Inspired by Karl Franz’s wrap color change project (here), I decided to do a color change on my Carbon Black V12V. I wanted to share my experience in case others are considering it.




Unlike Karl Franz, I have neither the time, talent, skill, know-how, or patience to do it myself and thus I looked around for a professional to do the job. (Karl very kindly gave me some advice on things to consider when hiring a professional).

I ended up using Exotic Vehicle Wraps in Maryland (they service Maryland, Virginia, DC, and Pennsylvania areas) and couldn’t be happier with the results. Below is a LONG wall of text explaining the process . . .

So, why change the color? I had two motivations. First, the Carbon Black V12 looks great when clean but shows dirt approximately 12 seconds after a fresh detailing. So, I wanted a color that didn’t need constant upkeep. I ended up going with 3M’s Gloss Metallic Red for the main body and 3M’s Gloss Black for the roof, mirrors, and tail section. These newer gloss wraps are impressive for how well they mimic paint.





Second, I like the idea of preserving the car’s original paint. A vinyl wrap protects the underlying paint and is (relatively) easily reversible. The paint on my car was in good shape and while I intend to keep the car long-term, I liked the idea of having the factory paint in pristine condition if I decided to sell in the future.

Now, as to finding a proper place to wrap the car . . . this was surprisingly challenging (I also live in a rural area which doesn't help). For me, it boiled down to three potential sources:

1. A graphic design/sign shop that offers vehicle wraps. These shops are plentiful and grew out of graphic design businesses and specialize mostly in corporate fleet wraps. That’s fine for signage but for a color change, they’re not the best choice. Their expertise (and profit) is in design and that doesn’t play a big role with a color change. Moreover, most fleet wraps are just putting a logo on the side of a car and not altering the whole car (logos are often matched to the car’s existing paint). As Karl Franz’s post elegantly shows, a full color change really requires disassembling the car and some significant attention to how a piece of vinyl envelops various parts of the vehicle. One company I talked to admitted they would essentially outsource the vehicle disassembly as they had no mechanical expertise.

2. Next option was using an Aston Martin dealership as they often perform this service but at an often (surprise!) high price. After doing a little digging, I discovered that while they have the mechanical expertise to disassemble a vehicle, they basically were outsourcing the vehicle wrapping (opposite of above). I’m sure the results are great but the price quotes were very high.

3. A shop that specializes just in color change vehicle wraps. These shops often grew out of customized car businesses and have added vinyl wrapping as another customization option. Here you get the best of all worlds—mechanical know-how on breaking down a car combined with the attention to visual detail for wrapping the vehicle properly. I went with Exotic Vehicle Wraps because they were passionate about doing the car properly (and had some experience with exotic vehicles) plus they could transport the car to/from Maryland in an enclosed trailer which was an added bonus as I didn’t want to put a ton of miles on the car.

There’s a ton of photos of the transformation process that I can post if folks are interested and I plan to get some better “after” photos (these were just quickly shot on my iPhone). In any case, I'm happy to answer questions or share whatever knowledge I have. The wrap is only a day or so old, so I'm still understanding the process a bit myself but have been very happy thus far!

 

Looks great!
I did a wrap on my previous 430 spider from black to satin pearl white. It feels like a new car.
You do have to research and find an experienced shop that does this because minor flaws can show up in certain edges.
Good job

 

Looks fantastic. Great color choice!

 

Great color, amazing choice!

 

What is the ballpark price for a wrap like this?

 

Hi V12V,

Quotes were all over the place . . . from $2700 - $7500. Exotic Vehicle Wraps was roughly in the middle for the wrap. They charged extra for pick-up/delivery (as they should since that's a major expense) but, again, their rates were reasonable compared to major shipping companies.

For me, though, I was impressed by their attention to detail. I thought I was a "know what I want" type of customer but they pointed out several areas on the car that I hadn't fully thought through and appreciated that they were obviously thinking about the project as deeply as I was.

 

Congrats on your wrap job. Looks fantastic. Almost looks like paint.

I'm curious. Could you share what those areas that you hadn't thought of were?

 

Karl Franz,

Thanks for your note and thanks again for your advice . . .

Ok, small confession. When I started this process a few weeks ago, I had a V8 Vantage (black N420--great car) that I was going to wrap. After getting quotes and references and deciding to go with Exotic Vehicle Wraps for the V8, I got a V12 Vantage in the middle of everything (there are worse problems to have!).

And while the V8 and V12 are almost identical to the untrained eye, there are actually some different bits and since I had only had the V12V a few days before it was to be picked up for wrapping there were a few things I hadn't noticed. For example, below the rear carbon fiber diffuser, there's actually a kind of "wing" that's painted the body color. Since the car was black and the carbon fiber is dark, that piece didn't initially jump out at me. There was also the question of how to handle the door jams (wrap them!) but also making sure I wanted all the stickers/notices in the door jams trimmed out (yes, I did). In getting quotes from other places, these questions never even asked and thus I really appreciated their OCD approach to the car.

In addition, Nathan at Exotic Vehicle Wraps carefully went through how I wanted to handle (or not handle--I choose to leave a lot of stuff alone) the side strakes, the chrome trim, the front grill, and the mesh behind the side strakes, and in the mesh in the rear diffuser. It really makes you aware of the crazy amount of design and detail in these cars!

 

What is the care and maintenance for a wrapped car? How long does the wrap last? Does it get nicked up and chipped from pebbles and sand thrown up by cars on the highway?

I like the color of my Vantage and have no intention of changing it but my DD is black and constantly dirty and I have been toying with the idea of wrapping it in one of those matte wraps.

 

I've been using Chemical Guys for their matte detailer, wash and sealer.

 

Car looks awesome, great choice on the colour too!

 

That's a tough question on maintenance because--unlike the carbon black--I haven't needed to detail the car yet because it still looks great after a few days of driving!

Seriously though, the installer recommended a basic, simple wash and dry with a microfiber cloth along with periodically using a gloss vinyl waxing product (hasn't arrived yet but I'll update you when I receive it from them).

As far as longevity and durability . . . I've been told to expect 4 - 6 years possibly more if it is garage kept (which it is). And yes, I'm sure rocks/sand will affect the wrap but I'd rather have the wrapped chipped up than the original paint! Bugs too probably should be wiped off quickly . . .

If anyone is interested, I can certainly post an update in a few months on how it is holding up.

 

Let us know if and when any edges start peeling....on my 430 near the exhaust, there was some peeling of the edges after a few months due to the heat.

 

Looks great... Thanks for sharing your experience in such detail. I've also been tossing around this idea, however i always thought the "gloss" wraps had to much orange peel texture to them. Do you happen to have a closer up pic?

 

Thanks for the info. I have the full front clear bra on my cars. I use Xpel. Not sure of the thickness differences but nothing has damaged the material yet. I would think the vinyl wrap would hold up at least as well. Anything is better than chips in the paint.