Paint vs vinyl wrap.

[Buster Junior]

Does anyone have any experience with diy vinyl wrap instead of exterior paint? From what i have been reading about vinyl auto wraps, it sounds very doable...but when i speak to friends i am getting lots of negative feedback on the diy part. Appreciate any input, advice, or personal experience. Thanks.

[peteg59]

If you've never done a vehicle wrap, it might be in your best interest to get a few tips from the pro's before jumping into it?

Many wraps are computer generated, along with the vinyl printer being a specialized piece of equipment.
I have no idea how expensive the buy-in of equipment would be, but if you can foresee a future in producing vehicle wraps perhaps it would make sense to bite the bullet money wise, and get yourself setup to actually do a DIY wrap on your bus?

Good luck and post pics of your bus before and after wrap, if you go for it...

[Buster Junior]

So...i wasnt thinking about any special design. There are solid colors in 3M brand and it looks like total cost would be under 1k. No special equipment...hair dryer or heat gun...i have both. You can order the material on line. I have ABSOLUTELY zero experience with this. But i have watched a fair number of videos and it does look reasonable. Time consuming if done correctly. But with patience i THINK it could work out. Just looking if anyone has any experience with it. Thanks for the input✌

[rossvtaylor]

I've got no experience with application, but I've had to remove it...because eventually it will start to crack and shrink. At least here in Arizona, that happens sooner than paint will. Scott Crosby, YouTube's "Bus Grease Monkey" just did a video about his VW Thing, which had been wrapped and as the wrap aged it allowed water to penetrate. The wrap actually trapped a bunch of water, which froze into large ice blisters.

[Buster Junior]

Wow...i had no idea. I will definitely look into that aspect. Thank you rossvtaylor.