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01-06-2012, 05:55 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Rochester, MN
Posts: 693
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Painting vs wrapping RV
Has anyone ever done or considered doing a wrap on their RV as an alternative to painting? If so, please post some photos. I'm curious if this is a viable alternative; cost, wearability, weight, etc. Here's an example I pulled off youtube showing the process done on a larger plane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-PjCuLbOo
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01-06-2012, 06:28 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 1,299
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Quote:
Originally Posted by diamond
Has anyone ever done or considered doing a wrap on their RV as an alternative to painting? If so, please post some photos. I'm curious if this is a viable alternative; cost, wearability, weight, etc. Here's an example I pulled off youtube showing the process done on a larger plane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-PjCuLbOo
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From what I have seen for vehicle wraps, it costs more than paint unless you are doing detailed graphics. If you are planning a simple paint job with stripes ect, paint would be cheaper. I would also be concerned about traping moisture around the rivet heads and skin seams where the wrap may not stick down completely.
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Colin P.
RV-6A #20603: Emp done,Wings done, Fuselage done, Electrical done, FWF about done, Canopy done, Fiberglass/Finishing in work. Getting very close!
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I donate every year on my B-Day (in Dec)
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01-06-2012, 06:54 AM
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 443
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I did some of the smaller parts....
After about 5 years of flying, the cockpit coaming on my -4 was rather beat up. Rather than repainting this surface, I used a 3M film. It has proven much tougher than the orginal paint. It has been in place for 5 years and still looks great. Similarly, I used film on some interior components to avoid the hassle of painting. It worked great. Doing a whole plane would be a big job, but certainly is acheivable. You can get good weight estimates from the manufacturere, but I would expect it to be similar. It lays down over rivets well (you can't tell it's not paint), but I agree with a previous poster that it may be easier to apply second/third colors with this system due to the difficulty in laying film on complex geometries like the flap brace, or the exposed portion of the rear spar of the horizontal stablizer.
Good luck,
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01-06-2012, 07:19 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 947
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Wrap are Pretty Common in the Trucking Industry
Durability is not really an issue. Attached is a link to DAR Ted Gauthier's RV6. I believe the plane was launched in 02. base red and white is paint. The graphics have held up as well as the paint.
http://flyballoons.net/AirplanePhotoGallery.htm
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01-06-2012, 07:33 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 590
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Air Graphics LLC
I've also been considering this so I hope some guys that have done it can chime in. I talked to this company at OSH last year...I thought she told me $1500-2000 for a typical RV?? As you can see they have some RV pics in their gallery.
http://www.airgraphicsllc.com/
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Ron Duren
Mechanical Engineer
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Denver, CO (KBJC)
RV-7 'Tip Up'
Flying!! as of 3/16/14
IO-375/ WW 200G-CS/ SkyView/ Dual P-mags
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http://www.ronsrv7project.blogspot.com
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01-06-2012, 07:40 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hubbard Oregon
Posts: 7,437
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Quote:
Originally Posted by diamond
Has anyone ever done or considered doing a wrap on their RV as an alternative to painting? If so, please post some photos. I'm curious if this is a viable alternative; cost, wearability, weight, etc. Here's an example I pulled off youtube showing the process done on a larger plane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-PjCuLbOo
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In reality it is not an alternative to painting..... it is an alternative to painting trim or other graphics. You still need to paint the plane a base color. It would be nearly impossible to (and cost prohibitive) to put vinyl on everything that would be normally painted (even vehicles the get the wrap treatment start out with everything painted... door jams, etc.)
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01-06-2012, 07:47 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Huskerland, USA
Posts: 5,849
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If you look at what those guys can do it would be neat to do the tail art with a wrap.
Most small jets are vinyl graphics now that I have seen, so the product can hold up over rivets and great speeds.
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RV-8 : Just Sold
RV-10 : In the hangar
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RV-44 : 4 place helicopter on order.
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01-06-2012, 08:00 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Rochester, MN
Posts: 693
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002
In reality it is not an alternative to painting..... it is an alternative to painting trim or other graphics. You still need to paint the plane a base color. It would be nearly impossible to (and cost prohibitive) to put vinyl on everything that would be normally painted (even vehicles the get the wrap treatment start out with everything painted... door jams, etc.)
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Many of us would feel comfortable putting a base coat on ourselves and then having a wrap applied with design and color. Only a few of us would feel comfortable painting detailed graphics with multi colors. If the cost of spraying my own base and paying for a wrap comes in cheaper than paying for a detailed paint scheme, then you have my attention. Not to mention the ability to remove the wrap and apply something different in the future if and when you sell your plane.
I'm also curious whether those wraps would work over the rivets on a -12.
Last edited by diamond : 01-06-2012 at 08:05 AM.
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01-06-2012, 08:02 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,686
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I considered this too as my airplane is mostly polished. I worked with a guy locally who is great and really into airplanes, but in the end the cost drove me back to paint (I painted it myself for about 1/3rd of the cost - YMMV).
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01-06-2012, 08:22 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bonney Lake, WA
Posts: 295
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Geico266
If you look at what those guys can do it would be neat to do the tail art with a wrap.
Most small jets are vinyl graphics now that I have seen, so the product can hold up over rivets and great speeds.
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The vinyl N-numbers toward the front of our engine cowlings haven't held up well, but for the most part they do alright. Doing vinyl trim over a base coat is something that is definitely in the running for my RV when it's time for paint, as what you can lay down is limited only by your creativity and the quality of the vinyl printer. Here is an example of a busy tail vinyl decal I did for a large scale model. My idea for the design and the vinyl cutter pulled it off beautifully (The N-number decal, not the flag decal). I can certainly see this process being viable on the RV.

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Ryan Winslow
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