After a decade of peeling clearcoat I finally dealt with the blight of my car's exterior. Well, part of it at least.
I asked Metro Restyling to print me a black, red, and gray digital camo vinyl wrap. I gave them the color code for the Fiero red (my car's original color) and asked them to match it. They sent me a few samples, and I picked one to order a 4 ft x 45 ft sheet of. Just enough to do a Fiero. 30+ hours of work later, I'm done with the wrap. Took some photos tonight and came up with this:
Since my clearcoat was in bad shape on most panels, I had to sand it down to the layer of paint that was adhering well, so that the vinyl wouldn't come off later due to substrate failure. This made my vinyl install require about the same prep work as a full paint job. That means hours and hours of block sanding. If your paint is in good shape, a vinyl wrap doesn't require much prep work -- just remove some trim, clean the panels, and go at it.
The wrap itself took 20+ hours of work. This is the third car I've done a wrap on. I wrapped my Subaru Outback (photo here) as well as my friend's Evo X -- although that one is not quite done yet.
EDIT: For those curious about the photo, these are the two originals straight from the camera with no processing at all: Image 1, Image 2 I mixed the two images and removed the background.
[This message has been edited by Steven Snyder (edited 05-29-2014).]
LOVE the HRD image. I am a photographer, so have some questions on that aspect Did you light paint the car? I see the time lapse streak in the air over the car, did you have someone behind the car aiming a light down and walking around? The end result is phenomenal , and has a very cool CG look to it.
[EDIT]. I originally thought it was an HDR photo, but now see it was 2 different angles that you took the photos from.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 05-27-2014).]
Originally posted by Patrick: The two images appear to be shot from exactly the same angle... and then combined (minus the background).
This is correct.
In fact I only used the driver's side door reflection and front corner of the fascia from the second (darker) shot. The first shot I used a fill flash; the second shot I did not.
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Originally posted by Sourmug:
Looks really great, any more pictures?
Nolan
Not yet, barely had enough time to get this one done. RallyX coming up this weekend and then another weekend at the track.. I'll try to take some more pictures at the track.
[This message has been edited by Steven Snyder (edited 05-27-2014).]
I always kinda wondered how the Fiero would look in Digi Camo, I like the red much better than ACU as far as being on a Fiero. Looks fantastic and that picture looks BA. Someone will probably make that their computer background or something.
Neat concept looks good; just needs a bunch of sponsor/hi pro stickers and such. Chump car, or want-a-bee?
I don't have any sponsors. The only stickers it will wear is my numbers. It's just a track day car. I've been using it to work my way up through NASA HPDE so I can get my competition license. I just got approved to move into HPDE4 so I might try Time Trials, but I doubt I can make this platform competitive without big $$$ anyway.
I'm going to build another vehicle for wheel-to-wheel racing.
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Originally posted by Patrick:
It became obvious while looking at this image that you need to touch up your rocker panels. Heh heh...
And the mirrors... and the black trim... and the sail panel logos.. and seat upholstery.. hahhaha, I know. This is the first major cosmetic work I've done to this car in 6 years. There's still a lot to do! :-)
[This message has been edited by Steven Snyder (edited 05-29-2014).]
I must have missed something, or is this some new thing in the custom car world? Why would you do that to your car? Are you going someplace with black and red leaves where you don't want to be seen? I'm sorry, I don't get it.
But obviously it makes you happy, so that's great as far as I'm concerned. It just surprises me so much that I had to ask.
I must have missed something, or is this some new thing in the custom car world? Why would you do that to your car? Are you going someplace with black and red leaves where you don't want to be seen? I'm sorry, I don't get it.
But obviously it makes you happy, so that's great as far as I'm concerned. It just surprises me so much that I had to ask.
Car wraps are a staple in the racing world. It can be changed, adjusted, and adapted pretty easily. Personally I love the look of this car. Very unique as our cars are. I'm thinking about it on my car as well, but in a solid red as torch as I can get. But I want to move pretty soon. I'm sick of looking at my crappy clear coat peal.
I must have missed something, or is this some new thing in the custom car world?
Your observation is correct. Durable vinyl graphics are relatively new on vehicles in general. The adhesive and materials have improved significantly over the past 10 years. Printed vinyl has been used on commercial vehicles longer than it has been in the custom car scene.
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Why would you do that to your car? Are you going someplace with black and red leaves where you don't want to be seen? I'm sorry, I don't get it.
Why do you have paint on your car? The panels are plastic, it's not like they need any rust protection. It's because paint looks awesome.
Why are your clothes not natural fabric? It's because patterns and colors look more interesting.
Why did I wrap my car in a black and red pattern? Because I think it looks awesome . You don't wear a plaid shirt so you can go somewhere that you need to blend in with vertical and horizontal red and green stripes, right?
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But obviously it makes you happy, so that's great as far as I'm concerned. It just surprises me so much that I had to ask.
No need to explain your reaction -- I knew early on that the pattern was going to be surprising and possibly even outrageous. I also knew some people would love it and some people would hate it. I didn't even know if I was going to like it, even after I finished applying it I wasn't sure.. but I never let anyone -- even myself -- get in my way of trying something new.
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Originally posted by BOBBY D:
I like your front valance, if that's what you call it. Any info on it, build thread?
Thanks! It's typically referred to as a front splitter, since it splits the air going over and under the car. It's made from 0.125" alumalite, which is an aluminum and corrugated plastic composite board, often used for outdoor signage. I bolted it to the subframe at the rear, and secured it with cables and turnbuckles at the front. The cables allow it to bend up, but keep it stiff and strong when it's generating downforce. The ability to bend is important at the track because I don't want the splitter to break off if I hit some curbing or have an off-track excursion. It's also useful for when I have to pull into gas stations on the way to and from the track, so it can rub on driveways without breaking. I originally had it attached with solid links but quickly broke them during transit.
[This message has been edited by Steven Snyder (edited 05-29-2014).]
Did you light paint the car? I see the time lapse streak in the air over the car, did you have someone behind the car aiming a light down and walking around? The end result is phenomenal , and has a very cool CG look to it.
That composite is stunning!
[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/francis4
