So I have been thinking, when I have my M3 to a stage I'm happy it's mechanically and structurally top notch, I will be having a few small areas of the carbon black paintwork done to get it perfect.. was then thinking I may get it wrapped? I've never actually seen a wrapped car close up, only in passing on the road.. anyone got one? Comments welcome? Recommended places? Costs? Durability? Finish? Maintenance? 2 lines of thought regarding colour, a sensible OEM BMW colour never available for the E46 M3 such as santorini blue or mineral white.... or an off the wall colour like Lamborghini neon green or similar? Seen pics of a nardo grey E46 M3 which I must say I thought looked awful, same goes for matt black..
The thing i cant stand with wraps is the horrific orange peel effect, its always so bad, and i dont think you can do much about it.
Why would you get the paint done before you wrap it? I think they only last about 3 yrs too (maybe wrong on that) but personally I think that’s expensive for and very short period that it will be on. If your going to wrap it you gotta go different I wouldn’t go anywhere near normal bmw colour but go more lary for sure !!
Hi, As ever, depending on the quality of vinyl used, the type/grade used you can get absolutely fantastic results devoid of any orange peel and to the extent that it has to be pointed out a car/vehicle is wrapped! The picture there I took at the SEMA show.. in 2010! almost a decade ago! Again, depending on the choice of material you go for, the guarantee can be as much as 10 years and over the years, the quality has improved alot even amongst the entry to mid level quality materials. Back in 2008, I had a vinyl wrap on my E39 Touring and had a carbon fibre effect 'printed' into the base colour vinyl. At that time, the 'explosion' of privately owned cars having a vinyl wrap hadn't really happened. I approached the specialists who'd done a couple of our Business Smart cars who listened to my requirement and had the wrap ready 3 days later for application. The guarantee at that time was 5 years and it did have the orange peel effect, but only really detectable upon 'close' inspection; At the time, I was perhaps 8-10 months prior to the textured Di-NOC carbon fibre vinyl that became so popular and to my knowledge, no one else did the 'printed' option like I did! I'm now choosing what I'll have done again as this wrap was removed as part of the respray I've had done. There's a lot of absolutely fantastic colours available, different finishes and cost varies from the usual base solid colours right up to the very best and crazy options out there. The crucial aspect is the expertise of preparation of the car and the skill in application. There's budget, mid and high level specialists out there with price levels accordingly. I will always recommend Totally Dynamic in North London, speak to Scott and tell him I sent you along There are others around the UK with a similar high level reputation too. Maintenance for me was ultra easy, I'd just use soapy water/hand car wash places. After about 6/7 years. the wrap on mine began to deteriorate akin to the 'lacquer' coming off not helped by some moron at a car meet who got a key out and scraped the vinyl in an apparent attempt to determine if it was real or not. I was inside (Ace Cafe) and by the time someone came and told me, the perp had walked away and as it was a darker night, couldn't be seen. I did have more noticeable swirl marks as well. I think with more careful washing/cleaning the swirl marks could be kept to a minimum. I'd personally suggest going for a BMW colour/Individual colour not usually seen/available on a E46 if you want to stay relatively safe, and perhaps one of the same from another marque colours that's well revered, or, go more extravagant with more modifications to help tie it together! Cheers, Dennis!
It’s on my list to do, think the matte colours really work well on the E46. Saw a green one online from De/Nl and it looked spot on. Good idea to protect the paint over time, minimise stone chips etc. Yhe higher quality stuff is not that orange peely and you can also machine polish it if it gets swirly. I’ve seen some pretty in depth wrap jobs and prices to match. Think it’s ideal with a black car and just doing the outside tbh!
Great post !! I know the tech has improved massively with this some is self healing now from scratches, and most can be waxed/sealed too.
I've get the paintwork done so there's no chance of defects etc showing through wrap, then wrap it and it's protected... if then in years to come I sell the car it can be sold wrapped or removed to show perfect paintwork, which will no doubt be rare on E46 M3s in 5+ years. I'm led to believe a good quality installer will offer a far longer guarantee than 3 years, as I say I'm torn between the bmw individual (not available on e46) and the out there lairy colours
Excellent post, great information, thank you very much. Will contact Scott My main concern from the initial research is the orange peel on gloss wraps, but seemingly as the technology and expertise has moved on this has become less of an issue?
Whats not your thing? Wrap or colour choices? Lairy coloured cars will always be marmite, and especially with E46 M3's because OEM look is very prominent especially in the UK, which I do appreciate! But a wrap is a dual purpose, alternative appearance (temporary) and original paint protection.
There is literally unlimited choice for colours. TeckWrap USA do some really cool finishes, crimson red looks phenomenal on cars with gloss black details. world is your oyster
I've had one of my M3's wrapped. It was done by Yannimize about 6 years ago now. It still looks the same as the day it was done. I had the door shuts done too. I think I paid £2200 or £2400, can't remember now. I will post some pics later on for you to see
Problem with wraps is that it could damage the paint/laquer underneath It’s happened before and some of the horrors I’ve seen I’d never wrap mine!! If the car is mint and you want to spend £2-3k then I’d get it PPF’d
Hi, If you have paintwork that's deteriorated or some new paintwork that wasn't done to a high enough standard, any underlying rust bubbles etc then chances are higher when a vinyl wrap is removed, some paint could be lifted and off. Solid paintwork has much less chance of lifting as the chemical agents used to soften the adhesive prior to removal are very good in ensuring when peeled away there's less force needed. By using good/higher end grade vinyl in the first place also means its very unlikely of any paint lifing upon removal too. There's horror stories with Vinyl wraps just as there's horror stories with resprays. bmlfc88 - Depending on what you want for your car and then the colour/finish choice, you may need to partner it with other visual modifications to 'tie' it all in/together. If you do go with a more extravagant BMW colour, or one from another car brand and some of the more daring finishes etc, I'd say you'd need some similar level better wheels, lip spoilers, lower ride height etc etc. You are right about the UK in general terms being very conservative in terms of visual upgrades/modifications and the E46 M3 is no different - just look at this forum for instance ! With the right blend of colours and stylign mods, an E46 M3 can look very classy with a modified look and makes a very welcome change from the usual very common changes most owners do! Let us know which way you go ! Cheers, Dennis!
