Tips for Vinyl Wrapping your 2nd Gen Rear Bumper *With Pics*

Let me start off by saying what drove me to do this mod in the first place. I have a 2012 DCLB SR5 that came with an OEM chrome rear bumper. I explored all the options to get my trucks rear bumper color matched & they all seemed expensive. I did some research and came across vinyl wrapping. I explored some "how to" youtube videos and took the plunge. The vinyl I went with was 3M gloss black 1080. I purchased a 2ft x 5ft roll on ebay for roughly $35 shipped.

Shout out to @EatSleepTacos for recommending the write up!

1) I started the process by removing the rear bumper.
This took about 30 min since I was working by myself.

2) Next was the prep. I washed the chrome bumper with blue dawn and let it sun dry. Any areas with heavy mud or road grime were scrubbed with a brush.


3) Next was getting ready for the installation. I had windex, blue masking tape, a fresh razor blade, a heat gun(in my case it was my wife's blow dryer and something that acts as a squeegee. *Tip have a felt tip squeegee ready for you to use. I used a silicon squeegee and it left some minor scratches when using. *Tip have multiple razor blades and be ready to switch often, you always want a sharp edge to cut.

4) Next its time to start putting vinyl to chrome. I did mine in 2 pieces with the joint being hidden behind the license plate. *Tip cut excess in length and width to allow you to wrap around the edges. *Tip use the heat gun in the curves. Heat vinyl evenly over a large surface area and allow the heat to dictate the direction of the vinyl.


5) Next work from the inside outward making sure to get all the air bubbles you can out. *Tip always squeegee towards an edge to allow for air release. *Tip take your time, know that the results will be worth the time an effort.
(Picture below shows 1 side down)


6) Next you get to repeat the same procedure all over again! How fun I know lol *Tip this may be the time you tell yourself "its not that bad I can do my whole truck!" DO NOT get careless. You are working with limited material and you cant afford a mistake. *Tip if you have not switched blades, do so now.

7) Next step is equally as important as the rest. We are in the home stretch and want the edges to be clean, tuck the corners well, wrap the edges around the bumper & finally put an X in all the holes that will be needed to reinstall the top plastics, license plate & center plastic trim.

8) Reinstall the newly wrapped bumper. Take your time and avoid bumping the bumper against the truck as it could damage the truck and possibly the wrap. *Tip call a buddy, call the wife or call a neighbor to help with the reinstallation. I was a 1 man show and took me twice as long to put back on. *Tip if you are having trouble aligning the bumper bracket with the frame bracket, dont be afraid to gently massage the frame bracket outward. It will get squeezed back together with the bolts.

9) Final step. Step back, admire your work, take pictures & post on Tacomaworld!

Pictures of the final product. No more chrome!

 

Well done buddy! Looks dope

 

Great write up and awesome job! Looks stellar man!!

 

Very nice man. I went ahead and just bought a black bumper. And now I'm thinking of going back to my chrome one. It's never ending.

But your option was definitely cheaper.

 

Great write up man! I'm definitely going to be doing this. Seems like a great option opposed to paint and I love that it's in two pieces.

One tip I can add is that if you don't have a felt tipped squeegee handy, a regular squeegee or even a credit card wrapped in a microfiber cloth will work. I learned this while watching videos on wrapping the roof of my Subaru.

 

I looked for a used bumper and could not find anything cheaper than $250 and it was damaged. The local drop off and spray wanted $300 for a color match(this was a long shot as paint over chrome is a really hit or miss. A local wrapping company wanted $175 and were going to use "house brand" vinyl. Finally plasti dip was a cheap option but would only leave a matte black finish. This was by far the best option for me.

 

Nice job, but a couple recommendations.

1. Use a 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and distilled water to clean instead of blue dawn. It wont leave any soap residue that would cause the vinyl to lift.

2. 3M also recommends using primer 94 on all edges and recessed areas to avoid the vinyl lifting (black is especially susceptible to this due to heat from the sun)

3. You'll also want to "set" the vinyl in the valleys and edges by hitting it with a heat gun (not a hair dryer or torch) and using an IR thermometer until it hits 180°F

I am a 3M installer with over 15 years experience and I own my own shop.

 

Great info brother! It can only make the others that try this mod be more successful.

 

This just gave me the idea to wrap the chrome surround on the grille. I'm sure it's doable with heat and some patience. Going to pick up some of this in white and give it a shot soon.

 

Pictures please!

 

Nice

 

My whole truck is wrapped, but here is the grill. We didn't need to do any inlays, but I recommend pre-streching the film and then heating it back up to relax it prior to sticking it down on the sharp bends. Make sure to heat the area afterwards prior to trimming the edges - film tends to shrink a bit the first few days in the sun. Heating after installation will help prevent this

 

Looks fantastic.

I'd like to eventually get rid of all of the chrome on the exterior of my truck. That and some (gasp!) Plasti-dip for the badges and such might be the ticket.

 

Just ordered some vinyl to do my bumper! Only ordered a 5'x2' per your recommendation, so I'll do the grill a different time.

 

Nice work OP. Is this the first item you have wrapped?

Can you let me know what wrap you bought and how large a sheet you bought.
Thx

 

It says in post one. 5'x2' roll of 3M 1080 Vinyl. I just ordered the same exact thing (in white) and it cost me $21 shipped.

 

Ha, thanks man!

Have you wrapped anything before, this would be my first go around.

 

Not really! I've done a couple smaller things, but nothing this large. Worst thing I've done was a tint overlay on my mirror blinkers. That was a PITA.

I think this I'll be much easier if you take your time and do it in two halves like OP did.

 

This makes me want to do my hood myself.

 

You doing the whole hood?