Matte Black Hood Wrap Re-wrap
 

OK, so as many of you regular readers of the 1LE forum know, a couple of us here have had some problems with marks on our hood wraps that just wouldn't come out (tbirdsleeve's "Mine" written on the hood is one of the worst!) My dealer agreed to replace mine and I had it done today. The results..... amazing!! It's looks almost better than new. A shout out here to my dealer's installer - Jim from VI Designz in Torrington CT! :clap2:. He is a true artist and did a great job, I couldn't be happier! Glad I decided to have the wrap put back on, the BRM just didn't look as "badass" without it. a little nerve wracking at times to watch :yikes: but it all worked out in the end!! :thumbup: Attached are some pictures of the install....

Looks great...again:smiling1: :thumbsup: How did they do the corners of the hood by the windshield?

heat gun (verrrrry carefully!) and he just wrapped it under and kept working it , mostly with his fingers. he did the whole hood surface first , then he pulled the edges under and trimmed it.

Great job--I hope mine comes out just as good--happy for you!!!

Is that a GM OEM replacement wrap or aftermarket brand?

GM OEM Wrap....dealer provided it... chevroletgraphics.com

Looks awesome!!!

I agree the BRM def looks better with the wrap. The black contrast really helps the BRM color pop more. Good choic having it re-wrapped!!

thats awesome man you should really start coming to some shows with CT 5th gen and a couple other 1LE guys:first::first:

Looks great! Luckily, no problems with mine so far & I've only used soap/water on it. One more thumbs us for the dealership too (thought we got our 1LEs from the same place). When I had a new splitter installed, the mechanic parked it away from everything and looked it over with me and the service manager, and the salesman I worked with to be sure I was happy with it.

Did he put anthying on the vinyl after install? Just curious if he used any particular detailing spray.

Did doing the concept wrap cross ur mind or was that not possible

I'm glad this is working out for you. But you're putting the same thing on that caused you the problem in the first place. Maybe the care method should change???

Here's what I do and I've posted this several times on the forum; I have not problems with the wrap and I leave my car outside 24x7 ...

1. Wash with foam gun.
2. Gently "scrub" with hand mit.
3. Rinse (and dry) using pooling or sheet method.
4. Finish drying with leaf blower (dedicated to car).
5. Once every 1.5 months protect it with Adams VRT (vinyl, rubber, tire).
6. Spot clean (eg: bird poop) with Garry Dean's infinite use detail juice (one or two caps with 8 oz of distilled water). Note: this takes out hard water stains too if you don't dry it fast enough.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

The Junkman2000 method :thumbsup:

I had it re-wrapped cause I didn't damage it and I wanted it restored to factory specs. If it gets all marked up in a couple of years, I'll revisit doing something different (paint??). anyways, I asked the guy who did the work (who has 12+ years of working with vinyl) what he would recommend to use on it. His answer..... nothing but soap and water!! :faint: He said that the matte vinyl is somewhat porous and and that anything you put on it will be absorbed into the vinyl and you will become a slave to whatever your using. He said that he has seen a ton of people start using a product on vinyl for awhile and when they stop applying it is when all the damage starts (cracking, fading, peeling, etc)! His recommendation would be to stick with nothing until it starts to show wear, then the Adam's VRT looked good, as well as McGuire's detail spray, but that it would be about all he would recommend for products....

His last thought was to give me the scraps that were left from the install and maybe cut several test pieces and try different products on half and nothing on the other half, put in outside and see what happens!! I might just do that!

:pop2:


Amazingly, I watched him work this stuff with a rubber squeegee covered in a paper towel and his fingers, some liquid spray and a heat gun... and I was actually impressed with how tough the vinyl actually is!! It takes a lot to mark it up, of course rubbing something on it when it's dirty would be the kiss of death! Ask tbirdsleeve about that!!

Hope this helps... remember I didn't say all this, the vinyl installer did....:biggrin:

I know I will be considered a Nut
 

Hey guys, quick question. I'm trading up to a 1LE from my V6. The 1LE I found is black 2SS with no RS. A few questions.

Can they remove the hood wrap and is the normal paint underneath? I like it better.:crazy:

Without the RS it will be missing the Halogen lights, correct? Are the taillights also different? Can dealer just install the Halogens and replace tailights?

Any other differences without the RS?

Question about wheels. Can wheels be stripped of black paint and what will be underneath?


Look, I know by now you think I'm nuts. I love the 1LE feel when I drive it, the close ratio gearbox, the handling etc. I'm not in love with the all black look and black wheels.:happyanim:

Has anyone else have a 1LE that doesn't have black wheels or no flat black hood?:grouphug:

Jim

Included a picture of my current 2LT to show you the look I like.

