Wrapping bodywork instead of painting...

[jwm2k3]

I daresay, Ashwin, you should come see it in person at round 1. Maybe you can um....join us on track???

[xxaarraa]

I daresay, Ashwin, you should come see it in person at round 1. Maybe you can um....join us on track???

I'd love to! I was just having this conversation with Jeff who is racing this year. Racing is the pinnacle, I do want to try it some day. I am not too crazy about Loudon though, and don't want to spend every riding weekend there. Maybe next year, I will turn one of the bikes into a race-only and give it a go. Till then, I will sit in a corner and send jealousy your way.

[Paul_E_D]

It will look JUST like that... til the next morning. when it will look like this:

[nhbubba]

Beer intake is inversely related to your fucks-given level.
You've all seen the body work on my bike. I'll let you interpolate the beer consumption involved in that project.

I was just proud of myself for getting my number plates painted on. That was enough masking for me.

[GingahNinjah]

Ha colin why do you think johnny is bringing it up to my place to do it?! lol

[nhbubba]

Lower expectations by showing him your bike first?!

"You too can achieve results like this! Follow my five easy steps."

[Ductard]

Got some swatch books in from Avery and 3M.

To me it seems like a toss-up, but I'm leaning towards Avery just because they have something that matches Ducati's "Anniversary Red" more closely, but in the end, I'm wrapping the tank and the bodywork so that's not even a big deal.

I read here Avery's a bit softer than 3M.

I forget why I didn't get swatches from the 3rd company listed in the comparison (VVIVID), I think they wanted to charge for them or something.

Anybody have any thoughts? Avery wasn't called out specifically by anyone here as a "good brand" but the company's pretty reputable.

[nhbubba]

Bump.

I have a fairing for my Harley that I want to wrap. Long term I'd like to wrap the whole bike. But starting with the fairing as it is new/mint and I'd like to wrap it before I get it all dinged and scratched.

What must-have supplies should I have on hand before attempting this?

Looking at:

• 5x3' of Avery SW900 -OR- 3M 1080 vinyl in matte white
• Application fluid, looking at RapidTac brand
• Cleaner, isopropyl.. maybe RapidTac product here too
• Felt edged squeegee, 4"
• 3M knifeless cutting tape for seams
• 3M Edge Sealer 3950

I have a decent quality heat gun.

Too much? Missing something?
Is the edge sealer really a good idea? Fairing has sharp edges and I'd like the vinyl to stick. But the stuff is like $25 by itself.
Good source for this stuff? Found metrorestyling.com. Seems to have a good selection of this gear. They have a "starter kit" that includes the application fluid, cleaner and a better quality squeegee.

Not sure why I think I can pull this off. I bought some 3M clear vinyl to protect the rear fender under the removable passenger seat. I did a lousy job with prep and it came out meh. I did not relief the vinyl very well near some of the compound curves and it bunched up.. then I overstretched some of the vinyl. Fortunately most of the mess is in the front under the seat fairing.

5x3' is way more than I think I need. Plan to start on some less important side cover pieces first to learn. So goes the plan..

[RandyO]

fur and a set of longhorns

[nhbubba]

Is the edge sealer really a good idea? Fairing has sharp edges and I'd like the vinyl to stick. But the stuff is like $25 by itself.

I can't find any examples on youtubes of people actually using this stuff.

[Teamdineen]

DipYourCar - World Famous Peelable Auto Paint

Try this it's cheep not hard and easy to change colors. Plus the more you use the easier it is to remove.

[capitalcrew]

Yeah but vinyl looks a million times better.

[Paul_E_D]

Am I the only one who thinks vinyl looks like, well cheap vinyl? For a racebike, I can see using it, for anything else, not a chance in hell!

[capitalcrew]

Am I the only one who thinks vinyl looks like, well cheap vinyl? For a racebike, I can see using it, for anything else, not a chance in hell!

