looks like a lot of peeps are asking about the vinyl used for vehicle wrapping... let me start by saying this is in NO WAY a COMMERCIAL post. yes it has different brands/prices in it but i am not in any way selling it! I am speaking from experiance from using this stuff and sharing something to you guys that many in the industry would not take any time to tell you. so, no bans/flagging. i'm sure everyone in the 27 pages of this thread would like this info to complete a DIY.
here u go:
u need premium cast vinyl with air release, UNLESS you are planning on printing some stuff on it like a sign van or something. i assume most peeps here want to wrap there car in a matte color ie: black/blue/yellow/red/etc.... or a super high pearl/glossy/candy type color. in other words a solid color without printing... also you will need a vinyl that comes in 60" cuts vs. 48" cuts so you can do the entire quarter panel & hood in 1 piece (no seems). if you don't mind seems there or you just wanna do part of your hood then a 48" roll will work just fine. you should also buy some 3m primer 94, comes in half pints for $13-$20 depending on where you buy. it is great for jams, edges, tight spots n gives the vinyl more strength to stick.
good stuff:
oracal 970ra with air release.
http://www.oracal.com/products/product.asp?seriesID=237
this stuff is great! it is 4mil in thickness (makes it easier to hold n get flat while heating) has a overlaminate built into it (kinda like clearcoat for vinyl, keeps scratches down, more protection to chips, on glossy colors makes it SUPER glossy looking, bunch of colors) around $600 a box 5'x75' (you will be able to wrap a sedan and still have around 10-15' left with no seems on hood & rear quarter panel)
3m 1080 scotchprint with air release.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...fo/Series1080/
this stuff is really nice too. if you are looking for that really matte/chalky look, almost like a chalk board chalky look this is it. the matte silver is also suppperrr close to frozen gray. this stuff is 2mil and scratches a lil bit easier than the oracal which is 4mil n has a overlaminate built in. only comes in 4matte colors right now, black, white, green, silver all matte... this stuff is also 5'x75', a box is around $650.00
Hexis 30000/20000 vinyl with air release.
http://www.hexis-graphics.com/en/products/index
i have not used this stuff b4, but i just got my sample pack from them and the colors are pretty sick! they have some really nice pearly colors/iredesent colors (check spelling) some aligator vinyl n some nice cf colors that other companies don't have. i've heard not so good things about the stickiness of the cf vinyls not doing too well on curves/humps/dips in more round stuff, but i have not tried myself. i can't imagine the vinyl would suck... this stuff comes in 5'x11yd n i wanna say 5'x33yd boxes... so you would need 2x 5'x11yd to make it 5'x22yd which is 5'x66'. so 2 boxes of oracal stuff 5'x66' goes for around $660 for matte vinyls, n i wanna say it was like $860 for the pearly/candy colors.
the semi good stuff:
3m 180c with air release.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...beGW5VRFJ6Q9gl
this is the stuff you would see cars wrapped with a couple years ago when vinyl wrapping solid color cars was still pretty new. the problem with this stuff is it only comes in 48' cuts so you would have seems here n there depending on the car. also the 180c air release channels were very prominent and when you lay down the vinyl and squeegie it in place you can kinda see a imprint of the air release checkered boxes through the surface... not that cool... form a distance it's coo, up close it's kinda weird. now this is the stuff that a lot of sign shops still use today for printing stuff on for advertisement cars/vans/big trucks etc... normally they will print something on it then overlaminate it thro a vinyl laminator and apply it. not sure how much this stuff runs anymore, i'd think 4'x75' box would probably be around $550-600.
avery a9ez with air release.
this stuff is nice, but the color range is not that wide. this stuff is a bit thin and flimsy (2mil) vinyl and scratches a bit easier than the good stuff. i used to use this stuff on window trims/grills/small accent parts... it is commonly sold in 24" 15" rolls so you probably wouldn't be wrapping your car in it. however you can still find it in a 48" cut but again the color options are pretty bland... i can't remember what this stuff cost, i wanna say a 48"x75' roll was around $450'ish.
the bad stuff:
any vinyl that's not CAST/PREMIUM and does not have AIR RELEASE. if it's not cast/premium vinyl you will find it is hard to stretch the vinyl without it just tearing on you, it is 1 too thin, 2 not strong enough to hold itself together when you wanna wrap it around the corner of your bumper/ hard angle to grab a curve on your front bumper around the grill/headlights/ hug the edge of your sideskirts nicely. also if it does not have air release you will find yourself popping 100000000000000000+ lil air bubbles with a needle/thumb tack/ 3m pin popper pen ($30.00) for a long time. or wait till the sun/moon do there thing if you live in a climate that allows for good amount of heat in the day n nice n cool at night (vinyl will heat up and air will evaporate out of the bubble, cools down n the area sucks/shrinks down to the surface it is intended to stick on. this takes some time so your car might not be 100% the moment you are done wrapping. also the cheap stuff tends to lift overtime/some fade pretty quick/some crack... the cheap stuff sels usually in 48"x75' box for around $150-$250. this material is made for things like signs, window signs, decals, etc...
the ultimate best vinyls:
http://foilacar.ae/
unfortunately they don't sell to the US n will not tell me there distributor..... i don't know if they make this stuff themselves/ or some company is making this stuff..... but i do want to get my hands on some of it!
this is the BEST color vinyl in my personal opinion:
the Mercedes Mclaren SLR 722S in Black Chrome