Vinyl wrap

That's what I was looking for, thanks for the helpful info. Paint matching my fiberglass would be as much as a wrap for the whole truck so I'll have to figure something out

 

For someone unexperienced, itll be a whole lot of error, so just factor that into your cost. Its not impossible to do it yourself, but don't be upset if you end up having to buy double the supplies, or end up having to pay someone to do it professionally. Its not as easy as it looks, thats for sure.

 

I wrapped a motorcycle, a tacoma would be hella easier. Call me the odd-man-out, but, I say do it yourself. You would need 5x50ft at min, just spend the 650 on a 75ft roll, buy some decent supplies and a heat gun, find lots of patience and a garage

 

Nothing a couple buddies couldnt do on summer break. How sensitive is vinyl to rough fiberglass? Should I smooth it out beforehand?

 

You should 100% smooth it out. How gritty are we talking about? Swirled paint or like it was hit with sandpaper?

 

Hit with 220 grit

 

Dont do it! 100% uno-reverso

 

I bought the glass cracked for a super good deal so some spots are rough after repair

 

I'll bite, just incase you are about to actually do this...

My company installs signage. But we also do vinyl for customers trucks..

Vinyl, all of it, cheap or expensive is multiple layers. It actually has a small layer of microscopic glass in it. Go look up the product specs from 3M. So when you apply it you are constantly heating and adjusting everything before you "smash" the glass layer to your truck. The good stuff has air channels to help with bubbling, but unless you actually have experience, your corners and edges will fail... pay a premium for this. Don't get a shitty job done. Definitely don't try to do it yourself. We take off all the trim and control the temperaturein the shop for this... its actually hard to do.



In three years you will be posting, how do I remove vinyl from my truck. There are littereally thousands of materials some are easily removed. Some you are fucked.


I've done a ton of work to my old g2 to keep "clutch " mint. I've rebuild her clutch, cvs, suspension, her gorgeous 4.0 just keeps never needing ingredients.....

I would never ever, subject her to vinyl. But if I did. I would NOT do it myself.

 

Dude. Let me give you an analogy...
I was watering my two acre vegetables this evening.
A random guy pulled into the dirt drive.
He asked me if I would prepare two acres of soil for him to plant about 10 miles away.
I told him... It would be a minimum of $3k to haul my tractor and implements down there, spend around eight hours and will need to do it 3X minimum times a year. I told him to buy a tractor and learn.
For you? Spend the $$$$ and get it wrapped for once and done. You will suck and it won't look good. Skilled labor takes practice.

 

Paint is permanent. Vinyl is a bandaid.
Paint the glass rather than redoing the whole truck in vinyl every couple years

 

I would not do the truck myself personally especially if you dont have experience doing anything that big. I would ask a professional. Its a big project to do

 

That's probably enough material, but that's assuming you don't mess up. Vinyl wrapping is truly a skill that takes time to master.

Not saying it's impossible, but you're about to undertake a very large and complicated job, especially if you want it to look good.

I would buy a small amount of vinyl and practice. You'll know pretty quickly after that if the juice is worth the squeeze.

 

Wrap needs the same prep as paint work. EVERYTHING will show. Bumps, dents, scratches, etc.

Consider something like www.monstaliner.com instead. Prep is needed, but less. More durable off road, lots of color choices so you can get really close to matching your jambs and such.

 

This.

If you're truly serious about giving it a shot, buy a super small amount of the material you had in mind, and attempt to do something small, like your mirrors or bumper caps. If you find success, try the tailgate. If it works out, go for the whole truck. Just remember that if you want it done correctly, you're gonna have to remove some parts to do it right; otherwise, it won't last. Its really not as simple as you think. Its not just a sticker. This requires true auto body experience, removing door handles, antenna, bumpers, etc.

 

I'll definitely give this a shot, I'll start with my mirrors and see how that goes. Thanks for the ideas/information everyone

 

Make sure to report back here, even if it fails miserably. Others need to be able to see for themselves whats involved with trying to vinyl an entire vehicle, and tons of people talk about doing it, but never do.

 

Hey! Following up to see if you ever wrapped the truck and see how it turned out. I plan on having my truck wrapped in a couple months.

 

I never ended up wrapping my truck. Eventually I will but I got carried away with other parts, long travel etc. Next summer is a possibility lol