Looks great... the flat is the trick... everyone that cleans with product has "some" sheen to it which ruins the looks. No shine for the win!! make sure the soap you use does not have any gloss or wax in it. Surprisingly most do...

Hood is painted body color under wrap and can be removed--rims don't have the best quality paint coverage on them--not sure if u could strip or not and if u did it wouldn't have shiny chrome look--people LIVE the black rims (on ZL1 also)-- I guarantee someone would buy them off u and/or trade stock rims--u will LOVE the car!!!!!

Meant LOVE black rims not LIVE--autocorrect!!!!

1LE hood has the normal paint job under the wrap. Just peel the vinyl.
This is what they will look like stripped. Check with local wheel shops about blasting off the paint and polishing. They can chrome them if you want.

Okay that sounds good
 

Thanks to Tbirdsleeve and Southern Comfort.

I will have dealer remove wrap if i buy it. I will ask his wheel guy to see what can be done with wheels. I love the polished ones on the ZL1 pace car.

Black car with those polished wheels.:nod:

Jim:happyanim:

Yeah, that would look good:popcorn:

Yeah
 

Yes, and that Vette looks good as well. Do you have a ZR1 hood on that beauty?

Jim:happyanim:

@ Jims Mongoose - The non RS has the Halogen lamps. You must be talking about the HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps. You can get aftermarket ones by Eagle Eye. If you get the HID factory ones, they will be quite expensive. The taillights are just a shade darker lens for the RS compared to the non RS.

I found Angel Eye headlights:

http://www.carid.com/2013-chevy-camaro-headlights/

another link:

http://www.phastekperformance.com/20...-Kit-s/523.htm

:sorry: for the :threadjacked:

Thanks for the RS Correction
 

So bad@sscamaro, then the High Intensity Discharge lamps are what people are referring to when they say 'Halos', correct. If I get the car the dealer will throw those in or lose the deal. :happyanim:

Is it possible to get the darker lens for the taillights without buying the whole assembly?

Thanks for the links.:nod:

Jim:pop2:

It's not the lens it's the inner housing. Good luck with the dealer throwing in the HID's. U will need a hareness to make them work.

Your dealer is very likely to NOT just throw in the halo/HID lights... it takes a special wire harness (definitely NOT OEM) and of course, the lights themselves... new GM cost is likely close to or exceeding the entire cost of the RS package. If you really want the RS features, it may be bests to negotiate with the dealer and have them locate or order you what you want.

Water and soap is all you need to clean it off, that's what most owners with vinyl don't know.

Do people know that 3m warranties the wrap for life? Seems some people either don't know that or forgot.

Oh boy, bad news again.
 

Okay now I'm really confused. Are you saying that the Halos come on a different housing and that the dealer cant' just give them to me without changing the harness?:gossip:

If that's true than damn.:frown:

So the only way to get those Halos is with the RS package?

Thanks for the information:thumb:

Jim

i tried tht one but my dealer wouldnt install aftermarket parts on a brandnew car and the rs package wasnt to much more than buying the lights

Right. The halo lights are included in the housing with the HID headlights. It's not just a simple plug and play swap. there's aftermarket harnesses and then the cost of the entire headlight housing assembies.

It's worth getting the RS package. Don't take the cheap way out.

U will need a hareness if u switched to halos. The housing I was talkind about is the taillights, the lens r the same on rs and non-rs taillights. The inner housing on rs tails are dark inside.

Sorry, I didnot mean to Hijack this thread
 

Apparently by just mentioning the RS Halo lights and that I wanted the dealer to throw in, many of you guys have given me some great information, but in the process it kind of hijacked the thread:sorry:

Thanks again for all the information:nod:

Jim

Getting my wrap put on tomorrow!

I had my Hood Painted for almost the same cost they wanted to rewrap it :) And Now I can wash it and WAX it :) I don't care how many birds shit on it :)
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/pictur...ctureid=122779

I have some of the dreaded scratches on mine... but I'm hesitating putting anything on it.

Jim just did mine today and it looks awesome!
Great job at a great price. Drove 1 1/2 hours each way and would do it again, very good work and friendly shop.

OP, did you contact dealer first for warranty on hood wrap, or called 3m warranty line? I've called the 3m customer service 2 times and left messages with no reply 1 month apart from each call. Maybe I should take to dealer if they get ahold of the warranty guys, cause I have no luck.

I went to the dealer and they got it taken care of for me, I also called 3M after the wrap was replaced at the dealership because I thought it was stained again. They answered my emails promptly, even offering to mail me a replacement wrap if the cleaning directions on their website didn't take care of the stain. The dealership was great because they either had 3M cover the install or they paid for it, either way I was no money out of pocket. I do think in the future I will have the wrap removed and the hood painted, the wraps are only suppose to be left on for 3 years according to the 3M website. Good luck and hopefully your dealership will be as good as mine was.