My vinyl wrapped 318is almost done!

[jtuner]

So I know there's been a ton of talk and questions about vinyl wrapping an e30.. I decided to take on this task this past year, and piece by piece I'm just about finished! I figured I was really close so I'd upload some pics to show you guys what this looks like, and I'll have some final product pics up as soon as shes done :)

Now, the vinyl is 3M 1080 matte silver.. I expected it to be a lot lighter, but I actually have fallen in love with it.. It does tend to look like very well done primer when its not in the sunlight, but when the sun is on it, it has an awesome shine!

I still have the lower rear valence, roof, iS rear spoiler, and mirrors to do, but this is a good idea of what it will look like.. The front lip is a volvo lip, and I need opinions if I should keep it black(would wrap in dinoc) or wrap it matte silver as well.. Its not attached yet, I just put it on the car to see what it looks like,, I still have trimming and mounting to do with it..

Comments, questions, concerns are welcomed! I'm not a professional vinyl wrapper, I'm just an engineering student, and when a deer hit my driver side door, I had to replace it, and wanted the car to be the same color, so I seeked out an inexpensive paint job.. I could do this myself (I have no idea how to paint) and it was relatively simple.. Not for the faint of heart, and take a lot of time(approx 2 hours+ per panel), and patience.. Prep wasn't too bad, I just used a simple paint prep, not the 3m primer stuff.. I did small bondo work on one fender, and sanded down some lumpy spots. Let me know what you think!

Overall cost is approx $500 for vinyl and prep materials





And I haven't washed it yet, so she's pretty dirty lol These pics are after I finished the front bumper.. Everything else was done anywhere from 1-6 months before.. More pics to come as I progress!!

[ELVA164]

Looks like a nice clean finish, nice work! The color almost looks like a muted cirrusblau in the last pic.

[ELVA164]

Also, uh...is something leaking out of the motor there, or is that just unfortunate placement?

[kalib0y]

looks good so far. Cant wait to see the end result

[jaywood]

What vinyl are you using?

[Dawnbringer]

Looks great! I am thinking about doing the same thing with my car but I'll go with Oracal Dark Red matte instead (my car is red).

I was worried that it would not stick well to the front/rear valance but I see that yours fit perfectly! I would leave the lip black, but that's just my opinion.

2 hours per panel? Are you doing everything by yourself? I think an extra set of hands would help a lot.

[jtuner]

Sorry it took me so long to reply guys,, the wrap I'm using is the 3M 1080 scotchprint,, I've been doing it by myself with exception of my fiancee helping me lay the quarterpanels.. Thanks for the comments, I think its coming together great! I have recently done the lower rear valence, but I did it in the cold (~45 degrees) and I am having issues of it sticking near the bottom, especially where I had some damage that I didn't repair(I think water is seeping in...) However, I have a zender rear valence I'll be wrapping and putting on soon enough, so I'm not worried...

And yes, I'm leaking a little bit every day,, that's a good week of leak there LOL I replaced the plastic piece that should be replaced when you're in there cleaning up the mess under the intake, and go figure, the new piece I put in is leaking (original wasn't) >:(

@ Dawnbringer, if you need any tips or anything let me know.. biggest thing is take your time, and make sure to keep everything warm.. if you try to stretch cold vinyl it rips, ask me how I know lol also its very fixable if it folds over on itself or creases, just heat it up! Don't be quick to throw it away :)

[bubbajan21]

I've been very seriously considering doing this but I'm just not 100% sure of panel breaks / seams. The front end is very straight forward, all of the seams are at the panel gaps (I.e. fenders, hood, valance, doors, etc.) but I'm not so sure about the back end. Where are you putting your seams for where the rear quarters tie into the roof and into the back end (liscene plate / tail light area)? How about where the a-pillars tie into the roof?

Thanks! Car is looking great so far!!

[z6ne]

what wheels are those?

[jtuner]

@bubba - As far as seams, I'm going to be doing the roof in Dinoc to match the hood.. kinda.. so in my case, I'll have a defined line where the dinoc starts and where the matte silver ends.. If you do the seams correctly, its relatively difficult to see unless you're up close (I'm not very good at it, but I've seen them done nicely).. same goes for the C pillars to the roof... The rear, I used the factory weld lines really and used that line all the way up (there's a weld line on the lower valence and right under the tail lights on each side).. I would suggest doing the lower valence in 3 pieces as opposed to one, OR make sure you DON'T use just a straight piece (I would imagine a U shaped section would work best,, didn't think of that before I did mine lol) So now I'm dealing with my lower valence peeling off, since as you are aware I'm sure there's a lot of junk that gets thrown on it, so anywhere there was a wrinkle on the bottom seam, water got in and this caused the vinyl to lose sticky.. I think I'm gonna leave mine until I pick up my zender rear valence from my buddy in maryland.. I'll try and post some pics of my tail light and license plate area.. I recommend taking out your truck lock assembly and tail lights,, I tried to do the license area without taking out the lock assembly and it was messy..... But I'll still post some pics when I can...

@z6ne - They are Flik wheels.. honda boy rims really, but they were free.. I've now bent two of them on a pothole, so I'm currently about to buy some GS basketweaves, or 15" bbs rs replicas.. hopefully soon, because they're both leaking air >:(