Matt Black Vinyl Wrapped cars...thoughts

[griffindai]

I'm at a bit of a cross roads with my Saab 9000 at the moment. It goes well, drives nice etc but the bodywork really lets it down with rust appearing & dents on almost every panel!

Was thinking of getting an old shape Saab 9-3 then transfer what I can onto that and then break mine for parts. Then continue with modifying that one to get a 500+bhp 9-3 instead.

But I've also been looking into fixing my rust problem, get the bodywork sorted and then vinyl wrap it in matt black. Then just keep going with the mods!

I cant find any 9000's with that done but have seen a couple thats been rattle canned for a similar effect:











I'm after a darker colour black though...here's a 9-3 vinyl wrapped in the colour I want:




Are there any decent places close to Wales that can do this?

[mardell100]

If you have the time and patients do it yourself, lots of 'how to's' on youtube and the vinyl is cheap as chips @ about £8 per meter.

If you had it done professionally you'll be looking at a grand at least.

[popuptoaster]

Not sure myself, the matt effect does something to the rear quarters and makes the car look very dumpy.

[crazymonkey]

yeah I'm not overly keen on it to be honest.

[sharkattack]

i love matte black but that top one looks a little dull. highly glossy wheels and details really set it off.
the prices of professional wraps are mental. would be much cheaper to DIY it even with the cost of a few mistakes. but if you have no need to return the car to standard just get the rattle cans out.

[cudley]

matt black n rattel cans mate ,i did my whole car as i didnt have a workshop to do it in and did it over about a mounth or so. but itll do for now .

[griffindai]

Yeah its getting mixed results with the Saab bunch...around 90% no's!!

Also looks like it'll be a nightmare to keep looking good as it scratches worst than paint by all accounts....same deal with the gloss stuff. Was also looking into a pearl colour...

First thing I need to do is get a quote on fixing the rust problem, starting to really show now. Doesn't help living in South Wales though as its lashing down 3/4 the time

If I had an empty garage I'd have a crack at it myself, I've done a few tricky interior bits and they came out ok but nothing the size of a bonnet or roof etc! Doesn't seen that hard to do tbh...just time consuming & lots of patience!

Its looking more and more likely that I'll be breaking this next year and starting again with a 9-3 if I cant get the rust sorted for a decent price. Gutted as I'm not done with the performance side yet, still way down on where it could be but pointless shelling out £2/3k on it if its only getting worst in the bodywork dept

[Deleted]

My mate next door owns a business in Abergavenny that does wrapping, if that's any god to you.

Price-wise, I'm not entirely sure - although he did a mate's Vito for £800 and that was a proper design as opposed to just a plain colour wrap.

Get Noticed is the company by the way!

Cheers, Joe.

[griffindai]

Thanks Joe, I'll take a look at that tonight!

Are there any reasonable body shops in South Wales that could sort the rust out?

[Negative Creep]

I'd say don't. The whole matt black thing is getting a little old now

[daver555]

Satin black is soooo much better than matte. Add some fake rivet stickers etc for the stealth bomber look and I think it would look damn cool on your Saab.

[MWF]

Agree that matt black is perhaps over done, but I think those pics prove it's really only a style that works if the rest of the car is modified appropriately with the right wheels and stance.

[alolympic]

IMHO matt black is not the new black....

[wilko]

Is it just me, or does the matt black on that 9000 make it look like a Fiat Tempra?

[md]

not a fan of matt black myself - attaracts far to much attention from police and car theives!

[Battles]

Sept 21, 2011 16:08:32 GMT wilko said:

Is it just me, or does the matt black on that 9000 make it look like a Fiat Tempra?

Or a Fiat Croma?
The 9000 and the Croma, along with the Lancia Thema and another car that I can't remember, were all designed to share the same platform and some components.

[griffindai]

Alfa 164 mate. I'm not sure how much can be swapped between cars but the Fiat Croma doors are a direct fit for the 9000 and weigh a lot less...cant find any though!! Was after a set but gave up trying last year!!

I'm getting the car looked at next month, really haven't a clue how bad & how much its gonna cost to fix up though

Vinyl wrap wise I've seen some nicely done in Satin Black which has more of a sheen finish to it. Looks pretty good from what I've seen up here in London, a lot nicer than the Matt ones I've seen. Will look more into that next month...might look ok Just don't want it looking like a matted out merc wannabe

[ToolsnTrack]

You can get satin black in a rattle can. I did my merc with about 12 cans. Results are top notch if you do the prep work right, and all in it cost me about £40.

[dungbug]

I'm personally of the opinion that if a vehilce is solid & safe then the quality of the 'paint' is neither here nor there (my personal opinion of course). You leave it slightly 'worn' and no one would like you were strange. In your position I'd carry on with the mods & worry about the appearance afterwards, you may well see something/get inspired by something that give's you a new idea.
I've had matte black cars in the past for the reason that it was a cheap way to give the car a 'look', I guess because it's cheap to do (as others have said) we see it often. What about a different matte colour? Nato green or grey, could go for a military/fighter look ;D

[ade36]

Went down the satin road myself... £25 for a tin of Nato on ebay and B&Q value rollers (used gloss sponge type not the fluffy ones).
Was rather pleased with how it came out in the end and being military paint it's pretty tough too. Vinyl wraps are a lot of money really, if you're keeping the car you'll be better off getting the rust repairs done and blown over in the original paint... If you want a bit of fun til you scrap it 2 years downs the line rattle cans or rollers are the way to go.



18 months later and I'm yet to wash it