Opinions on Vinyl wrapping half the hood to cover rock chips.

[Dayzel108]

I'm sure that all A5/S5 owners are aware of our cars being rock magnets.. Personally, the front of my bumper/hood has been covered with rock chips and adding touch-up isnt doing it for me. I'm trying to avoid having my hood painted, so I'm thinking about having half of my hood vinyl wrapped the same color as my car.. What do you guys thing? Would this be a good alternative to cover rock chips and avoid future ones from showing up on the same places? Would the wrap be "extremely" noticeable?

[sc08 lab]

I would have done that before I had one, is well worth doing...

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[theedge111]

Why wrap half the hood?

[Beast]

why don't you just wrap it in clear protection film? lol

[mrdtail]

Depending on how deep the rock chips are they might show through the vinyl.

[JoshDub]

fix the chips and clear bra.

Then stop following people so closely.

[Dayzel108]

I would have done that before I had one, is well worth doing...

Yeah, but I purchased the car with some chips so I found it unproductive to vinyl/clear bra it.. Only now do the additional chips have me going nuts.

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Why wrap half the hood?

The chips reach Less than halfway up the hood so I don't think I would need to wrap the entire hood.

why don't you just wrap it in clear protection film? lol

If I clear bra it, the chips would remain visible.


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[Pilfer]

I did it on my S4, I wrapped the whole hood in matte black vinyl. I had a couple of large chips through to the primer. You could see the indentation in the vinyl where the chip was but it looked better than the white primer showing through imo.

[LINDW4LL]

The chips reach Less than halfway up the hood so I don't think I would need to wrap the entire hood.

It would look ridiculous if you only wrapped half of the hood. Finding an exact match vinyl may also be difficult depending on your specific color. I think even if you have a simple color like black or white, the difference between paint/vinyl will likely still be noticeable (whole hood wrapped).

If you plan on keeping the car and it's bothering you that much, just pay the $200-$300 to repaint it and then get a clear bra.

[Dayzel108]

My issue with reprinting the hood is the depreciation in value of the car, and I cannot paint the hood without painting the fenders. I was told that I would have to blend the fenders as well.


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[dolphinaudi]

My issue with reprinting the hood is the depreciation in value of the car, and I cannot paint the hood without painting the fenders. I was told that I would have to blend the fenders as well.


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It depends how bad your hood is, major chips would devalue more than a great paint job that matches perfectly. Blending is great, when done right to make it look perfect.. Like so:

[Dayzel108]

It depends how bad your hood is, major chips would devalue more than a great paint job that matches perfectly. Blending is great, when done right to make it look perfect but usually it means clearing not fully repainting the fenders. Like so:

I agree, but overall, it looks like a major job just to cover a few rock chips. This would easily run me 1k, if not more.

Is vinyl wrap really a bad alternative?!?


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[Dayzel108]

I did it on my S4, I wrapped the whole hood in matte black vinyl. I had a couple of large chips through to the primer. You could see the indentation in the vinyl where the chip was but it looked better than the white primer showing through imo.

That looks fine on a black car.. I'm hesitant to do that on a white car though. I would prefer matching up my color.. Maybe just doing the entire hood. How much did that run you?


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[Dayzel108]

Oh, and the chips are not deep at all.. My issue is that there are many of them ...


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[Pilfer]

That looks fine on a black car.. I'm hesitant to do that on a white car though. I would prefer matching up my color.. Maybe just doing the entire hood. How much did that run you?


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Car was moonlight blue . Think I paid $250-300. I would've kept it but someone smashed into my car and needed lots of paintwork to be done. It cost about 1k for the whole hood with blending the fenders. It was great work and the color matched perfectly.

I will say, I traded in the S4 in and did get dinged for the paintwork. I would leave the chips if you're worried about resale value. It's a used car, wear and tear is to be expected...

[Dayzel108]

Car was moonlight blue . Think I paid $250-300. I would've kept it but someone smashed into my car and needed lots of paintwork to be done. It cost about 1k for the whole hood with blending the fenders. It was great work and the color matched perfectly.

I will say, I traded in the S4 in and did get dinged for the paintwork. I would leave the chips if you're worried about resale value. It's a used car, wear and tear is to be expected...

Looks like I will be looking for a wrap shop. I'll just do the entire hood Since these little f****rs are pissing me off.


