hood scoop and grill surrounds.
If you make a mistake with this stuff, you just put another base coat on and re dip, but you aren't going to get it back to original because it is truly ink.
Just thought I would throw out another new alternative for people to be aware of. We all know about vinyl and plastidip... haven't seen much discussion about this though.
As for wrapping the side skirts. I'm sure it would hold up just fine but I think whether it would look good or not depends on the car and how much other stuff is wrapped. I think there is a fine line between "looks awesome" and "looks tacky" but that's just my opinion. What I mean is it becomes VERY tempting to wrap anything and everything you can once you get some vinyl and learn how to do it well.
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1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 50
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For reference I purchased a 24x60 inch piece and had plenty for all my pieces with some left over. I can assure you... You will find something else you will want to try eventually. I was just looking at the back of my iPad. 
4th Gear
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 341
Likes: 4
From: rancho
yup
i can just imagine, so how much did the 24x60 cost you? just curious......
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 27
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From: Edmonton, AB. Can.
I hope the pictures (looks great) and info here do the product justice because I'm gonna dabble in this myself. A question though, any idea how the vinyl holds up to cold after install? I mean real cold, like minus 45 C.
5th Gear
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,073
Likes: 2
Trust us it's great stuff! As for holding up in cold temps I can't say anything past about 20 degrees Farenheit since we had a VERY mild winter. Even when it's bad it rarely get under 5-10 below zero where I live but it has happened.
The vinyl I added looks the same today as the day I put it on. The one thing I love about it is if it does get beaten up beyond looking good it is not hard to redo it. Certainly a lot easier (on the wallet) than real CF like the JCW pieces.
The vinyl I added looks the same today as the day I put it on. The one thing I love about it is if it does get beaten up beyond looking good it is not hard to redo it. Certainly a lot easier (on the wallet) than real CF like the JCW pieces.
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