liami Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Took my plastics off to place clear vinyl wrap in order to protect my paint. Had a hard time because the side plastics are so big that I couldn't get a good grip on them while trying to stretch the vinyl at the same time. Would it be easier to vinyl wrap them while they're on the bike so that they're more held down and sturdy maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javelinxd44 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 I was thinking of doing this with another colour rather than painting it. How does it look did you get the vinyl on fully? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member ch3rryghost Posted July 7, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 7, 2016 are you using heat to make the vinyl pliable? I don't think it'd be an issue vinyling w/ the panels off the bike, that's how I'd tackle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwpowere36m3 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Plastics are so cheap for the FZ... I wouldn't worry about wrapping it, unless it was to change color or graphics. What about the wheels, forks, engine, frame, etc....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liami Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 I vinyl wrapped the matte silver fairings once before and it looked like sh!t. Lots of bubbles. I used clear vinyl so everything I did wrong shows up worse. I took off the vinyl and used more vinyl to try again. It's 10x better but still not the greatest. I might poke holes in the bubbles and smooth them out eventually. I did use a heat gun on the low setting to make it more pliable. The second time I wrapped it, I kept the fairings on the bike and it helped immensely to hold it steady and it was much much easier. If you do it, start the vinyl wrap on the top where the flat part is, don't worry about the vinyl toward the back of the bike just yet. Stretch it downwards and slightly angle the pull so that it lays on the vertical flat-ish portion. Then use heat and SLOWLY smooth the vinyl into the heavy curve of the fairing. I found this easier with my thumbnail with very very gentle pressure. Then pull the back of the vinyl towards the back and, again, SLOWLY work your way back, smoothing it inch by inch as you go. Then take the fairing off, fold the vinyl over the back and trim it about half an inch or so from the edge. Heat is your best friend during this job. The keys are heat, patience, and symmetry in the curves. I can get pics for you guys later when I'm near my bike. One tip I used was placing half the vinyl first, tacking it down, and then peeling the rest of the paper off the vinyl and then tacking that down. I DO NOT suggest that on this bike. Too many curves. I also don't suggest it if you clear wrap it. It leaves a line of paper on the adhesive side and you can see it through the clear vinyl. You'll see what I mean later. I still would like to clear wrap the back of my bike later. I'll post some pics on that project when I do it next month or so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member i28 Posted July 7, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 7, 2016 If you don't mind posting a picture of your final results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liami Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Yea will do when I get the chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member avanti Posted July 8, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 8, 2016 Just curious, unless you are doing complex graphics (like photos and such as on some race cars, show cars, and promos.), why bother... especially if going to the trouble to remove the individual panels? Simply paint them or replace if you like another factory color better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azuryn Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 So I tried a test piece because I wanted to try a Matte Black color, I would recommend to remove all the plastics from the bike and then wash and clay bar them to help with adhesion. Then use a spray bottle with water or Windex when laying the vinyl to make it a bit easier to place/remove air bubbles, a heat gun/hair dryer will be useful to wrap the vinyl around the various curves. Also make sure to have a squeegee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liami Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 I vinyl wrapped to help protect my factory paint from being keyed (as much as possible at least) and from rocks and deal thrown at me on the road. It's also a bit easier to wash. And like azuryn said, you can try out new colors so it's nothing permanent. I did think about spraying mists onto the work surface for ease of work, but I didn't have a good spray bottle and this worked well enough for me. I'm happy enough with results and I'm proud that I did it myself. And yes, I also had a squeegee with felt on one side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liami Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 (Pic 1) This is the middle piece that probably turned out the best of anything else I'd wrapped. (Pics 2 & 3)These are obviously my fairings. (Pic 4) Here is the example of the tiny pieces of ripped paper backing that was on the vinyl. I laid half, then folded it over to cut off the other side of the paper and lay down the other half. It happened on both sides. (Pic 5) The middle piece between the seats wrapped. Makes the matte look glossy. (Pic 6 & 7) This was quite a difficult piece when I got around to the other end. I'll see about redoing that when I know how much vinyl I have left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liami Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Crap the pics didn't post... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liami Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javelinxd44 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 That's awesome thanks. I might try it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoorfunguy01 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Took my plastics off to place clear vinyl wrap in order to protect my paint. Had a hard time because the side plastics are so big that I couldn't get a good grip on them while trying to stretch the vinyl at the same time. Would it be easier to vinyl wrap them while they're on the bike so that they're more held down and sturdy maybe? Ask help from the veteran installers, why not visit Gatorwraps and request for a quote. I believe they have installers for a vinyl wrap in all major cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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