Vinyl wraps?

[CaddyKaren]

As I was wandering the net looking a for a new caddy the other day when I spotted one with the most amazing white/black/grey angular camo colours on it. Sadly it was panel van body which I didn't want, but got me looking on the internet to see if it was a thing that was affordable (mainly because I don't like silver/grey and yet the ones I keep finding available are silver/grey!). Sooo - have any of you got yours wrapped, as I'd love to see what's possible! Thanks

[Cadyuh]

I considered wrapping the bonnet of my Caddy Maxi Life to help guard against stone chipping - I was quoted £650 by a company in North Wales and i took it no further because i thought that was a lot of money for effectively one panel of transparent wrap, which i was told would take 90 mins. I've heard that they can cost £2.5k for a full vehicle wrap, but i am no expert, and the art work and modelling can all increase the price.

I'd just say shop around really and do your research - ask them where you stand if it goes wrong; the company i mention above tried to get someone i know who had their LWB Transporter fully wrapped, to sign a non disclosure agreement when they messed up some fixes on his wrap that started to bubble in the summer heat - they asked him stay off social media - in the end he got them to take their wrap off his van and got a full refund - they damaged his stock paint work when they took the wrap off just to make matters worse.

By no means a typical experience i would say, but definitely go with a company who have a track record and don't try and hard sell, who are willing to talk etc. Hope this helps in some way.

[naylar]

We used this chap - https://www.facebook.com/vinylimagewraps

Top work, it was £1500-ish for our Jimny a couple of years ago. That was a plain colour so no graphics to do.

[Scoobysrt]

A pretty reasonable job is around £2500 for full vehicle wrap, the cheaper you go the lessor the quality of course.
The difference between the decent ones and the back street in and outs are a good one will remove bumpers etc and do them separately, they will prep the vehicle properly first and they will spend time getting the wrap everywhere.
A cheapo job will slap wrapping on and cut it on your vehicle with a blade damaging the paint underneath, leave wrinkles and have puckered up corners on everything.

You can really tell the difference between a decent job and a rushed one.

[Carolthecaddy]

Also on this topic the wrapping has a fairly short shelf life and will need redoing so for me personally I’ve opted out I don’t think it’s a great investment.

[Topaz]

Dito was looking at wrapping bonnet. finally went for a diy spray job with peel off wrap paint

[CaddyKaren]

Thanks Everyone, that balance of replies pretty much reflect the pros and cons I've been feeling about it; will have a proper think when I find my new Caddy. Thanks to you all for your info and advice, and thanks for that recommendation too @naylar, recommendations are so helpful :-)

[stewrat]

Although it wasn't a full wrap by any means I had quite a bit if vinyl - broad and complex stripes etc - etc on my previous Transporter from almost new, and when I removed it discovered that previously unknown rust spots had formed underneath it and chunks of paint lifted off with the vinyl.

Worst culprits seemed to be leading edges where presumably water and grit had been forced in - don't know if ensuring vinyl extends round panel edges is enough to deal with that or not, but I haven't been brave enough to try on the Caddylac (yet, anyway).

[AlwynMike]

I can thoroughly recommend PW Pro in Mansfield.
I had a roof wrap on an estate car, and went there on reviews and recommendations on a wrapping forum.
They dropped the roof lining to release the roof rails and trim to get a non-cut edge. All paintwork to be wrapped was clay barred. The car had a shark fin Bluetooth and DAB antenna. They removed that so it could be wrapped underneath - no edges visible. The antenna was bonded on, so they re-bonded it properly. The shark fin itself took one guy a good half hour to get right, with its curves and creases. The car had a tailgate spoiler with compound curves and a narrow edge. They demonstrated that the narrow edge had to be done first before the large area so the narrow bit was relatively unstressed so less likely to come unstuck. After they had done the spoiler, they pointed out a dust speck underneath the wrap....I couldn't see it...but they ripped it off and did it again. The job took 3 men all morning (I waited and was in the workshop chatting to them) for nearly £300. The gloss black was still gloss black when I sold the car 3 years later.

[Cadyuh]

Thanks for sharing this, good to know there are those out there who do the job properly. Was also useful to see other posts above about bumper removal etc, i have watched some vids on youtube where they are cutting into the gaps in the panels etc with blades and plastic shims as pushers, and i just thought this isn't thorough enough as water literally has the last laugh under pressure, it gets everywhere and under the unfinished edges