Wrapping Bonnet Lip

[tomo91]

Hi all just a quick question, basically the next mod I wanna do is colour code my awful chrome bonnet lip gloss black, obviously the cheapest option would be to wrap it but I've never wrapped anything before and was just wandering how difficult it would actually be? I'd just rather not buy an RS one in piano black for £50 lol

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[jeebowhite]

remove the bonnet lip, sand it down, prime it and paint it, or if you want to wrap, remove it, wash it down, polish it with isopropyl alcohol. Then apply the vinyl wrap to the topside, use a hairdryer and an old credit card with a layer of masking tape on it. Heat the wrap and push out to the edges to smooth it off, then tuck it under and repeat the process from the front to the rear of the lip, cut off the excess, tuck it under the back of the lip, heat and seal.

Then just reapply.

[salsheikh]

i wrapped mine and it was easy to do - my first ever wrap. i wrapped it in a way where it was completed covered and the overlap was on the underside. get a good quality wrap and not some cheap stuff off eBay. a 2nd pair of hands would be helpful to hold it/apply heat - dont get too close or it'll melt!

[dezwez]

how do you remove it from the car please

[jeebowhite]

I think its a case of apply heat then just remove but I havent looked properly at it Dez.

[Stoney871]

Hyrule has recently removed, painted and refitted his.

His build thread has pictures of the bonnet with the lip removed so you can orientate yourself.

I do believe it's 3 clips and foam tape holding it on.

Sent from my S5

[dezwez]

I will take a look thanks

[footfistart]

Yeah there are three or four plastic clips and just push them through and will be free from the bonnet. Be wise to clean where the lip has been to reduce the risk of corrosion has it is a hot spot for weather and dirt to gather. I've got my lip to do when I have the time.

[troy45]

I managed to do mine satin black without removing it from the car.

First attempt I used 2 pieces I think, mainly to see how it looked before going the full hog which I managed at the first attempt.

Seem to get away with lots of stretching etc using the satin black vinyl but when I've mocked up some gloss black to see if it looked in comparison, it didn't seem as forgiving when applied, removed, stretched, re-applied etc. Taking the lip off the car makes lot better sense for gloss black to do a nice proper job I'd say :)

[X17]

Have you looked at just simply plastic dipping it? It's easier than messing around around with vinyl for smaller pieces. Here's an example:

I got a matte black can for £14. Spray on a few coats with minimal masking, and like vinyl if you ever get bored of it or need it back to original to resell, just rip it off. You can get transparent gloss effect to then spray on top of the black although I haven't tried that yet. Comes in loads of colours.

[footfistart]

I would rather take it off the car as you will run the risk of accidentally marking the car. Better safe than sorry. With it off you are able to do a neater job as you won't be worried about getting it on the car. I've heard good things about the plastic dipping and bad. I'd rather go for hydrodip looks so much better and you can have basically what ever you like on it.

[Lennox8270]

I've had the chrome strip wrapped gloss black for under £20

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[Lennox8270]

I would rather take it off the car as you will run the risk of accidentally marking the car. Better safe than sorry. With it off you are able to do a neater job as you won't be worried about getting it on the car. I've heard good things about the plastic dipping and bad. I'd rather go for hydrodip looks so much better and you can have basically what ever you like on it.

I've used plastic dip on my wheels and it cause one of my wheels to bubble up as it reacted with the clear gloss that was on the wheels.

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[footfistart]

Exactly the reason why is rather wrap. That chrome lip is much cheaper to either repair or replace than a alloy. Is wrap all day long. A lot less hastle and won't take half as long. Plus you can undo it with much of an issue if you were to sell ect ect.

[X17]

Oh yeah definitely take the part off for a smarter finish. I found when you spray it after you've masked whatever you needed to, leave the spray on a few minutes then remove the masking while it's wet. This way it's dry enough to stay where it should and the mask edge remains neat. I left one edge to dry with the mask on and it ripped the sprayed part as I removed the tape. But yeah take the part off first whenever you can.

A nice point about the dip is that it sprays nicely round the shutlines too. Wrap does it of course, just can be fiddly.

[jeebowhite]

the other thing you can do is moisten the tape if you find it has dried. Take a wet sponge and rub it over the masking tape, leave it a minute, then wipe it down once more. This should moisten it enough to remove it without breaking the tape and with ease.

[X17]

the other thing you can do is moisten the tape if you find it has dried. Take a wet sponge and rub it over the masking tape, leave it a minute, then wipe it down once more. This should moisten it enough to remove it without breaking the tape and with ease.

You know I never thought of doing that... and that's after interior decorating disasters too where paint came off with the tape. Really good tip!

[jeebowhite]

Glad to be of service :)

Like many things in my life, it was a lesson learned the hard way :p

[Hyrule]

I followed the guide when taking mine off. There are 3 clips which fit into washers and double sided adhesive strips holding it onto the bonnet. I used a heat gun to warm up the chrome lip, and a flat bladed screwdriver covered in masking tape to prise up the left side until I got to the middle. Then I did the right side and again, stopped at the middle. Applied a little more heat then prised the middle section off. Take your time and you won't break the lip.

I bought a new lip on eBay and painted it myself, meant I could just do a straight swap there and then rather than driving around for a week with no bonnet lip. Wrapping is much easier and quicker than painting as it can be taken off and put back on the same day, whereas you have to wait nearly a week to put the painted lip back on.