[BAracer]

Added a bit of paint...might do it again with some gloss.

   

   

Going to apply some spare decals to the spare rear wing and see how the three different clear coats I bought work.

[BAracer]

So I applied some spare decal onto the spare rear wing and applied three different clear coats...

   

Good news, nothing disintegrated or melted into mush!

Bad news, I cannot tell the difference in finish between Alclad II Aqua Gloss, Klear Kote Gloss or Klear Kote semi-matte.

Has anyone used any of these before? Do you have a favourite?

[Tamar]

The Aqua gloss and clear cote gloss should give you the brightest gloss, but you will need to apply/build up several layers before they will start to shine.
The semi matte will be exactly that, semi matte or semi gloss depending on how you look at it, so here the multiple layers are just for "protection".

What I normally do is cover the whole car with the high gloss, advantage Alcladd is that you can apply it by brush and/or airbrush.
I then use a fine brush to tone down the parts that need to be semi matte (window frames, clips, mirrors, antenna's, exhaust tips etc etc)
It's the contrast between the different shines that brings the best out of a good paint & decal job.

For which you have...for your first try....done an excellent job 

With kind regards
Tamar

[BAracer]

Cheers.

I went for two coats of semi-matte, as the actual car looks to be that finish...and here is the final article!

   

   

   

   

So what have I learnt from my first body wrap?

1. A 'peel & stick' wrap will probably not fit a body unless it is specifically designed for a particular model from a specific manufacturer, and buying two wraps to give you some options isn't the total solution.

2. Pattos Place offer a % reduction service for the decal sheets. Next time, I will make more use of this. You can print off a sample sheet from the site and use that to check dimensions against your particular body. So it might be that a 5% adjustment will make the roof fit the body spot on, and a 3% reduction would do the same for the wings. So doing this exercise and ordering 2 or 3 different % adjusted sheets will make it a much tidier job.
  
3. Not all liveries suit 'peel & stick". On the assumption that you will have to cut and carve some of the pieces to suit, you can easily introduce dis-joints into logos or graphics. I think the 'abstract' livery I chose was good at hiding many of my workings out. I would have struggled with a more geometric or formal livery.

4. Wraps are possibly the only way to represent certain liveries on bodies. I am no expert, but I cannot see how I could have produced the same livery in paint and transfers.

5. I did use a bit of black paint to hide the bits of white body that the decals do not cover, e.g. the returns on the openings for the radiators, the air vents in the bonnet and windows. I painted these after I had applied the stickers. Next time, I will know where I need to paint and will do it before I apply the stickers

6. I am a visual type of person, and I think that helped matching the shapes on the 'peel & stick' sheet with the shape of the body. The exercise was a bit like putting a 3D jigsaw puzzle together.

7. Would I do it again? Definitely! I am no painter/air-brusher, so 'peel & stick' suits my very limited scratch building skill set really well. I am about to press the button on a couple more white bodies.

[Top Down]

Be good to see the finished car to get the full effect. 

[BAracer]

Have painted the lexan interior, give me another week to put all the bits together...

Again, that's a learning curve for me!

[woodcote]

Fabulous work Jeremy

[BAracer]

Post Wrap Updates

Painted the headlight inners, and coloured the lenses with a pen, for GT class compliance...

   

Managed to eventually fit the cabin glass (without leaving any gluey fingerprints!) and have prepared the lexan interior for final fitting...

   

[BAracer]

Calling Doug...

   

[BAracer]