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Curious on those with 06-08 waterfalls, did you have any issues vinyl wrapping the lower portion? Not the aluminium around the shifter for MT cars, but the actual lower portion where the AC controls bolt up to for example. On the 6MT one the curves are pretty hard compared to the 03-05. I feel like I may need to use 3M primer 94, but it may be the vinyl I'm using also.
For reference its Vvivid's Gloss Carbon. I have seen a few people wrap in matte carbon, but had a pro do it and others wrapped the 03-05 which seems much easier.
If you ever need to use any kind of adhesion promoter when doing vinyl, then you are either not doing it correctly, are using junk material, or the surface isn't prepped well.
Some plastics can be tougher to stick than others. I havent wrapped that center console before but my guess is that the vinyl may just not grab whatever waxy film is sitting on top of the plastic. If your center console is currently in rough condition then I would highly recommend using a fine grit sandpaper on it before laying vinyl. That should help greatly.
If you don't want to tarnish the current finish on the waterfall then you likely just are not applying the vinyl well. To my knowledge, I believe the Vvivid carbon is a relatively tacky vinyl so its adhesive is likely not the issue.
As someone who has most of my interior wrapped I can tell you the 3M 94 does help but at the same time make it harder to do. Mine is done in 3M vinyl so it isn't lack of quality, I put the primer it because I intend for mine to be semi permanent and don't want issues in the future. For any curves a heat gun is your best friend, be prepared for the weave in the carbon to stretch and distort (main reason I did a solid color on curvy panels)
So touching base on that topic again, the carbon wrap sticks. It's a thicker material as I'm using their black wrap as well. I don't mind a bit of distortion which I have already seen, but it may just be the way I'm applying the vinyl.
Originally Posted by craig12895
If you ever need to use any kind of adhesion promoter when doing vinyl, then you are either not doing it correctly, are using junk material, or the surface isn't prepped well.
Some plastics can be tougher to stick than others. I havent wrapped that center console before but my guess is that the vinyl may just not grab whatever waxy film is sitting on top of the plastic. If your center console is currently in rough condition then I would highly recommend using a fine grit sandpaper on it before laying vinyl. That should help greatly.
If you don't want to tarnish the current finish on the waterfall then you likely just are not applying the vinyl well. To my knowledge, I believe the Vvivid carbon is a relatively tacky vinyl so its adhesive is likely not the issue.
The finish has some missing paint by the AC controls, but the ping pong finish is not tarnished. I used rubbing alcohol and scrubbed it down clean prior and made sure to let it dry. It was sticking fine, its just forming the harsh curves has been an issue.
@DarkZ03 did you use the 3m gloss carbon? it's a bit more of a matte finish. also you have the 06-08 center as well or 03-05? 03-05 seems so much easier to do.
As you can see, after the AC controls it curves 90 degres, then 90 again, but the issue is with the left and right curves. I tried inside (starting by the AC controls) and working outward but the curves to be a pain as it distorts the rest of the film even with heat and then eventually the adhesive is just not enough so I figured 94 may help. I may just need a second shot at it.
My car has a 06+ interior but I didn't do the waterfall, I'd say that panel isn't nearly as hard as the inner B-pillar panel and I did those. Are you trying to wrap it with the silver part installed? I'd say start at the top area, have the 2 PCs separated and do it in 2 different PCs of vinyl (3 if covering the silver too). The stuff I'm using is the matte di-noc.
My car has a 06+ interior but I didn't do the waterfall, I'd say that panel isn't nearly as hard as the inner B-pillar panel and I did those. Are you trying to wrap it with the silver part installed? I'd say start at the top area, have the 2 PCs separated and do it in 2 different PCs of vinyl (3 if covering the silver too). The stuff I'm using is the matte di-noc.
I already did the metal piece separately using gloss black, so i'm doing the waterfall separate. That i'm trying to do in VVivid high gloss carbon.
Started in the middle and stretched out round the corners. No primer used and it did distort a bit. Ballache to do, and the waterfall was the first thing I'd ever wrapped.
04-04-2018, 11:52 AM
Tips on Center Console Vinyl Wrap
