The Added Value of Vinyl...

It has been a whirlwind few months for us here at Automotive Specialist recently. After returning from Asia in early December, we were literally booked out 7 days a week (14+ hour days) to handle all of our clients' needs before heading back to Singapore in mid- February. While most of the jobs were new exciting projects (that I shall be posting about in the next few weeks as I catch up), some tend to be call backs or repairs of something previously installed that do not make us or the client happy. Such is the case with our lovely Wald MB CL550 vinyl wrap project posted about in an earlier entry. In early January I received a text from our client simply stating he had a problem followed by the following photos...

some nice key marks found along the side of the car...

Firstly, anyone running a small business knows how depressing it is to see an unhappy client. Secondly, it is infuriating to see a project that took such time and effort get vandalized for no reason. My heart sank as I saw the photos and quickly responded asking how deep the scratches were, what panels, and how would the client like to proceed. After a few exchanges I determined the vinyl panels were keyed along the whole right rear side of the MB CL. Our client stated they were quite deep and we both wondered how badly the custom paint job underneath was affected.

It's not all about Looks:

After ordering more vinyl for the car, we scheduled the vehicle in to remove, inspect, repair, and replace the vinyl sections for the right quarter panel and door (about 16 ft of vinyl). After washing and prepping the car to inspect the damage, I was quite nervous of the paint underneath as the keying was quite deep and aggressive. It still amazes me to this day, how many people will actually take the time and effort to ruin someone else's property. Goes to show someone's true character and lack of class I suppose. 

So as I pulled the vinyl off the door, I was surprised how much abuse the 3M material took. Not only did it stop any paint from being ripped off the custom satin black black underneath, it also prevented any permanent scratches! After removing the rear quarter panel, the same result was found. I was quite astonished and relieved. After such a horrible experience, it is always good to deliver some good news to a client. He was very pleased to hear his paint was left unaffected, and excited to get back his Wald CL. 

Once we determined no paint damage was done, we got to work prepping the panels for their new vinyl covering. Starting with the door, we removed the handle and trim and had that done with little fanfare. Then we moved onto the large rear quarter panel (11ft *5 ft). While not technically hard, it is one of the most challenging panels in terms of time required to install since it is so large and requires a ton of trimming with the wheel well, trunk, rear lights, fuel door, side skirt, roof and door sill.

a sea of vinyl...

6 hours later...

Next up was a quick wax and inspection of the rest of the car's vinyl. A few quick touch ups and cleaning and we were ready for delivery. But this is a true testament to vinyl (in terms of its durability, and ability to repair or replace). If this had occurred on paint, we would have had a full repaint on tap for the whole passenger side. Not only would it require about 2-3 weeks of work, but also a good $3-5k for a repaint plus a loss of resale value. So while we cannot avoid complete useless acts of jealousy and vandalism, we can try to help minimize them by utilizing all the benefits vinyl has to offer over paint.

happy delivery...

back in action...