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DIY-Roof Vinyl Wrap: Completed

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    DIY-Roof Vinyl Wrap: Completed

    Hey all! I would like to thank you for your feedback on that "Roof Molding" thread that I posted earlier. The reason why I asked that question is because I wanted to do a vinyl roof wrap to protect the the paint. The reson for doing this was because my car's paint on the roof was beginning to fade and show the "white stuff", and I wanted it to go away.

    IDK if this would be considered a diy, but I'll just tell you all how I got this mod done. The results look great!

    Alright..... since we would be starting a mod on the appearance of the car, it involves putting a big ol' sticker on top of your vehicle's paint. lol

    The obvious thing you have to do is wash your car. (Any soap would do)
    Here is what my car's roof looked like after the wash...
    [IMG][/IMG]
    ... as you can see, I really want to cover this "fade" :3

    Since, the paint was peeling and all, I decided that I sand the paint down in order to have a smooth surface, before I could apply a new layer of clear coat. The sandpaper I used was... I think.... 2000 grit. It was a really fine grade. I sanded using mostly circular motion.[IMG][/IMG]
    (Be sure not to sand one area extensively, or else you will completely sand off the paint! Just be sure that when you slide your finger across the surface of the paint, it should have no rough edges. Also, wet sanding is recommended so that you don't have to constantly change your sand paper.)

    Once I was done sanding, I wiped the surface clean, and prepped the car for a quick clear coat spray. Here is the spray that I used... (I think it was 5-8 bucks from Autozone).
    [IMG][/IMG]

    Be sure to tape up the surrounding areas, like your windows and surrounding paint! As for applying the clear coat, I used the whole can... about 3 coats. I just followed the directions on the can. lol
    (if you look at my car's roof before the spray, the fading paint was really white, but after the spray, the fade got a bit duller. Me and my Dad also buffed this new clear coat so that the surface can be smooth.)
    [IMG][/IMG]

    After a couple of weeks of driving around with the clear coat, I ordered a vinyl wrap from ebay for $25.00 matte black.
    [IMG][/IMG]
    (The product came with a free razor and squeegee for the application process).

    Now before I could put the wrap on the roof of my ride, I had to remove the roof molding. The fronts of the molding came off easily. All you have to do is push the molding towards the rear of the car. Just be sure that you do it in a sliding motion.
    As for the rear molding pins, I had some trouble getting them off. My dad was playing around with it and they came off! At first I thought he broke it, but I looked at the rear molding clips, and they turned out to be hooks. So be careful when you remove the molding towards the rear...
    Here's what the rear molding "clips" look like...
    [IMG][/IMG]
    (IDK if all our roof molding is marked like this, but the blue one came from the right side, and the white one came from the left side of the car. Also these rear hooks are inserted underneath the chrome trim of the rear window, so make sure you don't pry off your rear chrome or else you may have leaks through your window.)

    With both sides of the roof molding removed, here is what the car roof looks like...


    (Keep in mind, there may be dirt in these roof indents and in between the roof molding's rubber, so you might as well clean these areas before putting on the wrap. For me, I just washed the whole car. lol)

    Since the car's paint was previously washed, I just put the vinyl wrap over my car to see what it looks like... obviously we will remove it from the roof so we can clean the surface one more time.
    [IMG][/IMG]
    Lookin' Good!

    (Might as well have a lunch break cause the next process of applying the wrap will take about 2+ hours).

    After our lunch break, me and my dad began some prep work on the roof to make our roof surface super clean. We sprayed water on the roof and wiped it dry with a microfiber towel. Then I went ahead and got rubbing alcohol and wiped the roof to make it "super dry". With the roof purged of any remaining dust or dirt, we begin the process of applying the vinyl wrap.

    The 1st thing you have to do is begin removing the vinyl from the wax paper, or whatever. This vinyl is pretty much a big sticker. (A partner is highly recommended when doing this application). There are a lot of vinyl wrap videos on youtube pertaining to this process. The specific video that I used for reference was this one..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9gW_Ews3YU

    The 2nd thing that I did was trim off the extra vinyl that was sitting around my roof with the razor provided, just to bring it down to size. As for the roof molding channels, be sure to "tuck" in the wrap. I used the squeegee to let the vinyl sit flush.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    When me and my dad got to the rear windshield, we pretty much did the same thing as the roof molding, but this time, we tucked the wrap behind the rubber seal. I used a flat head screw driver to move the rubber outwards while I had a squeegee pushing the vinyl wrap behind it. And here is the result of that method! (There are some folds, but that's only noticeable only if you look at the car real close..... )
    [IMG][/IMG]


    Now for the front of the car, me and my dad were wondering what to do. There is a thin rubber seal along the chrome trim that we can't tuck the vinyl behind, so we just cut the vinyl where the roof would meet this rubber seal.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    So pretty much the wrap is now done!

    All we had to do was put back on the roof molding. Just make sure you remember which one came from which side!
    Here I am putting the molding into the channel...
    [IMG][/IMG]

    And here are the results!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    [IMG][/IMG]

    [IMG][/IMG]

    [IMG][/IMG]



    What do you guys think? For only about $35 total (Vinyl wrap, sand paper, clearcoat) I think this is totally worth it.

    Thanks to the guys who helped me understand how to remove the roof molding. lol

    (NOTE: If there are bubbles that are on your roof after a couple of days, simply get a threading needle and poke a hole in the bubble and push the air out. If needed, put at least 3-4 holes. xD I'm serious... it will work. Google: "How to remove vinyl wrap bubbles".)
    Or just watch this video...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdbwaOCoIYo

    Hope this helps any cb7 owner who is planning to do a wrap of their vehicle. Honestly I love the results.

    #2
    looks good Man i'm envious of you Californians and your non existent rust problems

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by 92LxCoupe92 View Post
      looks good Man i'm envious of you Californians and your non existent rust problems
      There are a couple chips on my doors that have orange spots. :/ lol I do have rust. xD but they are really small.

      Comment


        #4
        If you decide to do more panels, a heat gun works wonders when stretching vinyl.

        YouTube Clicky!!

        Comment


          #5
          Looks great!

          Comment


            #6
            looks good, damn dude thats a clean cb nice color too. I wish out here in the midwest all we had to worry about was failing clear coat

            Comment


              #7
              Looks good. I will be attempting to wrap my entire car once I work out the rust issues. Taking care of the maintenance and small issues first.
              01 AP1 (weekend cruiser)
              96 Boosted DC2 (my dream car)
              92 CB7 (winter beater)
              09 Ruckus
              92 MKII VR GTI
              17 Fiesta ST
              My crew SpeedeG is the featured Team Profile in vol. 5 issue 5 of S3 Magazine. Check it out.

              Comment

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