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Recommend vinyl wrap shop

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

Bevan
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Location?

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.
 
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?

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

Who was the vendor that you purchased it from?

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

Who was the vendor that you purchased it from?

:confused: CJ

I bought from a local sign shop because they had competitive pricing and offered lots of tips for working with it.

Bevan
 
I bought from a local sign shop because they had competitive pricing and offered lots of tips for working with it.

Bevan

Is there anything special about the vinyl for an aircraft? There are a couple sign shops in our area but they're a bit reluctant to do an aircraft wrap, they're not sure what kind of material to use, etc. I've got my design finalized and would like to get it applied before it gets too cold.


Thanks
 
I've done vinyl accents on several of my airplanes, but never a full wrap. But, I have always had good success contacting a manufacturer and asking if their product would be suitable for installation on a vehicle travelling 200 mph.

For my last DIY application I used 3M 2080, and I found it worth the money (vs. 1080) to make for an easier installation.
 
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