Repaint vs wrap?

pei_guy

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Staff member
So we all get to a point where road wear on paint starts to show the battle scars of a well enjoyed Mustang. At what point do you start making decisions on preserving your ride?

Let it go and enjoy the memories of some great trips? Repaint? Wrap?

My '13 is starting to show some wear that has me thinking....

Is a color matched wrap for front facia, hood, front fenders and mirrors an option to chew on?

What have others done or are considering?
 
I would consider a wrap if I needed to at some point. I would be more inclined to wrap the whole thing though to change the colour.lol. I know a company I deal with wraps every vehicle they buy. After 3 or 4 years they peel it off and trade them in. Paint is brand new of course. Great for the next person.

I wonder if wrapping just parts of 6 or 7 year old paint would be noticeable as you suggest?? Wrap has a different sheen so maybe more noticeable?? There had to be someone who did it.
 
Well I am in the same struggle. When I got my car I looked at protection.
Well optic-coat Pro plus made it gleam and I have never had a swirl in the paint
But. I have nasty road rash already.

Wondering off PPG paint protection would have been worth it??
Price was $5000 for complete wrap.

Now I am looking at paint, which will cost me 5K
And Odds are I will be back in this spot in another 4/5 years.
Enough to make you crazy.

Very curious to see what folks think or have done.
 
Apart from the bumpers and hood scoop, the paint on mine is 18 years old and showing it’s age too. Besides the usual Road Rash, the clear coat has faded in two spots. I will do a repaint after the garage has been built. No point in painting it if it is going to bake in the summer sun for a few more years.
 
Apart from the bumpers and hood scoop, the paint on mine is 18 years old and showing it’s age too. Besides the usual Road Rash, the clear coat has faded in two spots. I will do a repaint after the garage has been built. No point in painting it if it is going to bake in the summer sun for a few more years.
I am debating on the hood and bumper repaint as well. Road rash has done some damage there for sure. Where did you get yours done Fred? Reasonable price?
 
One of the PEI guys had his Shelby wrapped in clear in Mtl. Forget what he mentioned it cost but seemed like over 5K then add 2 trips over a week to drop off and pick up. A good run I guess!

I'm curious how the chips are filled before wrapping? Would want a smooth finish with that kind of investment, for sure.
 
The paint on new cars is soft. its not very good system.
Seems it is a problem with all manufactures.

I suspect if I was going to wrap my car, I would paint it first.
Not sure how long a wrap lasts?
 
Charlie, I had both bumpers and hood scoop removed and painted at Hio Auto Body in Shediac next to Eastern Well Drillers just off the Ohio Road as you enter Shediac from Rte. 15. He charged me $1,000, 5 years ago and he matched paint perfectly. Owner is Andre Boudreau.
 
Charlie, I had both bumpers and hood scoop removed and painted at Hio Auto Body in Shediac next to Eastern Well Drillers just off the Ohio Road as you enter Shediac from Rte. 15. He charged me $1,000, 5 years ago and he matched paint perfectly. Owner is Andre Boudreau.
Well that is definitely reasonable. Yeah you can’t tell a difference in yours. He did a good match.
I am struggling with touching my original paint as Gerry said above. It is never the same. I will have no choice at some point. Lol.
 
I'll start off by saying I know nothing about wraps.
Not a paint expert either. My 2 cents.
So for car guys the idea of water based paints seems like a bad idea, right! Well from what I know the colour or base coats are the only part that is water based, at least in the local repair market. New cars at the manufacturer may be different. The clear coat is not water based.

Based on the dedree of fading and ability to colour match I would be inclined to paint panels. Doing just the worst painels. I don't like the idea of more layers. Layers seem to chip more. Either way use some one high end that has the experience to get you the quaility you want.
 
As you guys might remember some idiot reversed his armored car into the door of my Suzuki Samurai at the Nationals in 2018. I talked to Trent Steeves and all of the custom work for their cars is done by Beechill Autobody in Weldon. He did a fantastic job matching the 25 year old paint and you cannot tell that the repair has been done. it’s a very small operation but he does great work.
 
Thundr new cars are water base and worse the use an electromagnetic system.
so car is charged and paint is charged, then dropped ( not sprayed or dipped)
it attracts to cars, very soft, chips easy and doesn't last as long.

Old fashion body guy with oil base ( if you can even buy) might be better option.

McDavis, how much does he charge to paint?
 
One of the PEI guys had his Shelby wrapped in clear in Mtl. Forget what he mentioned it cost but seemed like over 5K then add 2 trips over a week to drop off and pick up. A good run I guess!

I'm curious how the chips are filled before wrapping? Would want a smooth finish with that kind of investment, for sure.

Spoke with that gentlemen as he was saying it removed all swirls and marks from his paint so sounded very interesting. Looked pretty good but once I asked the price well......................think it was in the 8000.00 range to wrap the whole car. Way to rich for my blood so will live with the imperfections. Prices mentioned here to do bumpers etc. is very reasonable as body shop work as gone up a lot lately.
 
Mine's all original paint with few blemishes.I had Derek at My Day's Off in Moncton polish most of the swirls out of it for $150 two years ago.It could use another polishing within the next 2 years and I would like to take it to the next level.Will go back to see Derek again.
 
Don't know a lot about wraps, opportune time to do them is when you take delivery I suppose, but any time you can stop the reality of the abuse the car takes from driving its a good thing.

For my own experience, I'm not entirely surprised at the road rash on the rear panels just behind the doors, those damn Michelin PSS's are so sticky they throw more rocks than the BFG All Terrains on my truck, but I'm not going to bother painting or wrapping, as previously stated, both are costly and I'm not willing to spend the cash.

Apparently the higher end clear wraps are self healing (Xpel comes to mind as a name I hear a lot on the US forums), if they take a hit they reform (?), but its costly, theres a shop in London that quotes $6k for the entire car.

Theres also the option of changing the colour, I recall seeing a BMW that had been wrapped in purple chrome, I had to pull over and throw up in my mouth a little, but at no time was the motoring public at risk, the BMW was parked.
 
That all sounds wonderful, Not sure how it works.

But what ever system they used on my car is horrible
and was direct result of paint process.

Mercedes has the same problem with some of there
GTS models etc same at BMW and Audi.

All that said, I will have to re-paint my car after 4 years and 35,000km
I realize our roads and the sticky tires on my car do not help.
But I am now resigned to the fact that a $5K paint job is
one of my major mods every 4-6 years.

Unless I can come up with a paint solution or coating that
doesn't cost as much as a re-paint to help extend the life.
 
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