Has anyone wrapped their Goldwing themselves?

[Megreenusmc1969]

Unfortunately I do not have the money to be able to professionally pay to get my 1991 Trike painted or wrapped.

Has anyone done this themselves? If so, do you have any recommendations on process and products used? I have watched some videos of wrapping of cars, but when I look up some of the items it says that they are not recommended for beginners.

I imagine that I will still need to sand out all of the crackling and pitted paint on my current paing job, but as you can imagine after 32 years, it is not in the best of condition. I know the drawbacks of wrapping not lasting as long, but it is garaged when we are not riding and right now my wife has been in the hospital a lot, so the amount of riding is extremely reduced.

[tedluker5152]

Wrapping isn't as hard as it looks. The main thing is to take your time, and use a quality wrap. 3M to me is the best, and is easy to apply. You need a good heat gun, and a few tools you can get from Amazon. Make sure the part you are working on is CLEAN. I use rubbing alcohol right before I apply the wrap. I am working on a 05 Vstar 1100, and will wrap it when I get to that part. Good luck, and get on Youtube and watch some of the videos on wrapping.

[The Original Eggman]

My daughter has done her Kawasaki Vulcan S a couple of times. She did a spare helmet and a bunch of other things. She's gotten pretty good. The Goldwing has larger and smoother parts so it should be a lot easier.

[tedluker5152]

I just purchased a 95 GL1500 I will probably ride it as is this summer, and next winter do a wrap job on her. I really do need to get some of my other projects out of my shop before I do this. If your daughter has already wrapped a bike you are already half way there. Good luck, and post pictures when you finish with the bike.

[Megreenusmc1969]

My daughter has done her Kawasaki Vulcan S a couple of times. She did a spare helmet and a bunch of other things. She's gotten pretty good. The Goldwing has larger and smoother parts so it should be a lot easier.

Thanks "The Original Eggman", has she had any issues wrapping over primer? I am just wondering if I have to get some sort of a paint job on the parts I will sand out before I can do the wrap?

[Megreenusmc1969]

Wrapping isn't as hard as it looks. The main thing is to take your time, and use a quality wrap. 3M to me is the best, and is easy to apply. You need a good heat gun, and a few tools you can get from Amazon. Make sure the part you are working on is CLEAN. I use rubbing alcohol right before I apply the wrap. I am working on a 05 Vstar 1100, and will wrap it when I get to that part. Good luck, and get on Youtube and watch some of the videos on wrapping.

Thanks tedluker5152, same question for you, have you ever wrapped something with primer on it in some parts? Any recommendations?

[Fazer]

I own a sign shop and have tried to wrap a motorcycle (mine). Now admittedly we are not very good at wrapping, but we certainly have the tools. Generally we shy away from wrap jobs due to the time it takes us to wrap anything, and we would never attempt any kind of exotic car. We did wrap a Miata (mine) and it came out pretty nice. One thing I KNOW, is you must have a smooth, glass like surface. Trying to wrap over primer would not be good. The other thing people want us to do is wrap over blemishes to hide rust, scratches etc. Again, not good. The vinyl is so thin you can see a human hair under it.

If any of you have successfully wrapped motorcycle fenders, tanks, body parts with compound curves, then kudos to you. There are wrap shops that can wrap a mag wheel, brake rotors, just about anything, but I can tell you from experience it is talent and specialty possessed by few.

[Wyvern]

I wrap my gl1800. Originaly is gold with too many chrome plastic. Now is clean blue matt its look fantastic.

[Mick1836]

I had the tops of both panniers and the ‘ tank ‘ area just in front of the seat covered in a clear vinyl to protect the paintwork on my 2020 Tour DCT Airbag and any future Goldwing will be covered similarly

[Diesel_2013]

Can u recommend a shop or person interested in wrapping n the Atlanta area??
Thanks

[ksgjlg]

In response to wrapping over primer, I wrapped a 4 place experimental airplane that had primer and unpainted fiberglass work on it. As long as everything is smooth you are good to go. It needs to be finsihed to the point of "ready to paint" or you will have minor imperfections showing through. This airplane cruises at 200mph and the vinyl is still on it. As already mentioned, clean is the key word. I clean with a degreaser like purple cleaner then use alcohol as a final wipe down. Make sure you get air release cast vinyl. 3m is good. On the plane I used Arlon. Any of them will work well. Vinyl is not cheap but for the area on a motocycle its affordable.

[ksgjlg]

I was incorrect on the vinyl. I used Avery on the airplane. It seems to stretch better than most.

[WingAdmin]

In response to wrapping over primer, I wrapped a 4 place experimental airplane that had primer and unpainted fiberglass work on it. As long as everything is smooth you are good to go. It needs to be finsihed to the point of "ready to paint" or you will have minor imperfections showing through. This airplane cruises at 200mph and the vinyl is still on it. As already mentioned, clean is the key word. I clean with a degreaser like purple cleaner then use alcohol as a final wipe down. Make sure you get air release cast vinyl. 3m is good. On the plane I used Arlon. Any of them will work well. Vinyl is not cheap but for the area on a motocycle its affordable.

Just curious what type of airplane you wrapped?

[ksgjlg]

An RV10, built by a friend of mine.

[GLRT]

wrap is interesting I saw a lot of this years ago at the SEMA show and now I am seeing new prototype ecars using wrap instead of paint. I think this is a good thing as paint is damaging to humans, most painter wear hasmat suits as the chemicals will do harm. Also paint is really expensive I pay $384 a pint for Illusion red (most expensive)

As far as doing wrap - I have not done it but I have a project coming up where I was going to repaint one of my units but may for wrap instead. glad I came across this tread

[ksgjlg]

Just another comment or opinion on wraps. A wrap is not as durable as a good paint job with a clear coat. I would guess that paint is somewhat more expensive than a wrap but will last much longer. Paint can be touched up, a wrap cannot. When you are ready to remove the wrap it will probably take a few days of work depending on the condition of the vinyl. With that said, wrap comes in everything from matte to gloss, metallic to plain, pearl, brushed metal, carbon fiber and you can get anything printed on it. Some of the material is as much as $60/yd - cost to someone in the trade, or more. To do the job right, you should take everything off - lights, chrome, locks, even saddlebag lids etc. As long as you keep this stuff in mind a wrap can be a great alternative. If you're willing to invest a little time to learn the process, anyone can do it.