Car Wrap Material?

[cr.designs]

I've done a lot of standard wraps with full color on 3M control tac. I've seen alot of cars lately where it looks more like a paint job than printed vinyl. Usually its partial wrap with flames or something that kinda blend into the paint of the car. Are people using clear vinyl to create this effect? If I can find a pic I'll post it but don't have one now.

 

[MikePro]

sure its a wrap? or airbrushing?
i'm sure you can wrap elements with printed clear, i'm not trying to anytime soon tho'.

 

[HulkSmash]

I've done a lot of standard wraps with full color on 3M control tac. I've seen alot of cars lately where it looks more like a paint job than printed vinyl. Usually its partial wrap with flames or something that kinda blend into the paint of the car. Are people using clear vinyl to create this effect? If I can find a pic I'll post it but don't have one now.

http://www.flxpaint.com/

This is what your seeing. You can get it from them or fellers, but it's super expensive.

 

[MikePro]

FLXpaint? what kind of material is that? are they just spraying controltac with flexible automotive paint?

 

[phototec]

FLXpaint? what kind of material is that? are they just spraying controltac with flexible automotive paint?

Yep, I stopped by their booth at a trade show, and basically that's what it is, of course they claim their process is better than you could do yourself.

I was thinking, I could take some vinyl to a body shop, pick a color and have them spray the vinyl with a real neat metal-flake auto paint, then roll it up after it dries and use the plotter/cutter to cut the design.

 

[signswi]

They also clearcoat it. Nice product, thanks for the heads up.

 

[J Hill Designs]

they probably add a flex additive to the paint...matthews makes one - http://www.ppg.com/coatings/matthewspaint/products/Documents/MPC157.pdf

 

[grafixemporium]

We installed some racing stripes for a customer recently that were ordered from the dealership. They looked like metal flake paint on vinyl... but it wasn't nearly as flexible as controltac. Does this stuff really flex well? If so, looks cool! Might have to give it a try.

 

[housemusikid]

It could also be a seamless wrap.

 

[Mosh]

PITA! send them to a body shop!!!

 

[AUTO-FX]

all major automotive paint mfgs have a flex additive available for painting plastic bumpers. it provides flexibility, but it actually decreases over a long period of time. What bothers me about the idea is what was mentioned above - i find it hard to believe that the paint coating would be nearly as flexible as the film itself. Also, I would think it must to lead to a shorter lifespan for the wrap than just traditional printed vinyl.If it's been printed, than it needs to be laminated. Seasonal temperature variations and such would cause expansion and contraction at different rates, right? Maybe I'm completely off base here, but it just seems risky to me when you need to warranty the install on what would have to be an expensive wrap.