Optics - Paint or Wrap?

[edge]

Well there looking a little untidy at this stage.

I always wanted to go 100% phantom black and get the optics and mirrors and alloys done.

I read before that the wrapping of the optics will damage them when you want to remove it.

Am i better off going for a paint?

[sonny]

Paint will chip surly? Cant see a wrap damaging the front grill, window trim may be a different story though.

[hlbeckley]

I am going plasti dip
Go look at dipyourcar.com
They just did a V10 R8
Also just released the anthracite metallics which look awesome

[-Boosted-]

I went with the wrap as I did not want a permanent change (paint) or the texture of plastidip. I'm still debating on whether or not to wrap the mirrors.

Before



After

[brn7y]

What is the black rectangle below your front plate holder?

[-Boosted-]

What is the black rectangle below your front plate holder?

Something that is normally not visable when the license plate is there....radar detector/jammer. My license plate is held on with magnets and normally on the car unless I am taking pictures.

[edge]

Cheers -Boosted- I am more tempted by the wrap option.

Anyone else have expierence with wrap and window/boot trim?

Just got a quote from a www.carstyle.ie for €200 for all the optics and mirrors in black to match the car.

[sar]

i had my ali trim wrapped using 3m film, the wrap was on for about 18 months.

when i removed the wrap it pulled the metal plating off the front grill and rear bumper trim (these are plastic which have been metal plated).
it never pulled any coating off the window door top trims and the roof trim as theses are real metal trims it did however leave a coating of adhesive on them which was a total <beep> to remove, it was a nightmare.
i had to use a real strong solvent to remove it, even with the solvent it took some elbow grease.

i had already decided i was going to paint my trim l8au titanium so i removed it from my car, i cant see how i could have removed all the sticky with the trim still attached without marring my paint in some way.

as for painting the trims mine have held up great the only place i have a few chips is on the front grill but then my original ali grill picked up chips and even the 3m wrap chipped, no matter what you do the grill will always chip.

[edge]

Thinking about re-sale in the future.....but have NO plans to let her go for a while.

If I have it wrapped then the option is for any future owner to have them removed, however difficult. If its painted, this is how it will be from now on.

Any idea on price comparison for the two?

[sar]

yer paint is kind of permanent lol, just saying wrapping may not always be as easy to reverse as some people may think.

as for costs i did all the work myself, wrapping will defo be cheaper though and to do a proper job of painting the trims they all have to be removed from the car so its going to be costly.

if i wanted the black optics look today i would just go the full hog and fit the oem kit, i just fancied something different and because you cant buy the trim in titanium i painted it to get the look i wanted.

[KernowPete]

Does anybody know the paint code for the OEM silver trim window surround and strip below the boot lid?

[edge]

yer paint is kind of permanent lol, just saying wrapping may not always be as easy to reverse as some people may think.

...but they COULD remove it

[-Boosted-]

I am not certain of the products you guys have available to you but here in the US, there is a product called "Goo Be Gone" which removes adhesive residue without any damage to the surface, including paint and plastics.

When I got my car wrapped, it cost me $260 US and that included the grill, window surrounds, rear trunk area, taillights and reflectors. I chose not to do the mirrors at this time because I have not decided whether or not to keep them silver or go with the ti.

I watched wrap being removed from another vehicle that was going to a different color after having the wrap for a while (sorry, I did not ask how long). They used a heat gun to warm up the wrap which softened the material as well as the adhesive and was able to pull off the wrap in rather large pieces. Very little residue left on the surface which was easily removed and prepped for the new wrap to go on.

I honestly believe if there is any chance that you would want to go back to stock, wrap is the best option followed by plastidip which I don't like due to the texture.

[otterolly]

yer paint is kind of permanent lol, just saying wrapping may not always be as easy to reverse as some people may think.

...but they COULD remove it

Plasti dip just peels off when you no longer require it

[edge]

Right three quotes in, all trim & windowns in black: €200, €260 and €300-350(Depending on the time they will need on it).

Based on the feedback and from the website alone the €200 seems like the best option, but the furthest away.

Anyways deceided, its wrap not paint!