Applying Body Wrap Decal to a White Kit

BAracer · 27th-Oct-20, 09:19 AM

So I thought I had it settled in my mind, and then you see and image that you can't get out of your head...in a good way!

I rather like the 'bullish' nature of the graphics, I think it fits in with how I imagine the car is going to race. So I think this white kit is heading down the route of: -

Filler
Blue spray paint
Water slide transfers (?)
Top coat that dissolves all the above

and is for a different thread.

BAracer · 8th-Sep-21, 08:32 PM

Well after a period of chassis building, it's time to get on with the BMW Z4...I have decided to go with the 'Sega' body wrap from Pattos rather than the Red Bull livery as I spotted that Carrera have already done that.

Lessons learnt from the Porsche project is that the wrap will not always be a perfect fit to the body you are using, particularly round the fiddly bits of the body. Therefore I am going to try something out on this one that I hope will help disguise any issues that crop up. As the wrap has rather a dark theme, having primed the body first with Halfords plastic primer, I am putting some black paint around all the openings and edges of the body. This means that if the shape of the wrap does not quite match the shape of the body, it should jump out less than if the body was left in the white.

Again, I have bought two sets of wrap, so my first objective will be to maximise the coverage of the wrap and minimise the 'bare' patches.

And just to emphasis this is not a 'Masterclass' in body wrapping, I'm just a learner sharing the process!

BAracer · 15th-Sep-21, 07:13 AM

First piece of wrap applied.

Needs some patching in around the rear wheel arch, but that's what the second sheet of wrap is for.

BAracer · 16th-Sep-21, 10:44 AM

The second boot wrap will be used to cover the back section of bare bodywork...

I cut the rear bumper wrap into three pieces as it was a good match for the body lines but not quite wide enough!

Gradually revealing the miss-matches where I will need to use some infill pieces of spare wrap. This is where a more random livery helps to hide these areas.

(It will be a racer, not for static display!)

mickey thumbs · 17th-Sep-21, 03:09 AM

Thanks BARacer and Tamar for this tutorial. I have ordered a Sideways BMW M6 GT3 white kit and Pattos waterslide wrap decals for the Turner #96 car. Plan is to paint the body yellow so asked the background yellow to be deleted from the decals. Wish me luck!

BAracer · 22nd-Sep-21, 12:49 PM

Good luck Mickey!

Pretty well there with this wrap. Rear wheel arches were a difficult fit for the available shapes; pieced in bits where necessary. Spent a bit more time and care on the front...made some paper templates and them made best use of the two copies of the wrap for that high visibility are.

1.6g of wrap for all you weight watchers out there.

Off to do battle in some DiSCA GT3 races at some point in the future.

mickey thumbs · 14th-Oct-21, 10:14 PM

Making some progress on my Sideways BMW M6. First attempt at using wrap decals, these from Pattos.

Several issues have come up. The decals were made for a clear plastic body made by Pattos so the size is a little off. Hard to choose between cutting them into segments and applying in one piece. Cut up they are easier to fit to body cutouts like wheel wells and ducts. But that makes it hard to keep the graphics lined up.
The sharper details of the hardbody make it tricky to fit smoothly over details like door handles. The maker strongly advises against using decal setting solutions.
Finally, since the ducts, filler caps, etc. must be provided by the decal, they don’t match up well with the ones on the hardbody. This pic shows the black areas in the graphics representing these features.

Figuring work-arounds as I go. Will post my progress.

BAracer · 15th-Oct-21, 06:31 AM

There is another unsatisfactory option which is to leave off pieces that don't fit or jump out as looking wrong if they had to be manipulated into place. Obviously I'm talking about the minor decals, not the headliners.

mickey thumbs · 16th-Oct-21, 12:06 AM

I figured this tip partway into this project as I started to get a little disoriented and confused. I asked Pattos to delete the yellow body color as I was painting my white kit. Especially bad when doing the front and rear panels.

The ever dimming light bulb came on and I downloaded the original image from the website. Problem solved.

mickey thumbs · 16th-Oct-21, 10:15 PM

Decals finished. Will let dry for a few days before clear coating. I need to repaint the driver as I watched in-car video of last week’s race and an interview of Bill Auberlein and need to fine tune some details. Nothing too crazy because this will be thrashed with my other modern GT cars. Still a few flat black touches around vents, etc.

Pleased with the results but not sure I would do it again. Lots of fiddling involved, but I follow this team and buy parts for my Z3M from Turner Motorsports so this was a labor of love.