Vinyl Wrap...

[tgibbs]

What do you think the weight of the wrap is?

[Canadian_JOY]

Originally Posted by Piper J3

This time I chose 3M 1080 Gloss White Aluminum vinyl. 5'x10' piece cost $105 on eBay including shipping.

Jim - your post has been an excellent memory-jogger for me - thank you.

I'm curious... what is the difference between Gloss White and Gloss White Aluminum vinyl? There's something here that I'm just not "getting".

The aluminum parts of our aircraft are bare aluminum. I'd like to say polished aluminum but that would be a bit of a stretch. If going with vinyl I was thinking of gloss white and then gloss black for the wing leading edges to improve visibility of the aircraft when flying. Then I read your post and saw Gloss White Aluminum and suddenly went stupid!

Thanks again for your helpful comments.

[Piper J3]

Originally Posted by Canadian_JOY

Jim - your post has been an excellent memory-jogger for me - thank you.

I'm curious... what is the difference between Gloss White and Gloss White Aluminum vinyl? There's something here that I'm just not "getting"

Your best bet might be to order 3M Vinyl 1080 Scotchprint Series Car Wrap Film Color Selector Sample Book. $22.13
+ $4.65 Shipping on eBay.

Gloss White is Gloss White. Gloss White Aluminum is very near unpolished aluminum. Sample book is actual samples cut from roll material, so no guess work...

[Bob Y]

This is a subject I've been pondering as I get near the end of my build and am seriously considering vinyl wrapping the whole plane. Hopefully you guys with vinyl wrap experience can answer a couple of my nagging questions.

#1 Jim answered regarding repairs - apply color matching patch over damage. Got it.

#2 Will one be able to see any cracks in the aluminum under the vinyl? Thinking about some of the SBs that have come out and wondering how difficult it would be to inspect for cracks?

#3 Once the vinyl has been applied for some time, like years, is it easil removed if one wanted to revert to paint in some ares?

#4 If a skin needs to be replaced, can one simply cut the vinyl along the seams of the skin to remove and replace the skin or does the entire sheet of vinyl that covers the area need replacing?

#5 Can the entire plane really be vinyl wrapped? Thinking about oddly contoured areas such as the cavity where the canopy struts nest, the prop spinner, getting into the control surface hinge areas. Or will some of these areas need to be left bare or painted?

#6 And can one assume less of the airplane needs to be dismantled for the application of vinyl if wrapping the entire plane than if painting?

Appreciate benefiting from some of your experiences in this area.

[Bevan]

I’d like to clarify what I believe to be an error.

3M 1080 is NOT porous. At the factory, the adhesive is laid down lengthwise on the back in microscopic rows. In your shop, the vinyl gets squeegeed down on the plane’s surface and the trapped air easily finds its way to the end of the sheet along these rows. Of course it’s best to start in the middle of a section and work the air towards the ends. It’s very easy. In fact as you stroke the vinyl with the squeegee, any air bubbles seem to just disappear. Ideally (at least in theory) and with some heat and enough pressure, the rows of adhesive are completely squished to remove all trapped air between the rows of adhesive. The final surface is much smoother than paint, absolutely no orange peel or dust as with paint.

I agree with a little prick of a pin around any raised head rivets helps. I believe the prick is completely filled/closed afterward. Time will tell. 4 years now, 250+ hrs so far. Holding up very well so far. Always hangared.

Bevan


The white on the fibreglass parts is paint, matched to the vinyl. The rest (metallic black and gloss white) are is all 3M 1080 vinyl. All rights reserved

[Piper J3]

Here's a 12 that was vinyl wrapped...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js9w9gqnMzo

and a 9... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH4uJeI9YhI

[Canadian_JOY]

Originally Posted by Piper J3

Your best bet might be to order 3M Vinyl 1080 Scotchprint Series Car Wrap Film Color Selector Sample Book. $22.13
+ $4.65 Shipping on eBay.

Gloss White is Gloss White. Gloss White Aluminum is very near unpolished aluminum. Sample book is actual samples cut from roll material, so no guess work...

Thanks, Jim - that's exactly the answer I was looking for!

[DaleB]

Being a vinyl skeptic early on, I looked closely at N35PM three years in a row at Oshkosh. Still looked great after the third year. I have some vinyl on my 12, notably the forward fuse skin, front of the vertical stab, and the access panels on the belly. Earlier this year we had some additional trim and striping work done by a sign shop that does a lot of vinyl wrap work on cars and trucks.

The vinyl will scuff and get worn where there is contact, like under the front edge of the canopy in our case and under the tail edge of the slider on N35PM. Since it's hidden, I just leave it scuffed.

The access covers have not held up well. Tough to keep edges intact, and there's enough oil seepage that the vinyl has peeled up. No big deal; it takes very little time to pull the vinyl off, wipe them down with solvent and re-wrap, then they're good for another couple of years.

Screws... if they're non-countersunk screws, use nylon washers. IF they're countersunk screws, you can get countersunk washers or just accept that the vinyl is going to wrinkle a little when you snug down the screw.

And no, the vinyl is most definitely not porous, but as already noted there are little micro-channels in the adhesive for bleeding out air as it's applied. You'll still need a needle or something for non-flush rivets.

[Piper J3]

Today's progress...

[rv9builder]

Looks nice, Jim!

Did you fill the rivets in the close-up shot before applying the vinyl?