new bonnet idea

[jim]

I am off to Le mans this year and decided to do something a bit differnt to the gulf colours

my E36 needs a new bonnet as the original has quite a few ripples so I am thinking about sticking a map to the original one and laquering over it so that it does'nt get damaged by water

has anyone done anything like this as I am not sure how to stick the map down and laquer it to get a good finish

[berny]

been covered on here a few times ;D

decoupage

that 1 covers it IIRC ;D

[nutter81]

try taking it to a viynal printers/wrappers and getting it done there and then no need to laquer just stick on and enjoy

[purplevanman]

WHS^^^
vinyl wrap has to be the way to go

[fpk]

for classic Le mans?
I will be there too. Will keep an eye out for it

[jim]

I am going to the normal one this year

[gn3dr]

Cool idea
Funny enough I have an E36 318tds touring daily driver with laquer peel on the bonnet and I was thinking about doing something like this (because there's no way I'm spending money on repainting it ;D)





SO I'say go for the vinyl map and post pics up here so I can make a decision on what mine will look like ;D

[mrzee]

bloomin eck...I was going to do my bonnet and wings on the saab in this 'sticker effect' due to them being about four different shades of grey. Fair enough it was going to be a blatent steal from the VW scene...Mind you, that Passat looks quite good. I may pop to ebay now and buy up some sticker packs.

However, for the map I agree...vinyl wrap is surely the best option.

[ejenner]

Vinyl will have to be printed and printed vinyl will be expensive. For a piece of printed vinyl large enough to cover a bonnet you are looking in region of £200.00

I'm sure someone has a mate of someone who can get it done for £20... as there always is, but normal retail price would be around £200 for that ammount of printed vinyl.

Application won't be straight forward either. Even applying vinyl flat onto a flat surface is tricky enough. The professionals I know applied a vinyl wrap to the roof of a MINI and they used my workshop to do the job so I watched it going on. It took them several hours. You start by dropping the large roof sized piece of vinyl onto the roof and then using heat guns and spatulars you spread out all the air bubbles and contour the vinyl to fit the roof. Use scapal blades to trim off the excess and pop any remaining air bubbles. Doing a bonnet will be similar.

[dude]

We did this to a friends e30 witch cheap lacquer, first lots on the bonnet, then on the pieces of paper, and then lots on top of everything. Would probably worked ok if it wouldn't have rained later that night...
Next time we'll try glass fibre resin or some type of glue.

[ejenner]

I would sticker the bonnet. Then apply the clear coat straight over the top. Just a light mist at first. Then after a couple of minutes a full coat. This will still be bumpy as the stickers will be uneven. To get it smooth you would have to begin a long and laborious wet sanding process with various grades of wet and dry. You will then have to repeat this process several times until the clear coat is thick enough to create a uniform finish that covers completely.

[jim]

the stickers sound cool, I think I may know someone who knows someone so I will enquire

I thought a map would be good as I only end up losing them - its just going to be tricky to read whilst driving!

[montythemole]

May 17, 2010 10:22:56 GMT jim said:

the stickers sound cool, I think I may know someone who knows someone so I will enquire

I thought a map would be good as I only end up losing them - its just going to be tricky to read whilst driving!

Open the bonnet? Instant head up display, bigger than any sat nav.

May need a few holes in bonnet to see though ala Top Gear bolivia: