| Author | Message | ||
     Schwara |
Does anyone have experience with doing vinyl wraps as opposed to painting their plastics ... good/bad, expensive/cheap, suggestions on companies ... especially around Cincinnati? I currently have red plastics on my XB12XT and I'm probably interested in going to a satin or flat black. I've seen the super fancy vinyl graphic wraps, but I'm wondering if the cost would be reasonable with just a solid color. Thanks. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
The shops around here in South Louisiana usually charge around $500 to wrap a bike. You could probably buy new plastics for that price if they are available. One other option to consider since you are going from red to black is to dye the plastics with RIT dye. It's only $3 a bottle. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?3842/647081 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/89892.html | ||
| Froggy |
I wrapped my chin spoiler, subframe, and fork guards on my XB. Similar to painting, it is a skill you need to aquire to do it right. The more curves and shapes involved, the harder it will be to wrap. The airbox will be a bit of a challenge due its bowl shape while the flyscreen can be done with zero effort.  http://www.trackwraps.com/ I did the rit dye on the fork guards before wrapping. It was a pain in the ass to do, then it faded. | ||
| Schwara |
Terry - Thanks I had not heard of using dye. I'll read up on that a bit more. Froggy - I had forgotten about this pick of your bike. I had assumed that it was wrapped do to the detail of the graphics, but I had no idea that you wrapped it yourself. I can barely see that you did your luggage as well. Very cool. | ||
| Schwara |
I have not seen a set of black plastics for sale or I would probably go that route. I've also thought about CF, especially after Al posted pics of his Uly, but that's just not in the budget. | ||
| Schwara |
Froggy - Now that I have been thinking ... I have an assortment of questions. Did you use a heat gun & is this a one man job? I might be interested in giving this a try, but I would also need to purchase a heat gun. To "practice" would it make sense to start with the flyscreen and then move down the list in difficulty / complex curves? Was this the 1st time you had done it or did you have prior experience? Thanks again. | ||
| Court |
>>>>Does anyone have experience with doing vinyl wraps as opposed to painting their plastics Guys on the Porsche board do their entire car and have great luck with it. Apparently, and I have no personal experience, it's a well developed process. Popular now are the "flat dull" colors | ||
| Froggy |
Blow dryer, and yes I one manned it.
Thats what I did, I did the fork guard first due to it being small, then I did the luggage thing being that it was flat-ish, then the chin spoiler then the subframe. I didn't do the side bag things because it was too curvy for me. This was my first experience doing it, the Trackwraps stuff was easy to work with, the material they use isn't super sticky, so you can easily manipulate it however you desire. Unfortunately, because it was my first attempt, if you look up close you will see wrinkles, bubbles, tears and other imperfections. It looks fine from 20 feet away though! Here is a handful of pics I took while doing the wraps. http://www.froggypwns.com/images/UlySSes/2009-03-2 1/index.html I recommend you give it a shot, worst comes to worst it peels right off and you are back to stock. | ||
| Froggy |
There are some videos on the trackwraps site, if you plan on doing the airbox I recommend you check the gas tank video they have so you can see what is involved with a complex shape. Also, if you can get someone to help you even on the small stuff, it will make your life easier. | ||
| Schwara |
Thanks again. This might very well be a handy thing to have some experience with. I think I will give it a try here before too long. My wife wants her bike painted for Christmas and if I can get this down I might try it on hers as well ... if she'll let me. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Let me know what people are learning... the replacement bits for the Hepco bag damaged by that evil corolla doesn't match the stock Buell color, so I am probably going to try wrapping both sides... I like the idea of it being reversible if I butcher it. By the way Schwara, the dealership near Kings Island is under new management and has a new parts guy, and they are suddenly a fantastic Buell dealer. I went in there to give them the chance after they got bought out (again), and my jaw literally dropped when I walked up to the parts counter and heard the new parts guy on the phone saying "no, we don't have anything here that will do what you want, you need to call American Sportbike, they have what you are looking for". That parts guy's decision to tell a customer the right answer lead me to proceed to spend more than $1000 with them over the next month. | ||
| Schwara |
Good to know, thanks. They are only 5 minutes from me so hopefully the new ownership will be a good thing. I'll also update on the vinyl wrap. Two of my cases need some love as well so that seems like something worth trying. I've passed by a blue XB at least twice in the last week or so between West Chester& Mason. Any chance that was you? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Nope, I'm on a big orange Uly now, and I commute between Lebanon and Dayton. Phil Thrasher has a very nice XB12 (red I recall) and is also running around here... |
