Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Members Cars => Topic started by: exarkun1178 on Monday,April 22, 2013, 06:32:50 PM
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Half finished...
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I like the colour scheme, very "70s racer-ish" :)
The vinyl wrap thing has fascinated me, as someone who struggles to get virtually any material crease-free when re-trimming, just how you guys manage the complex curves of something like the front of the car is well beyond me. But that looks smooth and shiny......
Brian
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Agreed. It looks great, and the crease free application amazes me. Very cool.
I have a question; what are you running for tires?
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That looks marvelous! It could be an ad for vinyl, especially with ass half left bare for comparison.
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Amazing. There is a guy down the hill that wrapped his Lexus in carbon fiber print.........
How long does this last in the desert sun? The ultimate test..............
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Thanks guys for the complements
Regards the tires, i am running Toyo R888s 185 60 13 in the fronts, 205 60 13 in the rear.
back when I had my Elise, i had the chance to try several r compound tires. the R888s were by far, the best, for my driving style and use.
i havent put many miles on this set yet - still sorting through a few issue(no windshield for example)
hope to be able to report my experience with the set up soon.
As far as the no crease thing. dont be fooled, its a DYI job for sure. though from 5 feet away you cant tell. at 5 inches away, there are a few areas that show a bit.
every body imperfection on the car is visible upon close examination. wasn't expecting that. the plasti dip i had for last 9 months covered just about off of these.
a few spots - inside the door handles for example, i had to place a patch.
and the front corners, ugh. each corner i ended up having a lot of extra material. with no where to go with it. thanks in part to the down slopping nose and steep head light buckets. so at each corner there is a small over lap. this over lap is hidden nicely buy the metallic flake vinyl
the one spot i wish i had rethought was the center front. i did each side by it self, forcing a seam. i used a product called knifless tape that cuts a perfect line. the knife part of the tape is laid on a small bit of tape. this tape, although very thin, shows clearly in the vinyl that lays over top.
there is no chance ill attempt to remove the tape as the risk of messing the rest of the front is large. so, i have a visible raised line there
Anyway, its a DYI like i said, and looks good for my first attempt at it. there are a few areas i am very proud of. the engine cover and the area in and around the headlight/ indicator lamp buckets look amazing!
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Finished the vinyl
up next, rear wheel lug issue, windshield, and inside
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:))
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:beerchug:
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:trophy:
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new Aluminum dash.
Waterjetted.
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Wow! That looks great. I love the colours, and it all works well with your wheels. Despite the problems you've mentioned, the pictures look nearly flawless. I'm curious, though; what is the patterns visible down the centre of the engine cover?
Are you going to LOG 33? If it pleases the gods I'll be there myself. Looking forward to checking out your Europa. Nice work.
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Wow! That looks great. I love the colours, and it all works well with your wheels. Despite the problems you've mentioned, the pictures look nearly flawless. I'm curious, though; what is the patterns visible down the centre of the engine cover?
Are you going to LOG 33? If it pleases the gods I'll be there myself. Looking forward to checking out your Europa. Nice work.
yes, i have made arrangements for log. lets hope the car agrees.
those patterns are the tracks team lotus placed top of the podium in the during the 1972 f1 series.
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That looks a very good job :)
I'm now thinking of wraping mine but I can't find vinyl on a roll thats wider than 1.5 meters here in the UK >:(
How wide was the roll you used ? are there any mid panel joins ?
Matt
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the rolls i used came in 60 inchs
As to seams.... i spent weeks planning how i was going to apply the vinyl to avoid the seams. when it came down to doing the work, that all went right out the window!
yes there are seams, the seams range from damn near invisible to visible from 5 feet away. as we went along, we did get better and managed their placement and... visibility better.
in hind site, My friend and I are not experienced enough to do the car with no seams. perhaps a professional can?
working with a 60" roll, and assuming you have a belt line as i do, the very best i can come up with regarding seam placement at the foot of the A pilliars. dead center foot of windshield(2") the rear hangover of the roof at the meet point of the sails.