Should You Paint Your Vehicle or Get a Car Wrap?

Car Wraps Vs Paint Jobs

Cars are undeniably ingrained in American culture since the advent of the Ford automobile at the turn of the early 20th century. There was such a massive push and lobby by the automobile industries in the latter half of the 20th century to suppress and hamper the development and proliferation of modes of public transportation; By pushing for the widespread appeal of cars, Americans accepted this burgeoning field of transportation and saw significant increases in mobility — cross-country travel became a feasible endeavor, Americans were able to move en masse out of cities into the suburbs, and American life and society developed around automobiles.

Compared to the early 20th century to modern times, cars are no longer seen as luxurious items obtainable only by the rich. That’s not to say there aren’t luxurious and high-end vehicles for purchase, but more Americans own cars than they ever did before. What’s special about cars, aside from their tremendous improvements towards our mobility, is their ability for self-expression. While this may not be a sentiment wholly expressed by all vehicle owners, their vehicle speaks a lot about themselves and their lifestyle for a large number of them.

For people who feel as though their vehicle wraps is an expression of themselves and take particular pride in their car, there’s more often than not a desire of upward mobility: perhaps there’s a desire for a newer model or a more expensive brand, internal upgrades to the sound system, dashboard, etc., or upgrades to the car’s exterior like window tints, rims, and paint scheme. If a car is, in a way, an extension of your person, by improving upon it and achieving desired results, then there’s self-satisfaction and happiness one achieves.

It may not always be easy to achieve this satisfaction and happiness if one’s eyes are set on upgrading to a nicer and newer car; however, satisfaction can be achieved by pursuing more cost-effective upgrades like installing new parts or changing the paint job to alter the appearance and function.

A common route many people who want to spruce up their vehicles is that of new paint jobs. Whether they bought the vehicle in a color they didn’t like or want to make a statement, paint jobs are an option to give their car’s a facelift.

However, many people considering this route may not have weighed all the benefits and cons to a paint job, nor even considered the more cost-effective route of vinyl car wraps. Outlined below are some arguments for why car wraps may be a better fit for you and your car than a paint job.

Vehicle Vinyl and Its History

Vinyl came to market around the 1950s but was quite costly at its inception. For a time, car wraps were reserved and limited to the affluent and high-end vehicles. That was until in recent years, where the popularity of vinyl wraps boomed, dramatically lowering the cost and making vinyl a more affordable option compared to painting.

Nowadays, it’s almost impossible not to see vehicles with vinyl wraps. While popular with businesses as a means of advertising, vinyl isn’t exclusive for that sole purpose. With their popping colors, design, greater options, and their significantly cheaper price tag compared to custom paint jobs, it can easily be reasoned why vinyl is catching on.

Given the more reasonable prices of vinyl, even private vehicle owners are following in the trend of many businesses by opting for a car wrap.

Application Process – Paint vs. Vinyl

Firstly, ask yourself these questions: “Can you be apart from your vehicle? And for how long?”

If the vehicle you want to change is your primary means of transportation, you may find yourself more hard-pressed going with paint. There’s both a large time difference and procedural differences between applying a Florida car wrap and paints.

Here are three fundamental truths to getting a paint job:

1. With paint jobs, it’s a given that the old paint must be removed — a timely factor.
2. Every coat applied will need around 8 hours or more for drying
3. On top of the paint layers drying for 8 hours, all paint jobs require multiple coatings.

If a shop isn’t inundated with work, you may get your vehicle back within 3-5 days. Granted, this is for a more low-end cost paint job since there aren’t as many paint applications performed. For the more average priced paint job, one where there are more coats, it can be 1 to 3 weeks without your vehicle.

Car wrap applications take a fraction of the time paint does. With design in mind, it’s only, at maximum, a 3-day span for wrap installation. This solely entails cleaning the car’s exterior, drying it, and applying the vinyl.

Removing Vinyl vs. Paint

What further makes vinyl an appealing option is the fact that vinyl can be removed anytime without harming the paint job beneath. Consequently, since the paint underneath has been protected from the sun and the elements, you’re still left with a pristine coat.

Conversely, if you ever want to change up your paint job, you’ll need to sand it off. You’re essentially permanently stuck with your paint job unless you want to sink even more funds in changing it. In stark contrast to vinyl, specific paint jobs can make it harder for you to sell your vehicle, whereas vinyl wraps with specialized designs and color schemes can simply be removed.

Customizing a Car Wrap vs. Paint

While you may expect to pay anywhere from 1,000 dollars (albeit, for a low-end paint job) or between the average 3,000-10,000 (for a more quality job) for a regular paint job, a custom paint job is astronomical in price. Custom painters don’t work for cheap; between the cost of paints, intensiveness of the custom paint job, textures, and the artist’s time, paint jobs like the sleek and shiny metallic coats often seen on luxury vehicles can be anywhere in the upward ballpark of 10s of thousands of dollars.

Regarding vinyl, you can accomplish whatever color scheme, texture, or finish for your car’s exterior for a fraction of the price an artist would charge. Just because you’ve seen business vehicles with vinyl decals doesn’t mean your vinyl has to follow suit. You can opt for iridescent colors, chrome, matte, satin, gloss, brushed metal, to name just a few possibilities with vinyl. Your imagination is the limit for your vinyl, wherewith paint, it’s your wallet.

Maintenance of Vinyl vs. Paint

There’s no need to beat around the bush with this question: vinyl wrap installer is drastically lower maintenance than paint. Paint requires constant upkeep and protective layers of wax to stave off the harmful effects of the elements. More care is required for cheaper paint jobs as lower quality paint chips more and wears down quicker than expensive paints. By slipping up in upkeep, auto paint is susceptible to micro-particles that embed themselves into the paint’s pores, causing degradation over time. 

A car and boat wrap, on the other hand, is far easier to maintain than paint. Vinyl’s composition allows it to be impervious to microscopic particles that would otherwise embed themselves to the car’s exterior. Simply wash the car normally or even wipe it down with a wet cloth. As far as durability goes, under good care, vinyl can last ten plus years with far minimal upkeep compared to paint jobs. One can even prolong the life and vibrancy of their vinyl by opting for UV-resistant coating.

If you want your car to make a statement, or just give it a long-overdue facelift, changing the exterior is a way to go. Car wraps, as demonstrated, is an affordable, manageable, and creative way to accomplish that. Between costing less than paint jobs, requiring less time, having greater creative options, and easier maintenance than paint, it becomes increasingly apparent why one should look into vinyl before ever considering paint.

Should you find yourself interested in revitalizing your car, look into NH Marketing for your branding and design needs.