[MTLDean]

I have two small scratches on either side where others have opened their car doors and made contact. Eventually I'm expecting the same on the front and rear plastic bumpers, etc.

I'm curious, will wrapping the car protect the finish against small rock chips and door dings and so on? It's the same price to wrap with with a color as with clear 3M. I was thinking it might be fun to go with a matte grey. Or is it so thin that it won't make a difference?

 

[rsamani]

do they wrap over the clear bra or it has to be taken off before the wrap is applied.

 

[komiko]

i am no expert, but i would bet there is some protection.

 

[plastique999]

do they wrap over the clear bra or it has to be taken off before the wrap is applied.

I wrapped my 430 previously from black to satin pearl white. Looked awesome.
Yes it does protect the paint.
You can wrap over clear bra, you will just see the seam through the wrap.
Fully reversible.

 

[RBH]

It can protect your car if it is a good quality product. Here is what I did on mine for track use.

Vinyl Wrap - Before/Concept/After - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community

 

[dt34]

I have my M3 wrapped and i love it. Seems to offer some protection. Thinking about getting the Evora S wrapped this spring.

 

[cyow5]

It depends largely on what insurance says, but I am debating on wrapping over some fiberglass repairs instead of repainting. The guys I talked to want about $800 for the wrap, $1500 for the install. What's the general feeling here? Worth the savings compared to paint? Obviously it isn't permanent since the material is not as durable.

Given the curves of the Elise, is it something a novice can do in one try? If it takes two then I might as well have the pros do it.


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[Nessal]

It depends on the type of wrap you want. If you are trying to get the whole car wrapped with 3m clear bra, yes it will be more because material cost is more than typical vinyl. A vinyl wrap can range from 2-4k. It depends on how much work the installer has to do such as removing headlights, sidemarkers, taillights, etc.

 

[Chouch]

My experience with wrap is limited to my Ducati motorcycles.
I have carbon fiber body panels that I got wrapped in a combination of 3M gloss back and 3M gloss white.

While the results looked good from far, I was not that impressed on close look. Decent, not outstanding.
Could be that the shop butchered the job, dunno. I've seen a Gallardo they did, and it clearly looked way better than what I ended up with.

The wrap does protect your paint from usual rock chips and stuff like that.
My carbon fiber, amd mostly the clear coat on it, was intact after wrap removal.


I'm wrapping the Elise this winter, probable a bright Orange from 3M, or their lime green.
Thinking about doing it myself...

 

[sturgeongeneral]

Whether clear bra or color, it WILL help to protect the paint and finish.

 

[squidward]

I'm curious, will wrapping the car protect the finish against small rock chips and door dings and so on?

Of course, but like everything there's a limit. Small rocks can still penetrate the film so there's no real guarantee.. But as they say, something is better than nothing. Most popular PPF and cast vinyl have specifications/ratings. Look them up and buy the one you're comfortable with. Just keep in mind the thicker the film, the more obvious as they often require multiple pieces for sharp curves, resulting in seams.