Hope this is in the right place guys..

I've got a Fabia Mk1 SE, and I'm after getting my roof in a gloss-black finish.

I was dead set on getting it Vinyl wrapped, and have been quoted between £140-165 for this..

A friend of mine today mentioned plasti-dipping.. and after a couple of searches, have found a couple quoting between £60-80.

Are there any pros and cons between the two? I'm after the best finish, and cost isn't an issue.

Cheers for your help!

Hi mate - i'm no expert on this - but it is something i have been looking at recently.

So i will add some detail on what i know.....

 

Hydro-dip and plasti-dip recommended to me for smaller trim parts that can be removed from the car.

 

To do large sections of the car, especially in a gloss finish, then vinyl wrap still seems the way to progress i think.

 

Also - the price on the roof wrap sounds gloss - i was offered £130+VAT on a Fabia Mk2 recently.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

Ste.

I've read quite a bit in the past on this. This is only my opinion. But plastidip is quite temporary and less durable. Alsi it will need a really well prepped surface. Vynil, while it does need to be prepped properly, will be longer lasting and also less prone to damage and won't flake off like plastidip can. Over spray may also be an issue with plastidip.

If you wanted a long term solution, I would go vinyl.

I've read quite a bit in the past on this. This is only my opinion. But plastidip is quite temporary and less durable. Alsi it will need a really well prepped surface. Vynil, while it does need to be prepped properly, will be longer lasting and also less prone to damage and won't flake off like plastidip can. Over spray may also be an issue with plastidip.

If you wanted a long term solution, I would go vinyl.

 

 

Agreed Neil - looking over some YouTube videos on this - becomes clearer.

 

Durability and hi-gloss finish.... vinyl; no question. 

Vinyl it will be then boys. I figured the price reflected the durability.

I've seen some alloys that have been Plastidipped and have ended up chipped or flaking within a few weeks.. so was dubious. But I had seen a really good finish on a friends new Vauxhall Adam.

A company quite close have offered to the grill surround for a tenner in plasti-dip. So might give that a trial and stick with the vinyl for the roof.

Thanks for your input guys.

Edited 16 January, 201610 yr by MidWalesVRS

Plasti-Dip is fine, if the surface is totally prepared correctly. Still it's not going to last like vinyl will.

Also with vinyl make sure you use a good company. I've read and seen real horror stories from bad "wrappers".

So if you can check their previous customers.

Thanks for the advice.

That's my biggest worry really.. there are multiple companies locally.. they all have fantastic reviews, but most of them also have a few 1/2* reviews where the customer is extremely disgruntled, and this puts me off completely.

Has it got the potential to damage the Paintwork if not done correctly?

Your talking about 3 different things here

Plasti dip or car dip is a vulcanising rubberised spray that is applied in many thin layers (approx 10-15) once dried is can be removed, but it is very soft and prone to damage, it's cant be touched in, so damage means it's needs to be re done, application wise it requires just as much preparation as actually spraying the car!

Hydro dip is a way of applying pre printed art work and graphics to pretty much anything! It's done by laying the chosen film on top of a huge vat of water, the film is then sprayed with an activator, and once ready, the chosen the item, wheel, grill, stereo surround, engine cover, anything really, is pushed through the film into the water, this allowing the film to bend and manipulate over any complex piece, obviously this isn't an option for large areas like a roof as you can't dunk the car into a tank of water.

And then vinyl wrapping, obviously this is done applying a thin vinyl film over the painted surface, as said above, it will benefit you go to your local companies and check out their work in person, online reviews will never gove you the full picture. Look out for how the corners are finished, and how the material is trimmed, NOONE SHOULD BE CUTTING ON THE PAINT! 3m doesn't make the best film, so don't be sucked in to big prices because the say they use 3m.

Those prices sound about right, I charge £120 plus vat for a car that size.

Edit, there's no risk to paint damage unless A, they cut into the paint or score the lacquer, this leaving a weak edge, meaning when you come to remove the film it will lift the lacquer where it's been scored/trimmed, Or B, smart repairs that the owner doesn't know about, for the same reason as above, except the lacquer goes from the point it was blown in.

Vehicle wrapped for over 8 years now.

Edited 18 January, 201610 yr by _redders_