[King Rudi]

End result:

The knifeless tape was awesome! It made for perfect edges down the channel. I used an edged plastic tuck tool to lift the seam of the seal around the glass, then slid the backing from the vinyl so that the vinyl wouldn't stick to it in between the seal and the vinyl. Once I had the vinyl backing in the seal, I used my vinyl squeegee in a chopping manner to push down the 1/8" excess of vinyl I left after the cut on the front and back glass. I learned this method from CK Wraps and it worked amazingly well. The sunroof turned out great as well. I cut a slit inside the area of the sunroof and then cut around the diameter of the sunroof but left about 3" to work with. Using the heatgun, a squeegee and glove, I rolled the edges where I wanted them and then trimmed with a scalpel around the inside edge of the sheet metal inside the sunroof. By doing this, looking inside the sunroof from outside of the car, you can not see the OEM paint.

Quite pleased with the outcome, but the fact that my boys helped me with it means more to me than actually having it done.

[relentlessone]

Nice job!

[Socal_R8]

Did you take the rails out and do them separate or just go right over them?

Looks good though!


I don't think I'd have the patience so I just paid the $180 to my friends at Endless Auto Salon ..... But it was worth it, love the look!

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by SoCal_NSX

Did you take the rails out and do them separate or just go right over them?

He said they don't have rails.

[Socal_R8]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

He said they don't have rails.

Where did he say that?

All f30's have roof rails....a proper wrap involves removing them and wrapping them separately

Like this f30 here

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by SoCal_NSX

Where did he say that?

First post........ His car is a Lexus..... Did you even read the post or look at the pics?


I know about roof rails, I wrapped my roof and the rails myself.

[Socal_R8]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

First post........ His car is a Lexus..... Did you even read the post or look at the pics?


I know about roof rails, I wrapped my roof and the rails myself.

My bad, for some reason I thought he was wrapping an f30 and was already done with the Lexus

Maybe it was that big BMW banner in his garage that threw me off

[King Rudi]

Thank you gentlemen! Yeah no roof rails on the IS. I would have preferred for it to have them as I would have taken them out, wrapped them and tucked the edge of the vinyl into the channel versus leaving an exposed cut to the elements. The knifeless tape was worth the investment and with the roof being designed the way that it was and the color of the car, it's hard to tell where the line begins and ends.

Next up on the wrap to do list is the lower corners of the bumper and the side skirts plus re-wrapping the chrome surround for the grille. Will be doing those in matte black. Still undecided if I'm going to wrap the mirror caps and if I do can't decide if I want to go gloss or matte. I'd prefer to go matte but now seeing how nice the gloss looks on the roof it's hard to decide. I'm thinking about keeping the roof the only thing gloss and using matte everywhere else to create some depth in contrast. After those parts are done, I'll be smoking the headlights and tails.

Originally Posted by SoCal_NSX

I don't think I'd have the patience so I just paid the $180 to my friends at Endless Auto Salon ..... But it was worth it, love the look!

Had either of the two companies here quoted me $180 I would have had them do it. That's a decent price. I was quoted $250 just for the roof alone. After I told them what all I wanted wrapped, they quoted upwards of $500. With the cost of vinyl being relatively inexpensive, I'll just do it myself and save the money. I'm just glad the biggest, toughest job is over. The rest of my wrapping will be simple small jobs just to add some flare.

[louscrw]

My wife's last car was an IS350 F Sport, had the entire car wrapped. All chrome (grill and window surround) and roof done in gloss black, the body done in a Satin Aluminum Grey. We had the entire car ceramic coated as well. It was 3M vinyl and came with a 10yr warranty.

If you are within driving distance of Atlanta, I highly suggest checking out Atlanta Custom Wrap

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by louscrw

My wife's last car was an IS350 F Sport, had the entire car wrapped. All chrome (grill and window surround) and roof done in gloss black, the body done in a Satin Aluminum Grey. We had the entire car ceramic coated as well. It was 3M vinyl and came with a 10yr warranty.

