# Anyone ever see or try vinyl wrapping a frame?



## charlox5

One of the newer trends in auto "paint" is applying a vinyl wrap to the car's exterior to circumvent the labor intensive process of stripping, prepping, spraying and sanding. compared to a 4,000 dollar paint job, a 1,000 dollar "sticker" job gives you flexibility, reversability, and an easy way to dramatically change the color of your car.

having recently painted a couple of bikes, while the process is less labor intensive for a bicycle, it's still alot of work to re-paint a bike the right way and get good results. i was just thinking vinyl wrapping might be an easy way to get around that. 

granted, the economy of scale of painting a car vs. a bike doesn't exist. a pro bike paint job is probably on the order of $500, vs $4000--but i also think the relatively simple shape and small surface area of a bicycle might make a vinyl wrap job something that could be done DIY, therefore making the process economically viable ($200 material, 8 hours of garage time)? It also gives you the ability to go with complex graphic schemes that can be printed to the vinyl, before application instead of hand painted which adds much complexity to a paint job. 

I'm also thinking that there aren't enough people who are interested in wrapping a bike to make anybody rich--but who knows, maybe the production costs are low enough to be a nice niche market? i know motorcycles are slowly seeing more and more vinyl wrap jobs.


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## Camilo

How do they get all the tiny air bubbles out?

I've put clear autobody protective vinyl on various parts of my carbon fiber and aluminum frames for protection, and they actually are nearly invisible - and I've used colored similar products to cover flaws, again with good enough results. But it's really tough to get them invisible because of the tiny bubbles.


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## MikeBiker

Just don't get a vinyl roof - unless your a fan of the 70s.


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## charlox5

Camilo said:


> How do they get all the tiny air bubbles out?
> 
> I've put clear autobody protective vinyl on various parts of my carbon fiber and aluminum frames for protection, and they actually are nearly invisible - and I've used colored similar products to cover flaws, again with good enough results. But it's really tough to get them invisible because of the tiny bubbles.


it's usually applied "wet" by spraying a highly diluted solution of water and dishwashing soap (1 drop per 8 oz of water). This prevents the adhesive from sticking to the surface, making it possible to re-position the vinyl (giving you some margin for error and a means to correct) and also giving you a way to work the air bubbles out using a squeegee/credit card--it's the same process for applying most repro decals/badges, if i'm not mistaken. 



MikeBiker said:


> Just don't get a vinyl roof - unless your a fan of the 70s.


haha that brings back memories of my mom's olds '88.


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## MKO

someone has done it.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/3710900-post5252.html


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## takmanjapan

*Bike Wrapping*

A Japanese bike shop did something similar - a combination of paint and photos to both the frame and some parts:

カツリーズのアートバイク製作記vol.1 | cyclowired - pt 1
カツリーズのアートバイク製作記vol.4 | cyclowired - pt 2
カツリーズのアートバイク製作記vol.5 | cyclowired - pt 3
カツリーズのアートバイク製作記vol.6 | cyclowired - pt 4
カツリーズのアートバイク製作記vol.8 | cyclowired - pt 5


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## JaeP

MKO said:


> someone has done it.
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/3710900-post5252.html


Thanks for the linky. This is pushing me closer and closer to finally getting a carbon bike.


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## Scott in MD

I saw several vinyl tape wrapped commuters in NYC this last weekend.


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## Imaking20

Having wrapped a motorcycle - I'd recommend against it. If you've got a critical eye you likely won't be totally happy with it - on a car there is much more area to distract from the errors that are present on EVERY wrap job. It's also still pretty labor intensive and you'll see any obstruction on the surface below the vinyl.


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## atpjunkie

*first*

you'll need 3M Control Tac 180, nothing else wraps curves as cleanly. The stuff is expensive, plus you'll need the auto laminate. Will be relatively small amounts of sf to print and laminate but wrapping small compound curves is a B. Heat gun and squeegee, since the sf is so small run 2 of every panel in case you fark up


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## mfuchs

*Wrapped bikes*

My LBS wraps bikes for their race team. Here is a wrapped SuperSix. It looks good even close up. Entire frame is wrapped.


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## atpjunkie

*can you get*



mfuchs said:


> My LBS wraps bikes for their race team. Here is a wrapped SuperSix. It looks good even close up. Entire frame is wrapped.


some close ups of the joint areas? I wanna see how they wrapped tem


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## Merc

Where do they get the wrap?


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## mfuchs

*Wrapped bikes*

I'll see what I can do about some pictures. I'm not sure where they get the wrap. I think the Ford dealership does it for them. Here is the shops website, if you contact them I'm sure they will tell you everything you want to know.

Lifetime Bicycles Loganville Forums


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## clones2

Assuming wrapping with vinyl is legal for racing?


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## 251

I used black vinyl to cover the logos on my 29er and add some red and orange stripes. I didn't cover the wheel logos, I just removed the tacky Fulcrum stickers and added my own tacky stripes.

Before:









After:


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## ijaz429

According to cannondales website, if you paint your bike, the warranty is voided. Not sure if the same applies to vinyl wrap but would like to learn more.


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## mfuchs

I talked to the shop owner and he said one of the riders on the team did it. You can contact him for all the details. Lifetime Bicycles Loganville Forums


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## jsedlak

I want to plasti-dip my TT frame in hot pink. Just sayin'.


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## charlox5

ijaz429 said:


> According to cannondales website, if you paint your bike, the warranty is voided. Not sure if the same applies to vinyl wrap but would like to learn more.


i don't think it would. paint prep requires lots of aggressive chemicals and processes to strip the existing paint. i could see how spraying aircraft stripper at CF frame might be disconcerting for c-dale's warranty department. 

you could take a supersix right off the LBS floor and find a vinyl guy to wrap it (though the clearcoated-over logos would create an undulating surface under the wrap, so not sure if you could avoid stripping the clear if you wanted a 10/10 job)


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## MilanoRex

I may give this a try, the vinyl wrap is cheap enough on eBay. My brother vinyl wrapped his BMW and it looks awesome!


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## designair

jsedlak said:


> I want to plasti-dip my TT frame in hot pink. Just sayin'.


HAHA...been researching this but not for bikes.


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## designair

atpjunkie said:


> some close ups of the joint areas? I wanna see how they wrapped tem


It is not a full wrap, from what i think i see.
I can see the breaks on the head tube and into the top tube.


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## qatarbhoy

I got into enough of a lather just applying protective clear tape on a few select areas of my bike's frame. Can't imagine the nightmare of vinyl wrapping a whole frame.


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## BernyMac

jsedlak said:


> I want to plasti-dip my TT frame in hot pink. Just sayin'.


Plastidip FTW!


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## turbogrover

qatarbhoy said:


> I got into enough of a lather just applying protective clear tape on a few select areas of my bike's frame. Can't imagine the nightmare of vinyl wrapping a whole frame.


This type of vinyl wrap is easy to do on bike. Very stretchy. Easier than applying separate stickers. It'll be more common soon, and after Peter Sagan gets a few more years in his legs, you'll see his bike custom wrapped for the TDF, to bring some extra publicity to his sponsors.


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## qatarbhoy

turbogrover said:


> This type of vinyl wrap is easy to do on bike. Very stretchy. Easier than applying separate stickers.


Good to know - but I would still HIRE A PROFESSIONAL.


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