Tomrdy's Nardo grey 3.0i (Thank you and farewell!)

T

tomrdy

Member
Current pic of the car:

dVU17Kh.jpg


7gnbC9a.jpg


Page 3: Nardo Wrap complete
Page 5: Dashcam hardwire, Black dipped mirrors
Page 6: Vanos seals service, Blox Spacers, Soft top replacement, M Perf knob rep
Page 7: Supersprint Powerloop, Customising Perf knob rep, clutch stop, switching fogs, finishing Bluetooth Dongle set up
___

Hey guys,

Some of you may know that I had issues with my clear coat peeling on my boot. I ended up deciding to get it professionally repainted but while I was getting quotes, I said "f it. Might as well give wrapping a go if I'm going to have it resprayed!".

For context, I've wrapped stuff before like interior trim but never an entire car... and let me tell you, it is pretty F***NG hard. I've got a lot of respect for the pros you see on Youtube that make it look like a breeze - and if I'm honest, I always thought a few thousand $$$ for a wrap was excessive... but not anymore. This is labour and detail intensive work.

First panel took me 4 hours to do - just because I faffed around with trying to "glass" the film too much. Turns out, I was trying too hard. So the same panel on the other side took me only 1.5 hrs and looked a tonne better. The last panel I did (left rear) only took me 35 minutes to lay so I'm getting better :rofl: ! Unfortunately my garage isn't the cleanest even though I gave it a once over and I'm getting specks of dust sometimes. Oh well!

I'm only day 3 atm (first day was clean + disassmble) and my finger tips are raw from pressing/pulling - even with gloves!

Anyways, I'm hoping to be done by Friday. Haven't decided if the door hands need to come off (tbh I'm feeling a bit lazy at this point) but I'll throw a test piece on and see if the grey-on-grey gap tucks in OK.

Will update this thread with my progress :)

Pics so far:

UeA3zR7.jpg


q8TJGx2.jpg


IP52u7k.jpg


ZlZtsS8.jpg


9D6mO60.jpg


cOJUOoq.jpg


rzqOw84.jpg


lnIFirQ.jpg


NRGtzB8.jpg
 
Looking good and if you maintain that standard the car should look like new when finished.
Professionals do this day in day out and know how the characteristics of the wrapping materials, your on the learning curve but obviously doing a good job.
 
Hats off to you OP for having a go as it looks very difficult to achieve a good result. Not sure about the colour but I think it will look better when fully done and also better in reality rather than through a camera lense.
 
Thanks for the encouragement guys :)

Didn't do any new panels today just some small bits.

Also tried waxing the vinyl - it actually takes it on very well!

ier2PTh.jpg


Zoomer said:
Hats off to you OP for having a go as it looks very difficult to achieve a good result. Not sure about the colour but I think it will look better when fully done and also better in reality rather than through a camera lense.
Click to expand...

I'm actually also a bit unsure about the colour if I'm honest but it seems to look wildly different depending on the lighting and surroundings. I guess because it's essentially a 50% grey which is super neutral.

This was the PS impression I did before locking in my choice - I don't have any black vinyl for the window frame though. Hoping it turns out something like this (I'm also adding some EZ lips on the front and back... don't know how those will turn out lol).

gMLoKn3.jpg
 
I think the black on the bottom of front bumper makes it look a bit high , but top job for having a go looks a job well done
 
markplant said:
I think the black on the bottom of front bumper makes it look a bit high , but top job for having a go looks a job well done
Click to expand...

Thanks :) I've had the bottom black for a while now but I've had a similar thought as you. I'm unsure whether I should remove (its dip) the black if I'm adding the lip on the bottom.

Car prior to wrapping:

dhlOqQd.jpg


I guess I'll see how I feel on the day!
 
Looks great! Always wanted to give wrapping ago all be it on one of my much older simpler cars. What sort of prep did you do to the paintwork? I take it you had to get it resprayed first and any stone chips ect dealt with?
 
CrazyBaptie said:
Looks great! Always wanted to give wrapping ago all be it on one of my much older simpler cars. What sort of prep did you do to the paintwork? I take it you had to get it resprayed first and any stone chips ect dealt with?
Click to expand...

I didn't respray any of the panels (or the boot) because besides the peeling clear on the corner, the rest is still totally fine. So all I did was sand down the clear and misted over it with some touch up (should probably use primer but it's what I had on hand) and levelled it out :rofl:

one caveat though if you are thinking of wrapping your older cars is check all the seams. My left rear quarter was repaired (poorly) after an accident and I actually have some paint lifting in one of the edges. Something like that may fail when the time comes to remove the vinyl so extra caution needed. I decided to still do it because I figure that's future-tom's problem :evil:

Stone chips I've left as they aren't too bad on my car surprisingly though I've got a few nasty ones on the bonnet that I've just filled in a bit with paint and gave it a rub down.

