Paintwork, A form of art almost as old as the cars that are covered in it, but recently we’ve seen a rise in the availability of wrap shops for cars. What does this mean for the future of the car industry?
When comparing wrap vs paint, the main point of using vinyl to change your car’s appearance is that it’s reversible. Meaning, if you change your mind, or need to return the car to stock to sell it, you can always reverse the car back to paint. But when your paint is bad, you really don’t have a good base to apply the wrap to. I don’t mean your paint needs to be show-quality to accept a wrap. It does however need to be healthy, with a strong clear coat and no deep scratches, dents, corrosion or other roughness.
While car wraps are not meant to fix your paint, they are also not cheap. The material itself is expensive and many man hours need to be put in to complete a quality car wrap project. Much like paint, a lot of experience is required and only highly skilled people can perform the wrap job flawlessly.
There is a time to paint and a time to wrap. That said, the cost of wrap vs paint is an important factor when making a decision. In most circumstances, a car wrap job will cost the same as painting your car. Of course, price varies depending on quality. A low-quality paint job will cost less than a high-quality wrap, and vice versa. In the end, you want a high-quality result. A high-quality result doesn’t come cheap.
There are a few instances when Wrap can however be cheaper than paint, wrapping a hood or roof is much more cost effective than painting them. In cases where the cars livery needs to change or the cars get damaged regularly wrapping can also be a cheaper alternative to paint, especially if the car has more than one colour. Performance race cars on race team will very rarely have painted liveries and instead will opt for a vinyl wrap.
Another plus for the wrap is the colours. The Sheer range of colours and textures available from a wrap can be astonishing, A far cry from anything out could create with conventional paints. This can mean smooth matte colours or ultra saturated vibrant colours.
Well there you have it, Final verdict? Vinyl wrapping your car is a great option if your paint is in good condition and great for preserving the value of the car underneath. For pure flexibility factor the Wrap takes this one.