[Parthasarathig]

My BB curve needed a change, and the other is of the galaxy note that needs a bit of finishing touches. Working with smaller objects is a difficult.

[Parthasarathig]

Another update Thats my router cf'ed.

[audioholic]

Just a small tip, use a sharper blade or cutter. The edges will come smoothly when you cut them off.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Just a small tip, use a sharper blade or cutter. The edges will come smoothly when you cut them off.

Audioholic the problem im facing is around the edges. When I heat it and stretch, the vinyl stretches in the direction of the pressure and the remaining part remains as it is. This gives wavy edges like you can see in the pic. What to do about that? How did you manage the curvy edges?

And do you cut some sort of template? For this router i needed to use 3 pieces. 1 for the top, 1 for the front lights panel and 1 for the remaining body. Should I try to do it with one piece only?

[audioholic]

You should do things with one piece as far as possible. For the router, however you have to use a piece for each panel. You need to heat the entire edge, pull it and stick it. It is more like how we wear socks. Pull it, stretch it and wrap it. If you get wrinkles like this, heat that area and flatten it with a card. Without heating if you flatten, it will create a sharp protusion which cant be fixed.

Another method to go about edges + curves is, by heating and flattening the film starting from the flat plane towards the edges. That time, you can also flatten the wrinkles as soon as you heat them. In this method, your sole intention is to remove any air pockets. So, flatten it accordingly.

[audioholic]

I am back! Here is CF on the spare panel of my phone:









It does not fit so good as the old cover was damaged and no longer held up with the phone.

[Parthasarathig]

Man this is just awesome. You should open up a wrap shop bro. Maybe give 3m amd wraptivo a run for their money. Given the right tools you can do wonders.
Btw my vinyl stock shall run out in a few days if i keep at it. Thinking where to source it from next. Ebay is there but Id like to see it this time before buying it.

Do stickering shops sell these vinyls from their stock or is their another source? As they must be getting it for cheaper.

[audioholic]

Thanks. I pay 50/sft. So I guess the sticker shop guy gets it for less than 40. This guy is running out of the CF vinyl because of me. He has a two feet wide roll from which I take one feet portions. The more you buy, the more happy they will be to lend it to you. This guy is a friendly one. He even has four feet rolls it seems in his godown. He told me when I joked that his vinyl was getting over because of me. Four feet rolls are used for big areas, like hood etc. Two feet width is commonly ised for the cutting machine. So, when we buy, we must buy it in dimensions of 2X*ft. Else they will have problem in spending the small portions. Most sticker shops have this with them. So you can check them instead of buying online. Engineering does not seem to help these days, so let me think about the shop part. contact me if you need any help.

[rajivanoj]

I have come across CF vinyl textured, that too in different colors at cheap price with free shipping too from china

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RETAI...494326445.html

its alibaba.com. so i feel it is safe like ebay.

PS: I am not promoting or advertising on behalf of the seller, i am just posting, the information, which i came across, by the way, i have bought remote security system from china for USD 21.5, after getting $5 discount coupon. it is in india now, while i tracked it online. Hope to get it soon.

But remember, the vinyl we get from china is crushed in packing, we have to heat it to get shape. since it is free shipping , they pack that way, but if we get roll, then it wont be a problem.

[audioholic]

I did not understand the pricing part. It is roughly four sft and if that is around 5$, its quite worth it. I think in bulk, we can get it for lower rates too. As long as my sticker shop felliw gives me sheet, I will stick to him. Let's see if he will have a problem in lending it to me. Then I will have this option. As of now I am not finding any more uses.

[thumpingheart]

Hi everybody. This may seem a bit like a weird question, but I was wondering for some time. Like so many of you guys have used glossy black vinyl or CF vinyl on many plastic / unconventional places, can we use the same to style wheels?

I mean instead of using aftermarket alloys and voiding warranty, can we use the vinyl on the wheel caps? Or like the Beat already has styled steel rims, so can we use this vinyl on the Beat's wheels directly and make it glossy black / CF?

We have an A-Star with wheel caps and I was planning to buy a Beat in near future and I love black alloys. But due to high cost and warranty issues I thought doing such black vinyl inserts on the wheel itself to make it look better. I know it won't match the quality of an alloy, but is the option viable? Or am I being too cheap!

[audioholic]

Maybe you were looking at something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aV2H57bES4

It can be very well done, but you need to get a skilled person, and the job will be done. If the finishing of the edges are done well, then it is durable too.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by thumpingheart

Hi everybody. This may seem a bit like a weird question, but I was wondering for some time. Like so many of you guys have used glossy black vinyl or CF vinyl on many plastic / unconventional places, can we use the same to style wheels?

I mean instead of using aftermarket alloys and voiding warranty, can we use the vinyl on the wheel caps? Or like the Beat already has styled

Lol: the problem with steel rims is that they get very hot after a ride. More in comparison to the alloy wheels. So the vinyl may not last much long because of overheating and youd have to do it again and again to retain the texture.

But if you can do it, why not give it a try? This vinyl is the the same material used in the rim stickers for motorbikes. And they look good too. Dont know if the cf pattern should look good on the wheel. You can paint your steel rims black and use the cf to decorate other parts of the body.

Looking forward to your pics.

@audioholic how did you manage to get the NOKIA shape out of the vinyl? Please teach me that

[StrangeWizard]

Originally Posted by thumpingheart

Hi everybody. This may seem a bit like a weird question, but I was wondering for some time. Like so many of you guys have used glossy black vinyl or CF vinyl on many plastic / unconventional places, can we use the same to style wheels?
:

I have a spark and was thinking of doing something similar a couple of months back.
however it would be really difficult to do that.
so just got the wheel caps painted from the local mechanic for 400 bucks. cheap and easy to do.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

@audioholic how did you manage to get the NOKIA shape out of the vinyl? Please teach me that

Press the area to get the approx overlay.
Start heating this area and using a toothpick, carve out the lines. You will have to do it for a long time to get the sticker to form the exact shape.
Else, take an earbud. Warm it using an iron box and start pushing in the vinyl into the grooves.
Else, take a micro tip screw driver, warm it and carve out the edges. However, if the tip is too hot, it might puncture the vinyl.