Vinyl Wrap, anyone do it?

[86FJNJ]

Thinking of wrapping my tank to match my bike. Ordered some small 3"x5" samples from Rvinyl.com so I have the colors that match well. The one in the photo is actually not the best color match but one of the other samples I used for practice.

It doesn't seem like it would be difficult to wrap my tank. I was able to get all the bubbles out so ignore the quality in the photo. Just wondering if anyone has used vinyl wrap before and has any tips?

I suppose the only thing I can think of is if it would start to come off with the heat of the engine but people use it on car hoods that are parked out in the sun all day and get engine heat so I have to think if I do proper prep work it would be ok.

[RPM - Robert]

Do not use any oracle (oracal) brand from them. That stuff fades in about 10 minutes in the sun.

Preheat and post heat the material. Do not stretch it too much or the color will start to distort.

I have done a few cars. No bikes but same premise applies.

[86FJNJ]

Thanks Robert! when using heat gun do I have to worry about burning the wrap or is it pretty hardy?

[Pat Conlon]

LOL...Wait just a dad burn minute....

Years ago....Didn't Ryan say that he would never have a car with a "rice boy" rear wing?

The earth's axis has just shifted....

[RPM - Robert]

Depends on how thick it is but good vinyl is pretty darn versatile. You can stretch it all to heck and make "waves" in it and then a heat gun will bring it right back.

Yes, Ryan, did say that, then he got serious about running. We are competing against million dollar plus builds and no aero just wasn't cutting it.

For the Gridlife Laguna Seca event we ran 3rd overall with a 1:27, to a million plus dollar build 350z build with a formula E electric motor and KERS system with 4 wheel steer and a 1 of 67 $5,000,000 (that's what the crew said) Ford GT MK IV supercar, all with 480hp to the wheel, no ABS, no traction control, and a homemade wooden splitter.

In all honesty. We went down to Buttonwillow and absolutely got our asses handed to us with no aero on the car. Didn't even break 1:50. With the aero and no other changes on it, last year we ran a 1:43.0 and finished 2nd overall to a 1600hp twin turbo corvette (I think he ran a 1:40.9).

We are just finishing a 454ci (7.2) 13:1 compression naturally aspirated LS2 build and shooting for around 700-750hp to the wheel. Which should make us a bit more competitive.

Plus we got an aero sponsor this year and he sent the front splitter, dual element wing, and a diffuser that we are just getting mounted up for free. So got represent them as well. The new aero is great and should get better once we get the floor flat bottomed and the diffuser installed. For reference Ryan ran a 1:27.052 on stickers. With new the aero testing last month on 3 weekend old tires he ran a 1:27.1.

[Pat Conlon]

Very cool Robert, say hello to Ryan for me.
With that big bump in rwhp do you have enough tire?
Not a lot of room in those Miata's even with flairs.
Do you have a web page for this beast? I would love to follow you crazy guys.. 

Cheers lads
Fr. Paddy

[Millietant]

Orafol do make UV resistant wrapping films that won't fade in 10 minutes in the sun, but you have to specify that you want the extra UV resistant type. 3M products are generally thought of as the best quality products in the industry, although definitely not the cheapest.

I used to be Managing Director of one of biggest vehicle wrapping companies in the UK before I retired and the skill needed to do a good wrap job on a bike, that will also last a good time, is very rare indeed. They can look great for a year or two, but the complex shapes of bike bodywork are a nightmare to cover without differential stretching or excessive cutting and can look absolutely terrible very quickly. To get anything other than a single colour wrap needs digitally printed graphics on vinyl, otherwise you're just sticking multiple pieces of cut vinyl on top of each other, which on a bike can be a visual disaster (not such an issue on a truck/van).

Our advice to bikers was always "Go for paint", wrapping a bike is rarely a worthwhile proposition and it's not a long-lasting one.

Sorry I can't be more positive, but years of experience and many attempts at wrapping bike parts (the company used my 2003 Aprilia RSV 1000 bodywork as their test mule) and we never got a satisfactory finish or job with wrapping film.

A better option, would be hydro-dipping, but again that is very specialised, and all parts need to coated in a clear lacquer (clear coat painting) anyway, so you might as well just go with painting in the first place.

We did hundreds of police bikes and "blood bikes", but they were all decal-based jobs (decals some with very intricate designs digitally printed onto them, or  laid onto painted panels), not wraps and they were never a problem.

[RPM - Robert]

Very cool Robert, say hello to Ryan for me.
With that big bump in rwhp do you have enough tire?
Not a lot of room in those Miata's even with flairs.
Do you have a web page for this beast? I would love to follow you crazy guys.. 

Cheers lads
Fr. Paddy

Ryan is on instagram ryanr_18 and youtube LS3 Time attack miata with some build pics and in car vids

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks Robert!

[RPM - Robert]

Sorry, spaced out. We put some over fenders on it and are running 11" Hoosier a7s