My paint on my 4runner is toast. This is definitely it's last year. Wanted to poll the group on experience with wraps vs. painting.


There's a shop in town that appears to be top notch for applying wraps. My questions are:


- how well does it hold up to minor scuffs?
- lifespan sounds like it's about 4 years - any experience here?
- any other impressions?

 

how about plasti-dip spray the car..

 

^^^, I'm going to dip my truck when I install the fiberglass quarters. Wrapping is $$, and so is a decent paint job. Since I wheel my truck, I'd rather be able to touch up the paint when necessary with a can of plasti-dip. Same reason I use POR-15 on all steel on the rig, scrap it, paint it, repeat. We have salt out here, your results may very.
Plasti-Dip(dipyourcar.com) doesn't look as nice as a pro paint job IMO, but I like the flat look, and my truck is always dirty with some branch pin strips, so no need to spend $$ on something that will get ruined or marred first few feet onto a trail. I think plasti-dip has the same life span of about 4 yrs, but its super easy to apply yourself. Wrapping...not so much. Although wrapping would probably hold up better on the trail.

 

the other option, which I am leaning towards is Rustoleum roll on paint job

 

As long as you stick to bragging about your off road adventures in the past.

At the Mall or Bar parking lots a wrap might last you some time.

I like the Roller Idea the best

 

I like the idea of a roll-on paint job too. Have seen a few great paint jobs online after it was done...even on classic cars! Supposedly it self levels pretty well and you won't end up with any texture if you do it right and add some wet sanding in there. Prep work as always is the key factor of any painting.

I'm not 100% on this, but I think for both vinyl wrap and plastidip, you need good intact paint underneath in order to have it successfully stay put and come off clean when you're removing it.

 

Any paint or wrap needs a clean prepped surface, however, plastidip only requires a clean surface, no scuffing, and actually will cover bare metal quite well even over body filler. Removal is the same no matter what type of surface you spray it on. The issue would be if you clear-coat the plastidip with standard clear(do't even bother using rattle-can clear on anything that sees sunlight) makes the dip more brittle and will break more when trying to remove.
Dipmycar has many videos ans instructions. I haven't done a full car yet, but will soon. Also keep in mind plastidip 'looks' a certain way even when glossifier is used to give it a shinier appearance. For $400 you can buy a kit that includes the paint gun(electric) and enough paint and prep supplies to do a whole SUV.
Standard car paint is the most expensive route to go, and most time consuming. Not to mention, not everyone has a paint booth in their garage.

 

+2. Haven't done it, but I've seen it. Can look really nice.

Never heard of this. Basic google search isn't getting me an answer so I'll have to look later.