Vinyl done right can look as good as paint if you're not right on top of it. I've seen cars I didn't realize were wrapped until I was looking under the hood and saw the excess / trim line. It'll never have the same depth as paint, but you can get a nice gloss finish that looks great.

The plastidip on the other hand looks bad in 90% of cases imo

[nhbubba]

I agree. I've seen some really great vinyl lately.
I'm after a matte finish. Paint gloss and depth is less of an issue.

I considered plastidip. But it seems to do it right you have to do almost as much prep as regular paint. Most suggest airbrush

[nhbubba]

Finally sat down and took a swing at this. Did not go as hoped.



Several major fuckups. First was a tear as I was trying to lay the film down across the top of the fairing; I put my thumb right through it. Guess I was pulling too hard. Second was the tear at the bottom right. I also had several places where the vinyl became unwieldy and stuck to itself. When I pulled it apart it tore from one layer. Basically a minor disaster.

I did the left side with the screwups first, then concentrated a bit harder on the right side and was able to get that to follow the contour of the fairing perfectly. It was work and I needed heat in a few places, but it went down.

I also did a shit job on the edges. I cut it far too short and did not wrap enough around to the back. Nor did I use the edge sealer.

This is about $30 worth of vinyl I ruined here, maybe less. This is 3M matte white. It looks awesome.
I bought some Avery matte black to use on some of the other panels. In fact I did one of the side covers last summer. It went on well. I'd rate the Avery and 3M as both equally easy to work with. Maybe slight nod to the 3M.

I may try again by using 3 panels; one for the top of the fairing and 2 more for the sections below the wings.

[jasnmar]

That's not nearly as awful as that orange paint.
In a somewhat serious manner, you learn about 80% of what to do and not to do the first time. You learn the next 20% in the next 20 times (I mean, technically it takes 10k times to be an expert, but 20 times get's you to way better than average).

[Paul_E_D]

I'm going to be the contrarian in this thread. I don't think wraps look good on anything other than commercial vehicles. Paint is easier these and soooooo much better looking.

[csmutty]

I'm going to be the contrarian in this thread. I don't think wraps look good on anything other than commercial vehicles. Paint is easier these and soooooo much better looking.

I'm thinking the opposite here especially if you're getting it done professionally and doing more than just a basic scheme.

The cbr1k that I was racing looked friggin awesome. So much can be done with someone that has the equipment and knows what they're doing.

[nhbubba]

What equipment? The appeal of vinyl to me is that it only requires a sharp knife and a heat gun. (Maybe a squeegee which would have prevented me from putting my thumb through the film here.)

[Paul_E_D]

I'm thinking the opposite here especially if you're getting it done professionally and doing more than just a basic scheme.

The cbr1k that I was racing looked friggin awesome. So much can be done with someone that has the equipment and knows what they're doing.

If by looked awesome, you mean the marketing design, OK, that's one place vinyl can be better and that's why I said for commercial vehicles. If you mean the look and feel of the finish, I didn't think that it looked good, especially up close.

[Sheppo]

Just paint it and ride it. It's not a show bike. Its stock, not a custom, you're going to ride in the rain. Who cares about rock chips and scratches? I don't understand??

[nhbubba]

Eh. Maybe.

I am disappointed at how poorly I am able to treat the edges. I think this was a poor choice for this fairing as the back of the panel is prominently visible. I probably didn't think that part through.

What's the go-to kit for painting motorcycle plastics? Most I've asked say do not spray that 2k urethane top-coat over cheap acrylic paint. No way I'm spending $x00 on urethane base and primer coats.
Just rip a couple cans of rustoleum? Any way to get a matte finish out of that?

[Paul_E_D]

Rustoleum 2X and 2K clear works for me. I have had one time were the clear caused the paint to wrinkle, but that was a primered panel I tried to paint without sanding first. Otherwise I've gotten surprisingly good results.

[Paul_E_D]

Some quick wet sanding between coats and it will look close to pro.