small carbon fiber wrap/apply jobs

[megacab]

been doing a ton of jobs using that carbon fiber vinyl. it has led to a bunch of leads for local car clubs and such. i already have 2 dodge interiors, 2 BMW interiors and a cobalt hood, roof, and trunk lined up for next week. this is waaaaaaaayyyyyyy more fun than cutting stickers all day here's some work with this stuff recently. the first few pics are pieces in a legend car. next is stripes on a dodge nitro. then some random interior shots from a toyota tacoma and a cobalt ss. this part of the biz is addicting. i love to transform stuff. it's far from some of the really cool stuff i have seen on here, but i am proud of it. and the customers are amazed at how just a little bit of this really sets things off in a car.

 

[elsignshop]

looks good, i like the way carbon fiber looks, looks like reall carbon fiber but just at a cheaper price, what type brand of vinyl are you using, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[megacab]

looks good, i like the way carbon fiber looks, looks like reall carbon fiber but just at a cheaper price, what type brand of vinyl are you using, if you don't mind me asking.

thanks for the props. i am currently using oracal 975. however i am trying out all of the different brands, including the cheapy chinese crap, that i can get my hands on. some of the cheap stuff has been a pleasure to work with, much to my surprise. i am just kinda waiting to see how it holds up on my sample board i have outside in the weather. right now there are 7 different brands out in the weather all day everyday. we'll see in a month if there is a noticeable difference or not.

 

[mrfern]

Is the vinyl laminated. HEXIS offers one that is laminated but have not tried it yet.

 

[megacab]

no, it is not laminated.

 

[sghobbies]

DI-NOC or the new 1080?

 

[john1]

Looking good, I did a cobalt interior using the 975 oracal carbon, works really good.

How are you figuring pricing for jobs like these? Problem is you can buy it by the yard from Fellers or the roll. Obviously the roll is way too much (for me anyway) to buy not knowing your going to sell all of it. I have people all the time wanting little stuff done but it's not cost effective for me to spend $100ish on a yard (with shipping) for a small job or order it every time i turn around so i'm not really pushing it like i'd want to.

 

[megacab]

DI-NOC or the new 1080?

i have not tried the 1080. only the Di-noc.

 

[megacab]

Looking good, I did a cobalt interior using the 975 oracal carbon, works really good.

How are you figuring pricing for jobs like these? Problem is you can buy it by the yard from Fellers or the roll. Obviously the roll is way too much (for me anyway) to buy not knowing your going to sell all of it. I have people all the time wanting little stuff done but it's not cost effective for me to spend $100ish on a yard (with shipping) for a small job or order it every time i turn around so i'm not really pushing it like i'd want to.

pricing this has been a bear at best. for me, it's been depending on what the job entails. interiors have been a shoot from the hip, i know not good business practice, kinda thing. stripes, i just figure like i would any other job based on the amount material to be used and the usual fee for time involved. wraps like hoods you gotta be a little more flexible. you can buy a real carbon fiber hood for a lot less than just a year ago. so i tend to research what a real carbon fiber piece would cost and discount accordingly. i have turned away a couple of jobs just based on what you can buy a real CF honda civic hood for. the job woulda been not worth doing.

i broke down and bought 10 yards of the 975. i couldn't see buying what i needed here and there either. just not gonna be cost effective to do it that way. the 10 yards all at once was pricey for what you get, but paid off by a large amount in the end.

 

[sghobbies]

We've used a good bit of dinoc, but just recently got samples from 3M of the 1080. Comes in matte black, matte white, matte silver, matte green, black carbon fiber, and silver carbon fiber. Cool looking stuff.

 

[SurfaceSigns]

We go through between 20 and 30 yards a week of the Di-Noc. I just love the stuff - great margins! We do mostly phone skin kits, but have thought of getting into the car side of things recently as well.

Just curious, do you prefer the Oracal over the 3M Di-Noc? Personally, I like the Di-Noc much better, and the cost is about a 3rd of the Oracal 975. Keep meaning to try out the Hexis stuff, but just haven't gotten around to placing an order.

Another material we have been working with is Belbien. Their Black Leather and Metallic Wood Grains are killers. It's not quite the quality of 3M, but it does the job.

Anyways, nice work!

 

[theiss2200]

I was just wondering on the interior work do you cut it on a machine with templates? if so where do you get the template? I have measured it out and done it like that but templates are always a lot easier.

 

[tomence]

Just did a Kawasaki ZX-14 with 3M 1080. I think i like the 1080 better than DI-NOC

 

[kstompaint]

2011 Camaro convertible parts I did last week with "anthracite" 1080.. I really like the stuff.

 

[mnapuran]

I find the 1080 looks crappy compared to the DiNoc. We stick with DiNoc ourselves.

Offsite pics replaced. Please observe our rules on photo posting.

 

[MikeSTK]

kstom, NOTHING against you or your workmanship.

Who in their right mind would ruin a Camaro rear deck like that? OMG! If that customer had come in my shop I'd still be standing at the counter blinking at him in disbelief, lol.

 

[Kottwitz-Graphics]

I have a couple of questons about those parts. Are you using one piece of material for those? Is it that conformable? I would assume your using heat to help meet the extreme shapes...Are you using a torch or a simple heat gun.

 

[tomence]

One piece material, $20 heat gun and a sharp knife.

 

[kstompaint]

I have a couple of questons about those parts. Are you using one piece of material for those? Is it that conformable? I would assume your using heat to help meet the extreme shapes...Are you using a torch or a simple heat gun.

Yea, all one piece of 1080, no seams (the XM antenna did have a small seam). It's pretty conformable and the air egress works ok. A heat gun and a felt squeegee.

kstom, NOTHING against you or your workmanship.

Who in their right mind would ruin a Camaro rear deck like that? OMG! If that customer had come in my shop I'd still be standing at the counter blinking at him in disbelief, lol.

HAHA, yea I don't think it looks THAT bad, but I wouldn't have done it like that if it were mine. The car still had the sticker in the window... and an Edlebrock E-Force supercharger, stainless headers, Corsa exhaust, CAI, lowered suspension, etc. (and wheels on order).

 

[signswi]

Look let's face it fake carbon fiber isn't acceptable in any situation, it's adding weight to look like something done to subtract weight! But hey, they're the customers...