Depends really how perfect you want to get it I suppose!

Other than that I've just washed the car and then with each panel right before laying vinyl:

- wipe down with APC
- clay bar
- wipe down again with APC
- wax and grease remover
 
UPDATE:

Took the door card off to access the door handle. I realised at the end that the wing mirror is legit just held in with 3 torx screws - so that would've made the wrap more perfect :headbang: Passenger side will be sweet though haha!

Side note: What's up with the window weather strip on the door? It's like half rubber half metal bendy. I didn't realise it was going to be malleable and ended up making it a bit warpy :(... again... Passenger side will be sweet though lol.

Did have a setback though today. My first attempt at the door took 2.5-3 hours and just as I finsihed and got to cutting, I messed up a cut and had to start from scratch :headbang: However... when I laid it a second time, I tried a different approach and did it in 15 minutes and didn't even need to use the heat gun.... so I guess I was doing it bloody wrong the first time!

TIP: Lay the doors downwards not across! :thumbsup:

J6BWYHs.jpg


bUPklW1.jpg


IZCR9XS.jpg


Especially happy with the door seam - got it pretty much perfectly matched with the folded metal bit!

QIX1bxX.jpg


Don't think I will finish on Friday though as I think my body needs a break. I still can't believe how tiring this is!
 
tomrdy said:
CrazyBaptie said:
Looks great! Always wanted to give wrapping ago all be it on one of my much older simpler cars. What sort of prep did you do to the paintwork? I take it you had to get it resprayed first and any stone chips ect dealt with?
Click to expand...
I didn't respray any of the panels (or the boot) because besides the peeling clear on the corner, the rest is still totally fine. So all I did was sand down the clear and misted over it with some touch up (should probably use primer but it's what I had on hand) and levelled it out :rofl:

one caveat though if you are thinking of wrapping your older cars is check all the seams. My left rear quarter was repaired (poorly) after an accident and I actually have some paint lifting in one of the edges. Something like that may fail when the time comes to remove the vinyl so extra caution needed. I decided to still do it because I figure that's future-tom's problem :evil:

Stone chips I've left as they aren't too bad on my car surprisingly though I've got a few nasty ones on the bonnet that I've just filled in a bit with paint and gave it a rub down.

Depends really how perfect you want to get it I suppose!

Other than that I've just washed the car and then with each panel right before laying vinyl:

- wipe down with APC
- clay bar
- wipe down again with APC
- wax and grease remover
Click to expand...

See that was my outlook as long as it is smooth underneath the wrap should apply well - have you had any issue with blemishes or stone chips showing through?

Also what brand of wrap are you using?
 
CrazyBaptie said:
See that was my outlook as long as it is smooth underneath the wrap should apply well - have you had any issue with blemishes or stone chips showing through?

Also what brand of wrap are you using?
Click to expand...

Stuff like stone chips will show through but obviously less noticeable as the colour is uniform (if your chip has taken off all the paint). Issues with paint colour and stuff don't show so I imagine if you had just a repaired/primered panel, you could just straight up wrap it.

That said I haven't wrapped anything with a big one in it or major scratches. The bonnet and front bar will be interesting for that!

Re:brand, I ended up getting some stuff off AliExpress "Carbins".

It seems pretty good in my limited experience with wrap and my only point of reference was some 3M carbon that I used in the past. The results speak for themselves I guess!

Was less than half the price of Vivvid (which I was originally going to get) so I figured since it was my first go, get something cheaper to learn - and if it's hard to work with, itll force me to learn more? Shrug.
 
Took a breather today and just wrapped some small bits (panel work is the tiring stuff).

Driver side door is now all done and buttoned back up! :D

I wasn't going to cut the rectangle out for the key but figured it would be quite annoying if I was out and about and the remote stopped working for whatever reason and I had no blade.

J999SLt.jpg


C5hIPb8.jpg


2ujdfcS.jpg


I'm growing more and more nervous each day that I'll hate the colour the moment I roll the car out onto the driveway :cry:
 
tomrdy said:
I'm growing more and more nervous each day that I'll hate the colour the moment I roll the car out onto the driveway :cry:
Click to expand...

Well with all the skills you've learned it will be easier when you wrap it a second time :D
Looking good btw :thumbsup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom