What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Vinyl Camo Truck Wrap - Anyone Used It?

O

Oilbrnr

1/2 ton status
Joined
Oct 17, 2007
Posts
205
Reaction score
0
Location
Scottsdale
Got my stupid yet free 4Wheel Parts rag yesterday, and noticed that their current Toyota build was being wrapped with the 3M camo vinyl stuff. Got me to thinking that it might be a cheaper alternative than painting my '77. While I like the idea of fresh paint, every time I take it hunting/offroad I add to the AZpinstriping.

Has anyone applied this stuff to a K5 or for that matter any other truck? Did you do it yourself, or pay someone?
 
I would just be worried about the durability

I imagine they are much better now though
 
Well it is 5mil thick 3M film, with pretty significant claims of durability. It supposidly can be easily removed within four years of application with little to no residue left on the paint. What does remain, can be removed with Prep-Sol or the like...

Looks like ~$800 to do a K5.
 
If you've got a decent air compressor, you can get what you need (spray gun included) for a hundred bucks or so to paint it yourself. I painted my own about 2 years ago and its starting to get some pretty good scratches. So I'm going to go ahead and give it the full camo this summer and I figure I'll need around another $50 or so in paint to get it done.

I looked at the camo tape too before I started this deal, and just couldn't justify the cost for sticking it on a beat-um-type truck.
 
I did it. Now I can't find the darn truck. I guess I'll just wait til I mow the lawn next.
 
I was thinking of doing the same thing i found a few different sites that sell it. and it looks like it can be done for around 600-700$ thats for the real tree snow pattern. if you do it let me know how it turned out.
 
I'm really tempted to do it. I was originally planning on repainting it myself (I've done about 20 vehicles, so I'm not a total paint noob) but it is alot of work to do it right, and then you don't want to take it anywhere for fear of messing it up! This way, it will look fresh, and is non destructive to my well preserved K5. Decent price too.

Only downside that I can see is that none of the patterns really 'fit' into the Arizona desert scheme except Natural Gear, which seems a bit blah in the samples.
 
it takes about a gallon of paint to paint a k10 which (with reducer) costed me about $110..thats a lot cheaper if you ask me
 
Look for someone who does it commercially. Those city buses & Radio Station rides don't cover themselves.:D Get a section of your favorite digital camo or a pattern that can be easily reproduced and see what they say.

Then report back here. It's an idea I've been kicking around:laugh::haha:
 
habitatxskate said:
it takes about a gallon of paint to paint a k10 which (with reducer) costed me about $110..thats a lot cheaper if you ask me
Click to expand...

If you are going to do a quality paint job, prep materials run much more than $110 alone...

I'd like to give someone in the future, maybe myself, the option of restoring this K5 to OEM if desired, and a cheap paint makes things that much harder. This stuff could just be peeled off.
 
I had a friend who had his truck wrapped with that stuff. It turned out great and has held up well. He even had his trailready beadlock rings wrapped. Wish I had some pictures
 
Being in the sign industry, I know a little bit about this stuff. We don't do them, but I have a friend the runs a smaller shop that specializes in vehicle wraps. I printed the wrap for my hood and he applied it for me.

Obstacle3.jpg


We make this stuff by printing the graphics on 3M vinyl with a large format inkjet printer that uses UV solvent ink, meaning it can stand up to outdoor use. Then the printed vinyl has a clear overlaminate applied over the top. The camo wraps you are talking about are done the same way. 3M vinyl really is the best stuff for this type of thing.

I have talked with someone that applied one of these camo wraps for a customer and they said the quality is pretty good.

I will say that applying is not an easy or short task. My friend that does this for a living often keeps the vehicles for a couple of days to fully apply the entire wrap. I know he doesn't work on them for that entire time, but it still involves a lot of labor.

Generally vehicle wraps aren't meant to be a long-term use type of thing. On average I'd say 3yrs, 5yrs max. They are relatively easy to remove and the paint underneath is going to be perfectly protected. I'm just not convinced they would stand up to the rigors of wheelin'. Obviously rock-rash is going to be just as detrimental to the wrap as it would be paint. I am rather curious how they would hold up to tree and brush scraping.

Just like painting, prep is the key. That means the vehicle paint finish needs to be in good condition. Most vehicle wrap failures are due to poor preperation.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend it for a couple of reasons. 1) It's going to be quite a chore to install if you plan to do it yourself, 2) I don't think the expense is worth the probable damage that will occur from trail damage.

I have considered just wrapping the top half of my truck because most of the body damage occurs below the body line, but even then I only consider it because it's really cheap for me to do it since I'm in the biz. I did the hood because if it ever receives serious damage I have a lot more to worry about than what the wrap cost me. :doah:
 
Here's a demo video of a wrap application:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Question about wraps Scott? What is the general thought on a newly painted vehicle being wrapped? Like say you painted a Blazer then wanted to put a wrap on it for advertising.
 
You need to let the paint fully cure. Personally I'd rather see the vehicle wait a month before wrapping just to be safe. Other wise the paint will out-gas and you'll get little bubbles plus it could be bad enough to cause the adhesive on the vinyl to fail. I think it would need to be a week at the very least. If it was just lettering I wouldn't worry about it as much.

Another test would be to apply like a 6" square piece on the side of the vehicle for a couple of days to see if any problems arise.
 
I was just wondering and will explain it to you in person! Now make it stop snowing out there!
 
There was a kid at school that had an extended cab F150 done up in a full camo wrap... it looked great from 15' out but up close you could see where it was peeling on some of the seams (like where the fenders and hood meet and where the bed sides and tailgate meet)...
So it could of just been an application issue (or it may be an old wrap job) but otherwise it looked pretty good...

If you just want camo I bet you could paint it yourself for much cheaper.... heck there are local mom and pop paint shops that do one color paint jobs for like $159+ tax... you could do that every couple years and still come out ahead.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom