Newbie with Glossy C/F vinyl advice

April 3, 2011

Hi brand new here & a bit of a L O N G 1st post sorry!

First off I'm by no means a pro or very experienced with these things but have been doing a few bits & pieces on my spare time off work....so be gentle!!

I've been buying some of the 3D c/f vinyl wrap off ebay and have done a few dash kits for Saabs....(I'm a bit of a Saab Nut...)

I've covered the following dashes for the 9000, 9-3 & 9-5 and a few other trim parts for my own 9000. I tried the 3M Di-NOC vinyl last year but prefer the 3D stuff as its cheaper and has a more of a sheen finish to it. Anyway...pics:

Saab 9000 (mine)

I was pretty chuffed with these until 2 hours later when I refitted the dash and found my mistakes!!

Instead of working the vinyl into the cubby holes & DIN slots I just cut around them so you can now see some of the walnut underneath! (circled in yellow) Gutted about this! Also on the door cards I messed up with the way the grain of the c/f is going...easy fix though and just lucky its on the 2 smaller parts!

Saab 9-3

Saab 9-5

Now I'm thinking about covering some more stuff, but in the glossy c/f type vinyl but the only stuff I can find back here in the UK is the cheaper film. I've bought some smaller sheets to try but had no joy with it...the 3D stuff I've been using is a lot better quality tbh. I've just bought a full wood interior set for the car to replace whats on there.... so will sell whats already covered and start again!

The closest I can find to what I want is this stuff from the states:

http://www.decalfx.com/carbon_2_sheets.html

and this below but cant seem to get it in black!

http://www.decalfx.com/3d_carbon_fiber_red_sheets.html

Ebay US:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Carbon-Fiber-I...c#ht_2135wt_686

Has anyone used the glossy stuff? Anywhere in the UK that sells it? Pics would be great here to get a better I idea on how it looks but what I'm after is this effect below:

Any help really appreciated here as I'm a bit stuck!

Thanks, Dave.

Jayz81 · April 4, 2011

Not sure if its any help or not, but you should check Oracal, Arlon, Mactac, FDC and Avery. they are the biggest manufacturers of vinyl in the world , and you can find dealers and suppliers anywhere in the world , or even buy online and have it shipped to you. Oracal and 3m make a vinyl with the effect you are looking for . Kind of expensive though . Good luck !! Ohh, and the installs look really nice for a newbie too by the way.

April 4, 2011

Thanks for those names, I'll get looking tonight! I've got 3 or 4 more to make up then I'm out of film!

I ordered a few samples last night so will see which is best and give that one a try. I think one was called Hexan??? And the other was the new 3M 1080 c/f vinyl....not sure if this is what I'm after though as it looked more of a shiny Di-Noc so similar to what I've already got.

Also ordered a couple of small samples from the states (cant find these anywhere back here in the UK) :thumb

April 28, 2011

Its all gone a bit pear shaped :nope

I made up a few more sets for some of the guys on the Saab forums and then ran out of film so had to get the remainder sent to me (bought 5 meters worth and only got sent 2m to begin with) the remainder turned up but for some reason its just not sticking to the parts and whatever I do I cant get rid of the tiny air bubbles....so wasted a good 30-40% of it and had to refund the guys! Gutted....plus the guy I bought it off isn't getting back to me as theres an obvious fault with this batch! First lot went on great...

Anyway here's a couple more I made before it all went wrong:

Saab 9000 Dash

Saab 9-5 Dash

I sold these but made basically zero profit on them as they just wouldn't sell for what I wanted (not a huge amount but everyone's broke at the moment!)

April 28, 2011

Samples

A few days after making these I had some small samples turn up and also bought a couple of rolls of the cheaper ebay stuff to see how they all compare (plan is to sell the covered parts in my car and re-cover the spare bits of trim I've got with a more shiny one)

So here's the cheap stuff off ebay to begine with. Bought around £20 worth to cover a large 9000 dash....but its seriously crap! Doesn't stick to anything bar a flat surface and will not bend or stick to any curves, wont stretch like the 3D & Di-Noc stuff and creases like a good un. Has a kind of metallic/foil like finish to it.....Terrible and it went straight in the bin.

flash off:

flash on:

Next up was a couple of A4 sized sheets to cover some wing mirrors. They looked promising on the ebay ad when they were covering a wing mirror and cost around £12 for the 2 sheets. Took 2 weeks to turn up and the finish is even worst than the 1st one! Binned again! Not happy!!!

flash off:

flash on:

Here's the 3D stuff I've been using which has been great up till now!

flash off:

flash on:

And here's a few side by side shots to compare the different finishes:

3D vs the cheap stuff:

So from that lot above the 3D vinyl is only slightly more expensive but much better tbh.

The more expensive & better quality stuff

Around a week later some more small samples turned up. I ordered some Hexis c/f film and 3M 1080 c/f film both off ebay.

Here's the Hexis:

And 3M 1080:

Both very similar but the weave is a lot smaller than the Di-Noc and 3D film. Also much more shiny, look almost glossy tbh but still has a textured finish to them

Both side by side (3M on the right)

Not a huge difference between them but the 3M looks a little darker in the pics, both look almost identical in the flesh. Both look like they can be moulded the same way as the Di-Noc & 3D films can and I've read somewhere that the 1080 film is even easier to work with?? So out of them all these 2 seem the best so far....as long as you prefer the smaller weave?? Could be onto a winner here with these pair!

A few days later another small sample turned up from the states (ebay us) which was called 'carbon fibre lll' (lll instead of 3 I guess!)

This one has a gloss like finish (smooth to the touch and not textured like the 2 above. Seems pretty flexible but I don't think it'll be as mouldable as the Hexis & 3M stuff?? So might not be what I'm after but I think would look great on a bonnet or roof. Also I think it could scratch a lot easier as it came with a few light surface scratches...but I could be wrong.

Here is how it looks curved (as it will look on my door caps)

And here's how the 3M 1080 looks curved:

Side by side with the other 2

3M & c/f lll

c/f lll & hexis

and lastly the 3 together (3M 1080 - c/f lll - Hexis)

So out of the 7 or so different types of film I've tried out including 3M Di-Noc I think its either the Hexis or 3M 1080 I'll go for. Still waiting on another sample to turn up from DecalFX in the states which looks great on screen, but I need to see it i the flesh before buying a large enough roll.

Apologies if you all know the above but for a complete novice like me I think its a handy little comparison. Just need to choose a film next month then strip the bloody car out again :thumb

May 3, 2011

Things went a bit pearshaped last month with this 3D vinyl film I bought. Basically I bought 5 meters worth, had 2m sent out in the first batch which went on a treat and then when my supplier got more in he sent the remaining 3 meters out to me around 6/7 weeks later. Only problem is the 2nd batch wouldn't take to the dash boards (or any surface) with out bubbling and leaving tiny creases, usually you just re-heat it, gently peel off and it goes back down fine, this 2nd batch just got worst & worst. This threw me for a few weeks and I couldn't work it out ?? Had to refund 3 guys what they paid me and wasted 3 large sheets of vinyl trying to sort it out as it had to go in the bin....so now out of pocket by a good £150 here :lol : Contacted the supplier but no joy as yet....not even a reply off him.

Here's how they look freshly cut of the roll, both look almost exactly the same but if you look closely at the 2nd picture the one on the right has a slightly bigger weave (1 mm's of a difference...tiny but its 100% a different brand film) plus when you physically pull it off the backing it just feels different to the first batch, curls and sticks into itself, once both sticky sides get together thats it and a bugger to separate.

Good stuff is on the right:

And here's how they look peeled off 1/2 way and laid back down on the white backing:

You can see the bubbling now which the 1st lot doesn't have.

And here's why :roll:

The 1st batch had this on the sticky side, loads of small channels to get rid of any air pockets:

And the other one has this:

Nothing!!! Just normal sticky backing that you get on the really cheap crappy stuff, this is why its bubbling and no good. Even putting a tiny pin prick in the bubble doesn't help and just creates even more smaller air bubbles!

Here's them side by side for a comparison:

No way is it the same stuff....not happy!!!

My supplier might not even be aware of this so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and not go into one just yet, but he's not even replied to me so I think I've been screwed over again!.... I've noticed on ebay there's some sellers selling 10meters worth of this stuff for peanuts when they should be going for a good 300+ quid if not more....coincidence???

So anyone looking at getting this 3D vinyl (worth asking on any vinyl you buy) check with the seller first that its got the air channels on the back sticky side! Because both films look almost exactly the same, same textured feel, same shiny finish but the carbon weave is just slightly different. One works and the other is just crud!

Not sure how I even get my money back here?? I bought them outside of Ebay but through Paypal so maybe they can sort something out. Plus the guys Ebay name has changed but I've still got his Paypal email.