The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Vinyl Wrap

I'm considering trying some chrome vinyl wrap, the fender spears on my '57 5700 LCF are pitted and dull, I really don't think I would ever find any that are in good shape. I haven't checked pricing or available re-chrome service but probably out of reach financially. Has anyone here used chrome vinyl wrap?

Hopefully, someone will have some recent real world (automotive) experience to share with you.

Sounds interesting. I hope the technology has improved since when I was part of a team evaluating it as an aircraft paint alternative about 20 years ago ... (it didn't work ...)

I have seen the chrome vinyl wrap used on bumpers, those are mostly smooth and Flat. The problem with a wrap is that it scars easily. Another thought may be to have your emblems powder coated. I have a friend who does this. He used a chrome powder from Eastwood to cover the center caps on my 4x4's wheels. They look great and hold up well.

I got a grill chrome vinyl wrapped on a J2000 a few years back. It looked fantastic until I hit a few bugs and tried to clean it.

The color/surface finish degraded extremely rapidly and then it looked worse than the pre-wrap condition.

I second the recommendation for powdercoating. The chrome powder from Eastwood looks really good and is plenty durable as long as you put a clear over it. It won't look as good as getting it rechromed, but it is the next best thing.

Edit: I checked my notes and "a few years" was 2.5.

Thank you all for the replies, I didn't think of powder coat since I'm not a big fan of it. Here in the rust belt the powder coat is like a plastic envelope, it traps and holds water/salt/lime slurry and the metal rots away. The fender spears would certainly be out of harms way, I'll put some thought into that.

What? Powder coat isn't any more prone to rust than paint. In fact it's better because it's a lot more resistant to chips and flakes.

Meanwhile, vinyl wrap is the very definition of an envelope.

I agree that powder coat is tough and not affected by rust, my point being that the tough powder coat film does not break down, it stays intact and if water gets in behind it, the metal fails. Paint can do similar but typically the paint film will fail in smaller pieces and start to lose their bond, exposing the oxidation sooner than the powder coat item. I'm only relating my experience with aftermarket coated items such as trailer hitches, running boards, etc.

I'm with 78buckshot. I've had powder coated items peel in giant flakes. They get a little chip, then the rust grows underneath the coating, loosening it in big chunks. If it can be protected from chips (I'd think something like a front bumper would be especially vulnerable) then it might be the way to go. Same issue with vinyl wrap, which I may try on a rear bumper.