Rocker Wrap (Caution: Picture Overload)

IL8APEX

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I could lie and tell you I was scared of chipping paint and wanted to preserve my truck. In reality it's all just vanity. The truck looked a little fat in the middle, like an overfed guppy, and I wanted to put it on a visual diet.

I had altered a photo of my stock truck to show what it would look like with the tubular bumpers and suspension lift I was planning. That's when the awkwardness of the "low belly" made itself known. The stock truck, and the (virtually) lifted version with tubular bumpers below:

Ranger03.png


I knew the small wheels contributed to the problem, but I thought I knew a way to fix it.



Yup, that fixed it! A simple solution employed by countless vehicles on the road today, and it looked like it might have come that way from the factory.

Now that I know what I want, it's time to make it happen.

First, clean everything with Wax and Grease remover...

20200620_150323.jpg


Then decide where the edge wants to be.

20200620_150414.jpg


That looks about right!

Now apply some knifeless tape...

20200621_085232.jpg


...along the top edge...

20200620_150609.jpg


...and peel back the painter's tape.

20200620_150643.jpg


Well done!

20200621_084715.jpg


That's the easy part. Now you've got to get all the "stuff" out of the way so you can lay down the vinyl.

20200621_104805.jpg


Many clips were lost that day.

20200621_111626.jpg


Better. But not enough.

IMG_20200626_114845_01.jpg


Now we're cookin'!

20200621_154029.jpg


Laying the vinyl is the easy part.



Getting all the bubbles out isn't bad, either. Oops, missed one!



Every time I do a vinyl project I say "Never Again." And yet here I am doing it again.



I am pretty taken with the results, though.





20200630_075705.jpg


So, what do you think? Worth the effort?

-Tom
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P. A. Schilke

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I could lie and tell you I was scared of chipping paint and wanted to preserve my truck. In reality it's all just vanity. The truck looked a little fat in the middle, like an overfed guppy, and I wanted to put it on a visual diet.

I had altered a photo of my stock truck to show what it would look like with the tubular bumpers and suspension lift I was planning. That's when the awkwardness of the "low belly" made itself known. The stock truck, and the (virtually) lifted version with tubular bumpers below:

Ranger03.png


I knew the small wheels contributed to the problem, but I thought I knew a way to fix it.



Yup, that fixed it! A simple solution employed by countless vehicles on the road today, and it looked like it might have come that way from the factory.

Now that I know what I want, it's time to make it happen.

First, clean everything with Wax and Grease remover...

20200620_150323.jpg


Then decide where the edge wants to be.

20200620_150414.jpg


That looks about right!

Now apply some knifeless tape...

20200621_085232.jpg


...along the top edge...

20200620_150609.jpg


...and peel back the painter's tape.

20200620_150643.jpg


Well done!

20200621_084715.jpg


That's the easy part. Now you've got to get all the "stuff" out of the way so you can lay down the vinyl.

20200621_104805.jpg


Many clips were lost that day.

20200621_111626.jpg


Better. But not enough.

IMG_20200626_114845_01.jpg


Now we're cookin'!

20200621_154029.jpg


Laying the vinyl is the easy part.



Getting all the bubbles out isn't bad, either. Oops, missed one!



Every time I do a vinyl project I say "Never Again." And yet here I am doing it again.



I am pretty taken with the results, though.





20200630_075705.jpg


So, what do you think? Worth the effort?

-Tom

Hi Tom,

Nicely done!

Does my Tortoies look "fat:" to you.? Maybe a shell strip or some Plastron Skids? (uderside of a Tortoise)? ? ? ?

Tito1.JPG
 
OP
OP

IL8APEX

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Hi Tom,

Nicely done!

Does my Tortoies look "fat:" to you.? Maybe a shell strip or some Plastron Skids? (uderside of a Tortoise)? ? ? ?

Tito1.JPG
Actually he looks quite svelt... and I admire the durability factor!

-T
 

deton8r

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Looks great but that install looks way more involved than I would have imagined. I'm speechless
 


Deleted member 1634

Looks good! A little more involved and covered more area than the way I did mine. But yours can be removed (I think?), if that's something people are interested in having the ability to do. More work and takes more skill than mine did, at least in my mind. Not sure I'd have been able to do it without getting super frustrated. haha I can't even put on small window decals without having bubbles. haha Kudos to you on the hard work and great result!
 

CO2Ranger

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I could lie and tell you I was scared of chipping paint and wanted to preserve my truck. In reality it's all just vanity. The truck looked a little fat in the middle, like an overfed guppy, and I wanted to put it on a visual diet.

I had altered a photo of my stock truck to show what it would look like with the tubular bumpers and suspension lift I was planning. That's when the awkwardness of the "low belly" made itself known. The stock truck, and the (virtually) lifted version with tubular bumpers below:

Ranger03.png


I knew the small wheels contributed to the problem, but I thought I knew a way to fix it.



Yup, that fixed it! A simple solution employed by countless vehicles on the road today, and it looked like it might have come that way from the factory.

Now that I know what I want, it's time to make it happen.

First, clean everything with Wax and Grease remover...

20200620_150323.jpg


Then decide where the edge wants to be.

20200620_150414.jpg


That looks about right!

Now apply some knifeless tape...

20200621_085232.jpg


...along the top edge...

20200620_150609.jpg


...and peel back the painter's tape.

20200620_150643.jpg


Well done!

20200621_084715.jpg


That's the easy part. Now you've got to get all the "stuff" out of the way so you can lay down the vinyl.

20200621_104805.jpg


Many clips were lost that day.

20200621_111626.jpg


Better. But not enough.

IMG_20200626_114845_01.jpg


Now we're cookin'!

20200621_154029.jpg


Laying the vinyl is the easy part.



