Why Wrap a Vehicle; Why not Paint it
It is common practice for our customers to request quotes for the price of wrapping a vehicle from local wrap shops. What is unusual is that when the quotes come in, the customer reacts something like , ‘Maaco was only a few hundred dollars for a paint job’ or ‘That’s a lot less than painting!’ So we became curious, why do some of our customer think a vehicle wrap pricing is reasonable, while others scream bloody murder over the cost compared to painting? We found the simple answer to be that painting varies just as the quality of a wrapped vehicle varies.
We are no expert on vehicle painting but it is our understanding a vehicle should be sanded, painted and primed before it is actually painted. Just like other processes, the quality of the paint can make a huge difference. The vehicle is usually out of commission for two weeks. That being said, we have recently learned you can skip the first steps and go right to the painting to decrease the cost. So, a $500 Maaco paint job can seem like a great deal, but not include all the extras and look awful in a few years when it needs to be redone. And, how are you going to paint your logo and artwork?
If you have been considering a vehicle wrap in lieu of a paint job, consider why you might choose a wrap. A car wrap is removable. Wrapping a vehicle means you can include various visual tricks you can’t achieve with paint. This might mean logo vehicle branding or digital logo images. Wraps last about 5-7 years and are completed in just two days. The box truck wrap can go over rivets, too. Wrapping, once removed, does not lower the value of your car. So go ahead and design that wrap on custom-car-wraps and get the quotes from your local wrap shops.
Using a vehicle as a moving billboard is a great idea. I like that when you wrap it you don’t have to worry about sanding and all the prep work that it takes to paint. Is there any prep work besides cleaning that is needed to apply a wrap?
You would want to use a professional installer to install your wrap. They can tell you if there’s anything else you need to do on your end to prep for the install.