Plasti-Dip, vinyl wrap or something else?

[Gyxx]

Hey all.

I've just been doing a bit of panel work to fix up some minor dings around the front of the Landie-Cruiser. Now I've got some nice straight panels and a lovely patchwork paint finish of repair patches.

Now as we all know Murphys Law states in Section 7, sub-clause 3, paragraph 2 "Bodywork repair of 4WD vehicles" that "Any 4WD vehicle professionally refinished at great expense rather than cheaply repaired by it's owner shall be subject to severe bodywork damage to said refinished panels on it's next off-road outing.".

If I had just a touch more Redneck in me I'd probably just give it the rattle-can camo job but it doubles as a daily driver and I'd like to keep it looking stock(ish) for a while longer.

Bearing this in mind I was thinking of painting or possibly wrapping the lower half of the vehicle (from the body-line above the wheel arches) where all the repairs have been done. I'm hoping that if I do this right I'll end up with something that looks like a factory two-tone paint job with the advantage of being able to be touched up without great effort of expense if I get any more dings.

What I'd like to know is weather anyone has any experience with using Plasti-Dip or vinyl wrap for this sort of thing or any other suggestions that could be cheaper and still look alright.

Cheers

[catalystracing]

Used to work in a sign company that did vehicle wraps.
There is a special grade vinyl for vehicle wraps that has an embossing to let air out when you apply it so it doesnt trap pockets of air. Also the adhesive is such you can retry a few times to get it in the right place

from memory its called control tack,

hope it helps.

[Gyxx]

Hi Catalyst thanks for the reply.

I've had a look at the vinyl wraps on the market and watched a few of the YouTube videos of people applying them and I think I should be able to do a reasonable job (well better than Clarkson and Co did on Top Gear last night at least).

The only part I think might give me some difficulty would be the complex curve at the leading edge of the front fender - photo below. To your experience is it very difficult to get the vinyl to conform to these complex curves?

Thanks for the tip on the control-tac vinyl. I had a search on the web and I see you can get it in Realtree, but only if you import it from the States (if I'm wrong about that someone please tell me).

[rokhound]

Don't know about the wraps, But my sign writer told me to use a squirt bottle with soapy water it for sticker signage on my vehicles. Spray the area where you are applying the sticker, place it where you want it, and squeegee it out to force all the moisture out from behind. Seems to have worked for me.

[ChurchurDan]

Get some texture coat tinted and spray that on. Similar to spray on deck liner.

[tafftunk]

I would spray it if you can I use a paint called LIC 40 it's an industrial paint 2pack really easy to lay on and really hard wearing and 2 liters is enough to do a vehicle your size and I last paid for everything colour and hardener and used general thinners as a reducer and the paint and hardener came to 117 dollars including gst that way it will still look very factory and a paint job will make the truck look mint my 2cents anyway

[catalystracing]

Hi Catalyst thanks for the reply.

I've had a look at the vinyl wraps on the market and watched a few of the YouTube videos of people applying them and I think I should be able to do a reasonable job (well better than Clarkson and Co did on Top Gear last night at least).

The only part I think might give me some difficulty would be the complex curve at the leading edge of the front fender - photo below. To your experience is it very difficult to get the vinyl to conform to these complex curves?

KZJ front quarter.jpg

Thanks for the tip on the control-tac vinyl. I had a search on the web and I see you can get it in Realtree, but only if you import it from the States (if I'm wrong about that someone please tell me).

I still do some work for a local sign writer when the moon is out .
I know he can get some control tac locally, but not sure about Real Tree.

I just spoke to him and they dont have Real Tree, but maybe a carbon fibre print or you can get a stone guard clear. This is like what some cars put on the leading part of the bonnet, to save from ummm well stone chips...

Cheers

[catalystracing]

Don't know about the wraps, But my sign writer told me to use a squirt bottle with soapy water it for sticker signage on my vehicles. Spray the area where you are applying the sticker, place it where you want it, and squeegee it out to force all the moisture out from behind. Seems to have worked for me.

Yup this works well, we used to use finish dish washing fluid, a few drops in a squirt bottle. This allows you to have a few attempts at aligning the vinyl. You still need a good quality vinyl or it will tear easily.

The control tac is ribbed for your pleasure I mean for ease of vehicle application. It has tiny embossed criss cross pattern which allows air to be squeegeed out, its adhesive and strength of vinyl is totally suited to wrapping a vehicle.

Cheers

[Gyxx]

Hey all.

Thanks for the tips. I picked up a couple of cans of colour-matched paint from Total Autobody today and I'm going to have a go at that and see what sort of finish I can achieve. Should look better than primer patches anyway.

I'm still keen to try refinishing it and maybe going with the two-tone effect using either paint, vinyl or Plasti-dip (or similar). But that may be a couple of months down the track for now.

I guess I'm just being a cheap S.O.A.B. but I'm loathe to spend good money on a paint job that I'll in all likelyhood bounce off the side of a rut. On the other hand though I do like a tidy looking vehicle.

Then again I could try convincing the wife I need two wagons; one for "out there doin' it" and one for "best". I think I'd rate my chances just slightly higher than winning Lotto for that one though...

[Gyxx]

Hi all.

Short update:
I painted the part of the fender that I repaired with the colour-matched paint I sourced from Total Autobody and was pleasantly surprised with the result I managed to achieve.
The only problem of course is now the bit I repaired is the best looking bit on the truck and makes the rest of it look a bit tired and faded.
I costed out vinyl, plasti-dip and paint and was surprised to find that a re-paint's looking to be the cheapest option. Now I'm talking about as a DIY job here, not having it done professionally.
I'm going to put it back together get it back on the road for now and come back to it in a couple of months when I can lay it up for a couple of weeks and get the job done.
Thanks as always for the good advice.

[Mattman]

Pics or it never happened!

[catalystracing]

Pics or it never happened!

Yup, talk is cheap.......

[Gyxx]

Heh heh...

I never got around to taking a before photo of the main dent I had to knock out so an after photo is probably a bit pointless.

I thought I might save the photo session until I do something a little more impressive like build a bull bar or rock sliders or something like that.

I've gone from having a heavy engineering workshop at my disposal for doing my perks to having to do everything in my "garage" or under a tarp on the driveway. Suddenly everything that would have been so easy (cutting, folding and bending) has become very challenging again.

Ah well at least I still have the welder...

[Gyxx]

OK here tis...

And of course my lovely assistants. I know they don't look up to much but they make a change from the turkeys I'm used to working with and all I have to pay them is a couple of ciccadas every hour.

The first pic I posted on the thread was the photo I got off trade me before I bought the wagon. Between then and now the corner got nicely caved in (no pic sorry). I'm quite pleased I managed to beat it back into shape without having to resort to lashings of bog.

Of course now I'll have to do the whole bloody thing.
But that's a job for another day...