cespal2 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Has anyone had experience with wrapping an aircraft. It looks like is is becoming more popular with very good results. I am building a Savannah and was thinking about getting it wrapped, not because its getting close to xmas. What is the difference in price between the two and also the pros & cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 If you decide to wrap let us know how you go time wise, you can buy the wrap off alixpress for about $300-$400 and you still need to prime the surface to get the wrap to stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgmwa Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Protruding rivet heads may make it difficult to get the wrap to stick around them. Any voids under the vinyl might become a corrosion trap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscotthendry Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Protruding rivet heads may make it difficult to get the wrap to stick around them. Any voids under the vinyl might become a corrosion trap? That's true if done poorly. However, vehicle wrap is a different product to the vinyl used for making rego letters and stick on graphics. Vehicle wrap is very flexible and is applied using a heat gun. With care, the rivets can be dealt with effectively, but it will be a very tedious job. In addition to that, you could have a very speccy "paint job" for a lot less than having it painted that way. And if you come to dislike the decoration, you can heat it off and design a new one.. But you'd still have to prime and paint a base coat, probably white would be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rankamateur Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Would it be more tedious that epoxy filling and sanding all the rivet heads as I have already done? I am thinking that would be a good start to getting a good wrapping result but I would still be a bit concerned about the weight difference between wrap and a conservative layer of paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Would it be more tedious that epoxy filling and sanding all the rivet heads as I have already done? I am thinking that would be a good start to getting a good wrapping result but I would still be a bit concerned about the weight difference between wrap and a conservative layer of paint. Ok, just did a little research. According to 3M, their 1080 vehicle wrap is approximately 150g/sq. metre. Then watched a youtube video where a bloke does a before and after weighing of a square foot of bare metal, painting it with primer, 3 coats of colour and 3 of clear. It came out at 26 grams, given there's 10.8 square feet to a square metre, that's 280g/sq. metre. Obviously the plane won't be given the full car paint so you could probably halve that, which makes it pretty even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 you have to prime your metal for wrap to stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Ok, so maybe the same weight as a full paint job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 750 being wrapped - doesn't look like they primed this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 You can wrap onto alloy but I wouldn't think it would stick too well over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Communications Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Didnt a RV crash because the wrap came off in flight about 18 months ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 Wrap vinyl requires a gloss surface for maximum adhesion.. . . . for some reason, they won't guarantee full adhesion to a bare metal surface. Contact a Spandex representatiive ( USA ) or one form HEXIS ( France ) for technical spec on wrapping materials. Car wraps are based upon a Gloss substrate in all cases that I have encountered. So I would assume that the same applies to ANY surface. . . There may be problems with bare metals, perhaps due to possible adhesive reaction between the bare metal and the Adhesive used on the vinyl material. I am not in any way a specialist in this regard, . . .I just FIT the stuff. . . If you have to coat the airframe with a Gloss Primer first, then wrapping it afterwards will create additional weight. This is why all Evektor Eurostar U/L aircraft in the UK ( Sport Star Lookalike ) cannot be fully painted, as this would take the critical weight over the 450 Kg limit for Microlight aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunder Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 I just listened to a Matt Hall speach on Saturday. He removed paint from his Red Bull competition aircraft and replaced it with "wrap". Saved many kilos he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 My Jodel's fuselage has developed a few cracks and is in need of a repaint. I had planned on rubbing it back to bare plywood and applying a thin coat of S-glass before reprinting. Maybe a vinyl coat would do both jobs in one. Any advice welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now