Getting all the bubbles out isn't bad, either. Oops, missed one!



Every time I do a vinyl project I say "Never Again." And yet here I am doing it again.



I am pretty taken with the results, though.





20200630_075705.jpg


So, what do you think? Worth the effort?

-Tom
Tom,

Looks great. Do you have a link to the vinyl you used? I'm assuming it was in one of the pictures that doesn't seem to load. Greatly appreciated.
 

VoodooRanger

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I love the idea behind the preservation, but I do not have the willpower to remove my doors.
 

CO2Ranger

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I love the idea behind the preservation, but I do not have the willpower to remove my doors.
Seems like you could do it in smaller pieces and keep the doors on. Would take some pre-planning and a boatload of patience. Same with the fenders though I'm not sure the edges would look as clean as the OPs. If I brave it, I'll post some pics of my own. ?
 

Ronbo

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Love the idea. I'm gonna have to try this. Might check with local vinyl wrap installer to see about do something like this.

Retro truck1.png

(Picture Credit to Kyle - @ironman2991)
 

Deleted member 1634

I love the idea behind the preservation, but I do not have the willpower to remove my doors.
Seems like you could do it in smaller pieces and keep the doors on. Would take some pre-planning and a boatload of patience. Same with the fenders though I'm not sure the edges would look as clean as the OPs. If I brave it, I'll post some pics of my own. ?
If you just do bedliner like I did, and just "paint" it on with a brush, you can really get it into all the nooks and crannies and "drape" it all over in the tight spots. Didn't have to remove the doors or fender trim or any of that on mine. Granted, mine may not look as clean, but that's simply because I'm no expert. A professional could've made mine look better. Nor can mine be removed later, which is fine with me since I plan on keeping this truck, and making it last, for quite awhile. Others have different plans and want the option to return to stock, or near stock, for trade-in or because it's a lease or what have you. This wrap would be a good option for that.
 

mtsoxfan

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If you just do bedliner like I did, and just "paint" it on with a brush, you can really get it into all the nooks and crannies and "drape" it all over in the tight spots. Didn't have to remove the doors or fender trim or any of that on mine. Granted, mine may not look as clean, but that's simply because I'm no expert. A professional could've made mine look better. Nor can mine be removed later, which is fine with me since I plan on keeping this truck, and making it last, for quite awhile. Others have different plans and want the option to return to stock, or near stock, for trade-in or because it's a lease or what have you. This wrap would be a good option for that.
Would you post pics of what you did please? I'd be interested to see how it came out, and what you used. I can say I think the paint is thin on truck. Not that I would cover, but the piece under front bumper already has a couple of chips. I don't follow anyone close enough to be hit by rock, bugs maybe? The rest of the truck is fine after many bug strikes.
 

Deleted member 1634

Would you post pics of what you did please? I'd be interested to see how it came out, and what you used. I can say I think the paint is thin on truck. Not that I would cover, but the piece under front bumper already has a couple of chips. I don't follow anyone close enough to be hit by rock, bugs maybe? The rest of the truck is fine after many bug strikes.
I used Durabak bedliner, based on some research saying it was one of the easiest to apply yourself. It also comes in a variety of different colors and two different textures (rough/classic and smooth) as well, which is really nice. I chose smooth dark gray, hoping to match the sport magnetic color trim. It ended up being a little lighter tone than I'd like, but most people won't even notice it, and even now I forget it's there. Whole thing cost $81 including shipping, and took about 3 hours to do from start to finish. And most of that time was making sure the tape was in the correct spot and waiting for the first coat to dry prior to applying the second coat.

I already had a handful of rock chips that were exposing bare metal in the area I covered. And with how aggressive salt is in the 7-8 months of winter we get, that'll rust out in no time. I did also cover the bottom door seam as well, since I've seen plenty of vehicle rust out starting there too. I also have a handful of chips on the hood. The bumper seems fine and the skid plate (FX4) below that only has one ding from the snowblower running away on me and ramming into it this past winter.

Like I said before, it looks amateur, but that's because it is. You can also get shops to do it for you, but my local shop quoted me $700+ for them to do essentially the same thing I did. In the end I'm very happy with the way it came out.

IMG_20200530_131334145_HDR.jpg

IMG_20200530_160404283_HDR.jpg

IMG_20200530_160415912_HDR.jpg
 

mtsoxfan

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I used Durabak bedliner, based on some research saying it was one of the easiest to apply yourself. It also comes in a variety of different colors and two different textures (rough/classic and smooth) as well, which is really nice. I chose smooth dark gray, hoping to match the sport magnetic color trim. It ended up being a little lighter tone than I'd like, but most people won't even notice it, and even now I forget it's there. Whole thing cost $81 including shipping, and took about 3 hours to do from start to finish. And most of that time was making sure the tape was in the correct spot and waiting for the first coat to dry prior to applying the second coat.

I already had a handful of rock chips that were exposing bare metal in the area I covered. And with how aggressive salt is in the 7-8 months of winter we get, that'll rust out in no time. I did also cover the bottom door seam as well, since I've seen plenty of vehicle rust out starting there too. I also have a handful of chips on the hood. The bumper seems fine and the skid plate (FX4) below that only has one ding from the snowblower running away on me and ramming into it this past winter.

Like I said before, it looks amateur, but that's because it is. You can also get shops to do it for you, but my local shop quoted me $700+ for them to do essentially the same thing I did. In the end I'm very happy with the way it came out.

IMG_20200530_131334145_HDR.jpg

IMG_20200530_160404283_HDR.jpg

IMG_20200530_160415912_HDR.jpg
Thanks. I have Platinum White, with running boards, so I'd have to decide on the Magnetic to match trim or matte black (if available) to blend in behind running boards. Magnetic may be the best choice, as it will extend past running boards.
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