Vinyl wrap under roof rack

V

VonMussa

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Has anyone considered a vinyl wrap on the roof under a rack like a Baja or Gobi? I imagine it would be tough to wax with one on and I was thinking a vinyl might give some long term paint protection.
 
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I considered it. Then the gobi came in and I couldn't wait to install it.

Lift it and you'll never see the roof.
 
FactoryRide said:
I just put my rack on yesterday but im debating taking it off to lineX the roof instead of vinyl
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I just got a quote on Wednesday to get the sides of my truck done. From the bottom of the door up 16" all the way from the front wheel well to the rear was $150 per side so I would imagine the roof would probably be $300 or so.

There was an FJ at the dealership down here that had the roof line-x'd. Looked pretty cool actually.
 
What do you guys think about a white vinyl on roof under a gobi on a Metallic Grey? Ill prolly do black, but I thought maybe getting wild.
 
3m has quite a few matte vinyl colors you could check out. To be honest, I don't think you will see much of your roof unless you climb up there. Keep us posted. Sounds neat.
 
Over the summers I work at a Law enforcement install shop. We covered a Grand Cherokee and an Explorer's roof and hood with 3M wrap and then placed a roof rack on top. It was interesting and pretty cool. If you don't want to ever wash the roof again it is a great thing. However, we also took it off of 2 Expeditions that were only 3 years old and it was nearly impossible to remove it. 4 hours each with a heat gun and a razor blade (Gov't cars, they don't care about how we removed it just as long as it was gone, Auctioned off the cars.) I will say that it covered the roof from any scratches but again almost impossible to remove it.
 
3M says you should remove it before 3 years, I guess it just gets brittle and rotten in the sun. Sounds like a pain to remove if you wait too long.

PS. just wrapped my hood tonight. Way more work than I thought but it turned out good. Pics in my build thread.
 
There is a good possiblility that I am going to wrap the roof before getting my rack. I will go with either a matte black or a snow camo.

But depending on the price LineX might be an option too, but I bet that weighs more.
 
mikey's2010SR5 said:
There is a good possiblility that I am going to wrap the roof before getting my rack. I will go with either a matte black or a snow camo.

But depending on the price LineX might be an option too, but I bet that weighs more.
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Snow camo!!!

I've been in contact with on of the Line-X guys here in SD for the last couple weeks asking questions, etc. He says he can spray the material on as thin as 6mils (basically like paint) or as thick as you want. Only bad thing is.... it IS permanent. Vinyl is kind of nice since you can just rip it off whenever it turns to crap.
 
VonMussa said:
Has anyone considered a vinyl wrap on the roof under a rack like a Baja or Gobi? I imagine it would be tough to wax with one on and I was thinking a vinyl might give some long term paint protection.
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Leave it to me to post something unpopular but true.

You want to put on vinyl to provide long term paint protection? I say with confidence that you can NEVER wash or wax the paint on top of the 4Runner and you can get 15-20 YEARS out of it before it will need to be repainted. Vinyl will last 3-5 years and have fun taking it off. Have you ever been to a junkyard? I have many times. I have seen vehicles that have set out in the sun for 20 years that with just a mild cleaner wax can shine right up and the paint is fine. The paint on a modern vehicle is quite different than it was back in the '50's and 60's. Starting in the '80's when base coat/clear coat started to be widely used paint fading and cracking has mostly ceased to exist. Do me a favor: Next time you see a Ford or a Dodge pickup that is working for a drilling or logging company and is 5-10 years old ask the driver how many times the truck has been washed or waxed. Where I live we have many such trucks and also those that go to the mines. The answer will be something like: "We pressure wash the undercarriage every oil change and spray the large clumps of mud off the outside. Never a hand wash or wax and the paint looks fine between the scratches from brush and such.

So if you want to do vinyl for looks that is one thing. Do not try to justify it for protection though because the paint does just fine without it even if you never wash or wax it.
 
Line-X is good for protection. They can also factory color match. So whoever said they are limited in colors is wrong. They can also make the texture mild to aggressive.

Vinyl is ok, and as 1engineer said, the paint is better.
 
FERAL 4R said:
Line-X is good for protection. They can also factory color match. So whoever said they are limited in colors is wrong. They can also make the texture mild to aggressive.

Vinyl is ok, and as 1engineer said, the paint is better.
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Exactly, forgot to mention that about the texture. Good point. They also can add a UV inhibitor that will keep it "fresh" looking for a lot longer that it did in the past.
 
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