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[JoshDub]

How bad is your front end really? There are rock chip solutions on the market. You don't always need to either repaint or cover.

[Dayzel108]

How bad is your front end really? There are rock chip solutions on the market. You don't always need to either repaint or cover.

I tried touch up and that didn't look great. The chips are not deep, however they are in multiple areas above the grille. I'll take pictures and post them up tomorrow.


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[rmbrown09]

I'm considering a full wrap on mine, but the main driving force are the rock chips on the hood/bumper.
A full wrap isn't too expensive ($2400 for a cheap one in socal) but I'm not sure how well a wrap holds up to chips. I don't want the same problem 1 year later. Can you clearbra a wrap?

[Pilfer]

I'm considering a full wrap on mine, but the main driving force is the rock chips on the hood/bumper.
A full wrap isn't too expensive ($2400 for a cheap one in socal) but I'm not sure how well a wrap holds up to chips. I don't want the same problem 1 year later. Can you clearbra a wrap?

I took my wrapped hood on a 2700 mi road trip and didn't get any damage from road debris. I probably put about 6000 mi in total on the car with the wrap without a single noticeable chip. That included the Midwest with snow and salt. I did get some stains from insects on the road trip. Matte vinyl I think needs to be cleaned frequently to keep it nice.

[dolphinaudi]

Vinyl wrap is really durable as others have pointed out. You can fill those small imperfections before you wrap it so it looks perfect. Not a bad idea. Price out the paint job, price out the wrapping then flip a coin :)

[14S4GWM]

Suntek makes a matte PPF you can use. Probably better then vinyl for your hood.

http://www.suntekfilms.com/paintprotection/ppf-m.aspx

[Mops@Nemesis]

Check with your insurance. I've had mine cover excessive chips a few times. You pay in a shit ton, might as well use it.

[Dayzel108]

Check with your insurance. I've had mine cover excessive chips a few times. You pay in a shit ton, might as well use it.

Whaaat? Mops, I didn't even think about that! Great thinking, I'll contact them tomorrow to see what Geico will say. Thanks for the suggestion!


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[Dayzel108]

Vinyl wrap is really durable as others have pointed out. You can fill those small imperfections before you wrap it so it looks perfect. Not a bad idea. Price out the paint job, price out the wrapping then flip a coin :)

Lol, can never go wrong with coin flipping.



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[Mops@Nemesis]

Whaaat? Mops, I didn't even think about that! Great thinking, I'll contact them tomorrow to see what Geico will say. Thanks for the suggestion!


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Sure. Just choose your words wisely. That's all I'll say ;)


Mops on the move

[Dayzel108]

Suntek makes a matte PPF you can use. Probably better then vinyl for your hood.

http://www.suntekfilms.com/paintprotection/ppf-m.aspx

This product is exactly like clear Bra.. The chips would still be visible, no?


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[Dayzel108]

Sure. Just choose your words wisely. That's all I'll say ;)


Mops on the move

Haha, well, since you've been down this route before.. Anything I should avoid stating?


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[Mops@Nemesis]

Just PM me and I'll hit you back in the AM


Mops on the move

[14S4GWM]

This product is exactly like clear Bra.. The chips would still be visible, no?


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Not sure. Find a Suntek dealer and the samles they give out for free have both applications. Maybe call and see if they will mail you one.

[bknewtype]

having rock chips > mismatched vinyl

get a respray, put on a clear bra.

[Dayzel108]

having rock chips > mismatched vinyl

get a respray, put on a clear bra.

My biggest concern was the fact that the vinyl will end up mismatched. Shit, really trying to avoid a respray!

[bknewtype]

My biggest concern was the fact that the vinyl will end up mismatched. Shit, really trying to avoid a respray!

I bet it will 100% b mismatched with vinyl. don't do it.

respray wont always devalue the car, esp if done properly. id pick a car with a freshly painted bumper over a car pitted with rock chips any day.

[Mops@Nemesis]

respray wont always devalue the car, esp if done properly. id pick a car with a freshly painted bumper over a car pitted with rock chips any day.

This 100%. If done properly, I'd pay the same for a car with a fresh nose, vs a worn one. And I'd be happy about it. Its hard to find any vehicle that is a few years old that has not been painted on. It's just not a big deal these days. I had a B5 A4 that received some front end damage during a storm. Free bumper, hood and blend respray. I was so excited haha.