Had the car wrapped - lots of photos...

[Dr. G]

Actually, no - I need to take some. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend and I'll get some nice shots. Nice little stable, BTW. A friend of mine picked up a 458 about a year ago and it's incredible. It just kills me to have to pay the "initiation fee" to get in the club. That being said, now that I have the R8 5.2 with the Stasis tune, intakes and sprintbooster I don't have many choices left in the upgrade path when I get eventually get my next car

[slammedr8]

What color was your car originally?

I am looking at a black R8 Spyder which I would like to wrap that exact color. Is it 3M? Do you know the colorcode or name of this color and who makes the wrap?

Also, may I ask what you paid for the wrap? PM me if you don't want to share with the entire web

[Dr. G]

The car was Ibis. This material (satin guard) is basically the same as any clear bra, except it had a matte finish with some pearl flake in it. The original color of the car shows through it. It is much thicker than a vinyl wrap and will last longer. It is made by Prestige.

As far as price, I can't really say. My installer gave me a great price being that I have been a customer of his and it was the first one he did with this material. I know the same wrap done at Premier in California would be around $8k or so. My car also had extra work done - paint correction on areas that weren't wrapped, 22ple glass coat on unwrapped areas, wheels, etc.

[M3R8]

I know installers tend to "adjust" the price to the value of the car, just like those rim repair shops who do the same, but $8k???? how the hell do they justify that?

[desperado]

I know installers tend to "adjust" the price to the value of the car, just like those rim repair shops who do the same, but $8k???? how the hell do they justify that?

We elected to cover the entire R8 GT. The R8 hood requires a 60 inch (five foot) wide roll, which alone costs over $1,000. So the materials for the whole car alone cost many $1,000's. Premier put 40-60 man-hours into the application. The quality of their work is "art". People are always surprised when I tell them car has film on it. Add shop rent, lift, tools, insurance, utilities, advertising. The value is there if the workmanship is worthy.

[achan]

FWIW, you can get the hood done in 3 pieces if you have a highly skilled installer. My matte clear ppf was done this way and it follows the crease in the hood, you cannot see it unless you are inches away from it. Personally, I think $8k is a bit overpriced, but I will say the quality of the work I've seen come out of Premier seems top notch.

Just a caution for those who have white cars. After roughly 12k of driving on my matte wrap, it has begun to yellow in the rear due to the amount of heat coming from the engine/exhaust. I had known and expected this going in and overall its not too noticeable, but I drive my R8 quite often. I will likely have it redone at some point after my TT install. This gets to my point of paying for say a good $4.5k job twice rather than $8k job once for the best work once. However, if your R8 is a garage queen this is likely a moot point.

Desperado is right though, Satin Guard is more expensive than the it's 3m counterpart. It sure is pretty though

[slammedr8]

What's better? Satin Guard or 3M?

[achan]

I've never used Satin Guard, but I like the idea of metallic/pearl in the film. I'm not sure it's been around long enough as I haven't seen any longer term reviews. My guess is it's got to be at least as good as 3M if Premier uses it.

From my own experience, I do however prefer 3M over ventureshield. I find 3M film easier to clean and more durable. I will say anyone who dailiy drives a fully wrapped car will know that it will start to show blemishes and discoloration over time regardless of brand

[danko]

Mr G,

Congratulations! It simply looks fantastic. Very clean look. Get a photoshoot of it (Whole car view) so we can all see the beauty.

Dan

[09R8]

I love the satin gard on my car and the ease of cleaning. I got my daughter's BRZ from a vinyl shop and I immediately noticed the fingerprints. I don't have this issue with satin gard and I have about 7000 miles since. Definitely a plus and agree that the cost is high, but like desperado mentioned, I pay for the peace of mind a top shelf product is being put to my car and done so by arguably the best in the industry.