If you are within driving distance of Atlanta, I highly suggest checking out Atlanta Custom Wrap

Nice! Pretty sure I saw pictures of your/her car on the Tundra forums when I was researching on this. Same car? That matte looks awesome in that color. You did the exact opposite that I'm doing. I'm not planning to wrap the entire car, in the event that I do it will be nardo gray matte. If I go that route next year I will switch all the matte black accents that I have now to gloss for contrast. Yours and the one below were my two favorite IS350's that I've seen wrapped.

[louscrw]

Originally Posted by Now_Rudi

Nice! Pretty sure I saw pictures of your/her car on the Tundra forums when I was researching on this. Same car?

yep, same car. I'm on the Tundra forums as well

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by louscrw

yep, same car. I'm on the Tundra forums as well

Crazy! Small world. I actually picked this car up about a month ago in Dallas GA. It was one of the 3 F-Sports that I could find in the South East in this color without the red seats. If this is your wife's former car, what did she go to? What made her want to get away from the IS?

[louscrw]

Originally Posted by Now_Rudi

Crazy! Small world. I actually picked this car up about a month ago in Dallas GA. It was one of the 3 F-Sports that I could find in the South East in this color without the red seats. If this is your wife's former car, what did she go to? What made her want to get away from the IS?

Her car was a 2014 Nebula Grey, but it had the red interior. We traded it in Macon, Ga (about 1 hour south of Atlanta) for a G20 330i. Her Lexus was bought locally and has been spotted by some of my friends around town.

We just got the itch for a new car. There was nothing wrong with her IS. It had 55K miles. We looked at new 2019 IS's, but the interior was pretty much identical to her 2014, and there were some things I didn't like about it. Even though it's her car, given that I daily drive a lifted 4x4 truck, we pretty much take her car everywhere, so I spend my fair share of time in it. Petty as it is, one of my biggest gripes about the car was the placement of the cup holders. Also, although the seats were comfortable, the fact that the bolsters weren't adjustable made it a little tight for my "not so skinny" self.

It's unfortunate because the Lexus dealership is much more aesthetically pleasing and the staff is far nicer and easier to deal with compared to our local BMW dealership. I will definitely give Lexus another look when this lease it up strictly based on that alone.

My wife likes this segment of cars, and really wanted a A5/S5 sportback. But, the nearest Audi dealership is an hour away, and that didn't seem practical for maintenance and service.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by louscrw

Her car was a 2014 Nebula Grey, but it had the red interior. We traded it in Macon, Ga (about 1 hour south of Atlanta) for a G20 330i. Her Lexus was bought locally and has been spotted by some of my friends around town.

We just got the itch for a new car. There was nothing wrong with her IS. It had 55K miles. We looked at new 2019 IS's, but the interior was pretty much identical to her 2014, and there were some things I didn't like about it. Even though it's her car, given that I daily drive a lifted 4x4 truck, we pretty much take her car everywhere, so I spend my fair share of time in it. Petty as it is, one of my biggest gripes about the car was the placement of the cup holders. Also, although the seats were comfortable, the fact that the bolsters weren't adjustable made it a little tight for my "not so skinny" self.

It's unfortunate because the Lexus dealership is much more aesthetically pleasing and the staff is far nicer and easier to deal with compared to our local BMW dealership. I will definitely give Lexus another look when this lease it up strictly based on that alone.

My wife likes this segment of cars, and really wanted a A5/S5 sportback. But, the nearest Audi dealership is an hour away, and that didn't seem practical for maintenance and service.

The cup holders are my biggest complaint! A person has to reach behind ergonomically where your elbow is to grab your cup. The mouse pad is located where the cup holders should be. I had a 2011 IS350 I bought back in 2013 and loved it, (not to mention the cup holder was perfectly placed) this is ultimately why I went back to Lexus after getting rid of the 335i. My only other small disappointment about the IS is the lack of ambient lighting. The last 3 cars had it and it just seems to add a touch of class to the interior while driving at night. The 2011 had led lights in one of the cup holders also; looked really cool when you had a bottle of water in it at night. I'm already looking into trying to wire up an interior mod for ambient lighting under the seats and for the cup holders but don't want to go as bright as most of the kits being sold. Less is more in my opinion.

