Recommend vinyl wrap shop

[georgecorbett]

Hi, Does anyone here know of a store that will do vinyl wrap. I am in need so your suggestions will help me a lot.
Thanks!

[Ralph Inkster]

Many (including me) would suggest consider doing it yourself. It is not a very difficult task (if I can manage it & get complements, so could you).
As an alternate, maybe approach a shop that specialized in auto vinyl wrapping. They would easily be able to handle an aircraft installation, actually less difficult than doing a car!

[Bevan]

I echo what Ralph said. I did a full wrap myself. It took about 100 man hours over the course of a month.

Bevan

[fixnflyguy]

With these forums, often a location of where you are can yield quick answers . My next hangar down friend has a sign business, but he also wraps planes and has done some really nice stuff on several RV's as well as Zieneth aircraft. His shop is local. We are in central NC. It's nice to have the guy making the graphics or wrap see your plane and plan.

[GrinchF16]

How much do these wraps weigh? Cost?

[Captain_John]

Great topic!

I am considering wrapping my plane also.

What crossed my mind was, how does the wrap hold up to the heat from the exhaust and how does it clean up from the soot and lead in the exhaust trail?

CJ

[Bevan]

6 years and 300+ hrs of flight time. I’ve had no problem due to engine/exhaust heat. My aluminum upper plenum is also got a wrap on it for color. It has melted only slightly in a few spots where the vinyl is trapped under two sheets of aluminum.

I flown in temperatures from approx -10C to +30C (14 - 86F)

Fuel spills around the fillers has had no effect. Oil wipes off the belly just fine.

Overall, the 3M 1080 vinyl has held up well even in a few rain showers. I’ve had some erosion from rubbing where the aft canopy skirt rubs on the aft fuselage deck. If that area was painted, it too would probably have worn away.

A possible down side to vinyl wrap material is that it will not hold up well without support. So any gaps between panels, even the Philips hole in a forward facing screw will allow the vinyl to vibrate and break down. So it must be stuck to something everywhere. For example, I wrapped my wing tanks separately so they are easily removable if needed but then also there’s no panel gap for the vinyl to bridge over.

I weighed a square foot on a gram scale and multiplied that to the surface area of the entire aircraft. A calculated/estimated weight of all the vinyl applied was 15-20lbs as I recall.

Bevan

[Captain_John]

Thank you for the detailed run down on the performance of the vinyl!

Who was the vendor that you purchased it from?

CJ

[wcalvert]

In the USA ... Fellers is hard to beat $ wise, has free shipping and a good website.

[GrinchF16]

Great info, thank you!