Ever hear of wrapping your car in vinyl instead of painting it? People are doing it all over the interweb. Here is my story with it...!
First of all, nobody ever taught me the benefits of wax or other things to properly "protect" paint. My b-pillars and roof were in great condition when I got my NSX over 2 years ago, but over the 2 years, they have faded and became EXTREMELY ugly. I painted my top white cause I liked the look and to fix the ugly fade. But I've been running around with faded b-pillars and door handles for over a year....
Here are the b-pillars in crappy blackberry phone pictures. (GF's dog pee'd on my camera and it stopped working)
You can't really see it... but let's just say it's bad and ugly.
So first of all, buy yourself some vinyl. I got mine from stickercity.com. The gloss black matches the berlina black perfectly.They also give you free tools (squeegee, razor knife, and air bubble poker).
Clean the area with windex and alcohol.
Measure and cut vinyl.
Brush all dush off again right before you apply (or it will get stuck under the sticker)
Apply the vinyl CAREFULLY.
Work out all the airbubbles with your thumb and the squeegee. If you have stubborn ones, use the needle that is sent with you to poke a hole, then use your thumb to take out the bubble.
Use a blow dryer or heatgun to heat the vinyl to stretch inside this convex part. It's amazing how much this stuff stretches.
Use your squeegee to press it down all the way on the edges.
I missed a spec of sand or something... so there is a bump towards the bottom middle. I dont want to redo it.. so i'll live with it... this is a daily driver not a show car!
Start cutting ALONG or INSIDE the seams, to make sure that you do not cut into your paint or any rubber seals.
Don't let this happen.
Be sure and cut out the air vent thing on the back of the pillar.
Finished result!!!! Check that out.... compare it to the FADED door handle and NSX triangle part.
NOW IT IS TIME FOR THE DOOR HANDLE
Wedge open the door handle with one side of a clothes pin.
Wrap it up.
Use something very thin and strong to press the vinyl into the crack (or just take off the door handle in the first place.. it'll come out way better)
Time to move onto the door handle triangle part.
Begin by cutting a square out for it, and then tracing the back to cut it (the less vinyl you have, the easier it is to wrap)
Cut the piece to your template.
Start cuttin'.
Done
Well that's it. Sit back and give yourself a pat on the back. The only way you can tell the parts are different is if you try and use the black vinyl as a mirror to do your hair... cause the berlina black finish... you can do just that!
Take a few steps back.. and you cant even tell. day or night. It's great! If you want to do the top part of the roof.... it shouldn't be that difficult. Get a friend to help you.
Things to consider:
Have more people with you. Having an extra person to help stretch and press/hold the vinyl would help tremendously. It wasn't so bad for me alone, but if you were to do the roof, you'd want 1 or 2 other people.
Take off the door handles and wrap them properly. The corners of my door handles hit the vinyl because it bunches up on the corners cause I used the butter knife. When I do the passenger side, I might take them off.. depending on how lazy I am. =]
Well, there you have it. Tomorrow I'll have some REAL pictures as my girlfriend is coming over to help me with the passenger side. She's bringing her camera.
This turned out to be easier than I expected.... maybe it's time for a whole color change ;D
Enjoy!
PS.
Some A pillar paint chip faux removal on a budget.
Chips on the upper part of the end of the A pillar on the edge.
After some Sharpie touch up =D
Again, you can only tell if you know what to look for.
First of all, nobody ever taught me the benefits of wax or other things to properly "protect" paint. My b-pillars and roof were in great condition when I got my NSX over 2 years ago, but over the 2 years, they have faded and became EXTREMELY ugly. I painted my top white cause I liked the look and to fix the ugly fade. But I've been running around with faded b-pillars and door handles for over a year....
Here are the b-pillars in crappy blackberry phone pictures. (GF's dog pee'd on my camera and it stopped working)
You can't really see it... but let's just say it's bad and ugly.
So first of all, buy yourself some vinyl. I got mine from stickercity.com. The gloss black matches the berlina black perfectly.They also give you free tools (squeegee, razor knife, and air bubble poker).
Clean the area with windex and alcohol.
Measure and cut vinyl.
Brush all dush off again right before you apply (or it will get stuck under the sticker)
Apply the vinyl CAREFULLY.
Work out all the airbubbles with your thumb and the squeegee. If you have stubborn ones, use the needle that is sent with you to poke a hole, then use your thumb to take out the bubble.
Use a blow dryer or heatgun to heat the vinyl to stretch inside this convex part. It's amazing how much this stuff stretches.
Use your squeegee to press it down all the way on the edges.
I missed a spec of sand or something... so there is a bump towards the bottom middle. I dont want to redo it.. so i'll live with it... this is a daily driver not a show car!
Start cutting ALONG or INSIDE the seams, to make sure that you do not cut into your paint or any rubber seals.
Don't let this happen.
Be sure and cut out the air vent thing on the back of the pillar.
Finished result!!!! Check that out.... compare it to the FADED door handle and NSX triangle part.
NOW IT IS TIME FOR THE DOOR HANDLE
Wedge open the door handle with one side of a clothes pin.
Wrap it up.
Use something very thin and strong to press the vinyl into the crack (or just take off the door handle in the first place.. it'll come out way better)
Time to move onto the door handle triangle part.
Begin by cutting a square out for it, and then tracing the back to cut it (the less vinyl you have, the easier it is to wrap)
Cut the piece to your template.
Start cuttin'.
Done
Well that's it. Sit back and give yourself a pat on the back. The only way you can tell the parts are different is if you try and use the black vinyl as a mirror to do your hair... cause the berlina black finish... you can do just that!
Take a few steps back.. and you cant even tell. day or night. It's great! If you want to do the top part of the roof.... it shouldn't be that difficult. Get a friend to help you.
Things to consider:
Have more people with you. Having an extra person to help stretch and press/hold the vinyl would help tremendously. It wasn't so bad for me alone, but if you were to do the roof, you'd want 1 or 2 other people.
Take off the door handles and wrap them properly. The corners of my door handles hit the vinyl because it bunches up on the corners cause I used the butter knife. When I do the passenger side, I might take them off.. depending on how lazy I am. =]
Well, there you have it. Tomorrow I'll have some REAL pictures as my girlfriend is coming over to help me with the passenger side. She's bringing her camera.
This turned out to be easier than I expected.... maybe it's time for a whole color change ;D
Enjoy!
PS.
Some A pillar paint chip faux removal on a budget.
Chips on the upper part of the end of the A pillar on the edge.
After some Sharpie touch up =D
Again, you can only tell if you know what to look for.