I had a similar experience when selling my G35 2 years ago to a local guy. Had people calling me all the time to complain to me about doing dough-nuts/burnouts when it wasn't me.

I have to say that any dealing that I've had with a Lexus dealership has been a far more pleasant experience than the BMW dealership. The 2011 had a recall on it, the local dealer not only quickly serviced the recall, gave me a brand new GS loaner for a week, the GS had a full tank of gas when I got it, they gave me an oil change, detailed my car and changed my wiper blades for free....AND I didn't even buy my car from them.

A close friend of mine just bought his wife a 2017 A4 and he was telling me last week that he was over it already. Very nice car inside and out but the closest dealer is over an hour away. Costs a fortune for an oil change but they have to go there while under warranty. He also made the comment that because they have to drive to Knoxville for the oil change the wife wants to shop while she's there, plus dinner so it costs him an arm and a leg not to mention wasting an entire day. I catch him drooling over my car every time he's at the house. A local shop here does my oil changes for $60 and that includes a complete inspection of the car with pictures sent to my email.

[louscrw]

Ha, seems were on the same page with most everything. With that, I’ll heed your friend’s sentiments on the Audi.

Back on topic, you’ve done a great job wrapping so far. I look forward to the progress.

[natahoa]

I wouldn’t even attempt this. My car (not delivered yet) will live outside under trees. I’m thinking PPF would be a good idea on the front and tops of the car.

Or please recommend a product best for avoiding damage from bird droppings, falling pecans, and a little sap.

What should I expect to pay for that? I’m also in a small city (Salisbury, MD) and will have limited choices of installers.

Actually, I’ll start a new thread on this topic.
https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...9#post24853869

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by natahoa

I wouldn’t even attempt this. My car (not delivered yet) will live outside under trees. I’m thinking PPF would be a good idea on the front and tops of the car.

Or please recommend a product best for avoiding damage from bird droppings, falling pecans, and a little sap.

What should I expect to pay for that? I’m also in a small city (Salisbury, MD) and will have limited choices of installers.

Actually, I’ll start a new thread on this topic.
https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...9#post24853869

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hi natahoa! I went to the other thread and do not have the ability to post in there. That's a tough one. The PPF will definitely help with the bird poo and the tree sap, but anything solid dopping (i.e. acorns/nuts) is going to cause small dents I imagine. Also, vinyl alone will protect the paint that it covers but most vinyl is very susceptible to scratching. I scratched my newly installed vinyl the very next day by rubbing it too hard with a microfiber towel. It's minor but it is scratched. I have heard that PPF is self healing (possibly not all of it) and I do have it on sections of my Lexus. (trunk lip, back quarter panels by the wheel wells and bottom of rear doors) From someone who used to and still on occasion details cars; every car that I have owned or that I have detailed that has PPF develops dirt and grime around the seam of where the PPF is applied. Currently on the Lexus, I have dirt around the edges of mine on the lower sections. What I have done to remove this on mine and clients cars in the past was use diluted alcohol (I wouldn't go more than 70% alcohol 30% and no less than 50/50) with a soft brush at the seams to remove the dirt and debris. Below are the brushes that I use. Keep in mind that you most likely will not be able to remove all of it and use the softest brush you can as something the stiffness of a soft toothbrush will scratch your clearcoat. Also keep in mind that using too much pressure, over time, will cause the PPF to lift around the edges thus causing dirt to get in behind it which can not be removed.

https://www.amazon.com/ONEST-Detaili...Z321D603D1TJPJ

My only dealings with ceramic coatings was with applying it to wheels. My 335i was going to get ceramic coated but I traded it before I could get the rest of the prep done to the car that needed to happen first. I'm unsure if the ceramic coating would help protect from falling nuts. I would start by contacting a few installers in your area and asking their opinions.

