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carbon fiber vinyl anyone
- Thread starter expo5.0
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expo5.0
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- October 18, 2001
- Messages
- 7,196
- Reaction score
- 5
- City, State
- Red Wing, MN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1996 xlt
now for a bit of a write-up
first of all this was hard! the curve of the rear panels made it very hard to get it to fit. i know mine aren't even close to perfect and i spent a couple of hours of labor on it. while doing it i also learned a couple of things which will help anyone else who might be interested.
1. i don't know the manufacturer of the vinyl, but i found it at two different automotive/sign shops here in phoenix. it is the automotive grade with the carbon fiber printed on it. you should be able to find it in your area, and you should be able to get 14" by 8' of it for around $60. thats how much you need and how much i payed.
2. make sure to also pic up a vinyl squeegie, and some applicating spray (the stuff that you use to clean the area and spray on to allow movement of the sticker, don't use water, this stuff is a ton easier to work with)
3. keep pets away from the work area
4. do not attempt to pre-cut the pieces to the shape of the parts you want to cover. instead just cut the vinyl into 2 foot by 14" sections. also remove the backing (if it has one on it, it will only get in the way)
5. for the sides of the car, it will be very easy to stick the stuff on their smoothly, just remember to fold back the rubber window seal as far as possible before you start so that you can wrap the vinyl around the pillars completely. (you don't want to be able to see the edges)
6. for the rear (this gets tricky) i found it was best to remove the backing from an entire 2' by 14" piece and wet it thoroughly with the spray both on the sticky side and the outside. then i aligned it with the curve of the pillar and using the squeegie started at the middle of the curve. i worked in both directions as far as possible before i got a wrinkle. then i rewet everything and heated the place where the wrinkle occured with a hair dryer and pulled it out by hand. i then repeated this process approximately 200 times. This left me with a piece of vinyl which was sticking to the entire pillar, but was also hanging over all of the edges (since i had never cut it) next i trimmed the top and bottom to fit the curve using a razor knife. then i had the pillar completely covered with vinyl and two large "flaps" hanging to each side. i trimmed these with a scissor as i saw fit and folded them over around the backside of the pillar on one side and into the space between the pillar and the rubber for the rear window on the other. (make sure to leave enough on the window side so that when you fold it over you can't see the matte black from any angle)
7. good luck, and feel free to ask any questions that come up.
first of all this was hard! the curve of the rear panels made it very hard to get it to fit. i know mine aren't even close to perfect and i spent a couple of hours of labor on it. while doing it i also learned a couple of things which will help anyone else who might be interested.
1. i don't know the manufacturer of the vinyl, but i found it at two different automotive/sign shops here in phoenix. it is the automotive grade with the carbon fiber printed on it. you should be able to find it in your area, and you should be able to get 14" by 8' of it for around $60. thats how much you need and how much i payed.
2. make sure to also pic up a vinyl squeegie, and some applicating spray (the stuff that you use to clean the area and spray on to allow movement of the sticker, don't use water, this stuff is a ton easier to work with)
3. keep pets away from the work area
4. do not attempt to pre-cut the pieces to the shape of the parts you want to cover. instead just cut the vinyl into 2 foot by 14" sections. also remove the backing (if it has one on it, it will only get in the way)
5. for the sides of the car, it will be very easy to stick the stuff on their smoothly, just remember to fold back the rubber window seal as far as possible before you start so that you can wrap the vinyl around the pillars completely. (you don't want to be able to see the edges)
6. for the rear (this gets tricky) i found it was best to remove the backing from an entire 2' by 14" piece and wet it thoroughly with the spray both on the sticky side and the outside. then i aligned it with the curve of the pillar and using the squeegie started at the middle of the curve. i worked in both directions as far as possible before i got a wrinkle. then i rewet everything and heated the place where the wrinkle occured with a hair dryer and pulled it out by hand. i then repeated this process approximately 200 times. This left me with a piece of vinyl which was sticking to the entire pillar, but was also hanging over all of the edges (since i had never cut it) next i trimmed the top and bottom to fit the curve using a razor knife. then i had the pillar completely covered with vinyl and two large "flaps" hanging to each side. i trimmed these with a scissor as i saw fit and folded them over around the backside of the pillar on one side and into the space between the pillar and the rubber for the rear window on the other. (make sure to leave enough on the window side so that when you fold it over you can't see the matte black from any angle)
7. good luck, and feel free to ask any questions that come up.
expo5.0
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- October 18, 2001
- Messages
- 7,196
- Reaction score
- 5
- City, State
- Red Wing, MN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1996 xlt
Godfather 1138
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- December 4, 2001
- Messages
- 189
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Fayetteville, AR
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '98 4.0
Day late....
Hey guys,
I know that I am jumping into this thred a litle late but...
I thought some of you might be interested to know that a company out of Germany called Folia-Tec (I think that's how it is spelled) carries SHEETS of REAL CARBON FIBER and a kit that has the resin to coat it. It's not as expensive as you think and will never fade, break, crack (the resin might if you do it wrong), or peel. Not dogging yout job Expo, cuz it looks good, but the black and grey squares just don't cut it for me (I've seen the vinal before). If I was concidering CF for anything that wasn't already availabe this would be my only choice. I'll try to find a link for you later....
Hey guys,
I know that I am jumping into this thred a litle late but...
I thought some of you might be interested to know that a company out of Germany called Folia-Tec (I think that's how it is spelled) carries SHEETS of REAL CARBON FIBER and a kit that has the resin to coat it. It's not as expensive as you think and will never fade, break, crack (the resin might if you do it wrong), or peel. Not dogging yout job Expo, cuz it looks good, but the black and grey squares just don't cut it for me (I've seen the vinal before). If I was concidering CF for anything that wasn't already availabe this would be my only choice. I'll try to find a link for you later....
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