After a quick google search I found the following. Start will calling them and getting some info.

https://waxthatcar.com/

Hope this helps.

[natahoa]

Thanks so much Rudi, maybe you can’t post there because you are new? My impression is that the forum checks new member somehow. Not sure why.

I don’t plan to detail the car at all really. I’ll run it through a brushless car wash once in a while and remove obvious stuff, but I’m not focused on keeping the exterior perfect. But I plan to trade after fours years, so would like to keep the paint in good condition if I can.

I’ll check out the links, and I “appreciated” your posts. Maybe that will help give you permission to post on more forums. No idea, really and it seems odd.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by natahoa

Thanks so much Rudi, maybe you can’t post there because you are new? My impression is that the forum checks new member somehow. Not sure why.

I don’t plan to detail the car at all really. I’ll run it through a brushless car wash once in a while and remove obvious stuff, but I’m not focused on keeping the exterior perfect. But I plan to trade after fours years, so would like to keep the paint in good condition if I can.

I’ll check out the links, and I “appreciated” your posts. Maybe that will help give you permission to post on more forums. No idea, really and it seems odd.

You're quite welcome. I'm not new here just not registered in that particular section of the forums. Thanks for the rep points though! Keep us posted on what you end up doing and congrats on the new ride!

[The0pportunist]

Good effort, turned out really good.

After the 3rd or so attempt I managed to wrap the indicator & the part just below it. I called it Project war paint

The roof & mirrors though were a little too intimidating for me so had them done professionally.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

Good effort, turned out really good.

After the 3rd or so attempt I managed to wrap the indicator & the part just below it. I called it Project war paint

The roof & mirrors though were a little too intimidating for me so had them done professionally.

@ "project war paint" Just ordered the vinyl for what we named project tail light eye-liner. I think we are on the same page. Updates to come in the next few weeks as I find time in between 2 jobs, the girlfriend and the gym.

I can relate on the roof being intimidating. I wasn't scared until we were about half-way finished. When reality started setting in of how much work was left versus how long it took us to get to that point, I started getting nervous. We pushed through and it ended well.

[King Rudi]

Update: I ordered a bulk roll of the wrong vinyl. I ordered matte black. I spent an entire day installing inserts under the tail lights and the side skirts, re-wrapped the side skirts as I didn't like how it flowed and then re-wrapped the chrome around the front grille. Once finished, I pulled the car out of the garage to marvel at my work to no avail. Learn from my mistake. Using matte black vinyl on a dark gray car will result with no visual improvement. When the sunlight reflects off the matte-ness of the vinyl, it is the exact same color as the car. The only time that you can even tell that it has vinyl on it all (aside from the roof that is gloss) is at dusk during low light. When I ordered the vinyl that I used on my grill and rear bumper lower reflectors I grabbed satin finish. After looking at the car for the past few weeks I've been unable to determine why the reflectors look darker than the rest of the vinyl. I went back to my order history and noticed the first round was satin, the second round was matte. DAYMMIT!!! In the pictures shown, both of the photos were taken after the vinyl was applied. Also keep in mind that it was overcast and the car was in the garage. Once in the sun, it becomes invisible....which is actually kinda cool but completely pointless for the amount of work.

Wrapping headlights and tails in Vvivvid's light smoke this weekend sandwiched between working on a buddy of mine's wife's Lexus IS. Depending on how much time I have left, I may re-wrap everything I have done so far in the satin that I just ordered.

As of now, I need to re-wrap the chrome surround to the grille (for the 3rd time), put another layer of smoke tint on the chrome Lexus emblem in the front grille to make even darker, peel off the side view mirror caps and tint the turn signals inside dark smoke to darken the chrome, wrap the mirror caps in gloss black to match the roof, remove and re-wrap the insert work that I did 2 weeks ago.....finish the inserts on the front AND tint the headlights and tails.....and possibly the reflectors on the bumper to make them match the tails.

Now if I can only find the time to get all this done in between a 55 hour work week, camera installs booked for the next few weekends, gym time and a girlfriend. I need a clone.