Wrapping a new M3

[longshadows]

I'd appreciate input from current or potential owners of the Model 3 concerning body wrapping, both as a means of full-body protection and as obtaining a body color not offered by Tesla (dark green). What has been the experience with either Full Body 3M or Avery Dennison vehicle wrap vinyl?

Any recommendations for providers in New England?

Thanks!

 

[gemmisa]

Greetings! I just did a full 3M wrap for my Model 3 and here are a couple of photos to show off how gorgeous the color is. I also had the door jams wrapped too, which is more tedious and time-consuming, but definitely looks better. I had my other cars wrapped with 3M as a means to protect the paint and temporarily change the color for fun. Upon selling my cars, I have the 3M removed and the original paint looks great. I haven't had any issues at all. Unfortunately, I haven't used Avery on any of my cars, but that's partly because I liked the color offerings 3M had more.

There's a company called T Sportline here in LA. They did my complete 3M application and also the crystalline tint. They did a good job and happy with it so far. You have to look very close to even realize that it's even a wrap and that's because of the vinyl material finish. Real OEM paint just has a unique luster that is hard to replicate.

One of the most important factors to consider is paying for a well-experienced and skilled technician for the application. Also, depending on the color and brand you select, the actual finishes can vary greatly. Seeing the actual swatches help, but when applied they do have slight variations, again depending on the color/brand. Living in Los Angeles, I often see 200k priced cars with terrible vinyl applications. Bulging at the seams, air bubbles, and peeling are issues I've seen and it's very unsightly. The imperfections are magnified under the sun and it's a hot mess!

I don't know anyone in the NE area, but can ask around. Hope this info helps!

 

[Trevor B]

@gemmisa Looks great! How much did that cost?

 

[Mr X]

Greetings! I just did a full 3M wrap for my Model 3 and here are a couple of photos to show off how gorgeous the color is. I also had the door jams wrapped too, which is more tedious and time-consuming, but definitely looks better. I had my other cars wrapped with 3M as a means to protect the paint and temporarily change the color for fun. Upon selling my cars, I have the 3M removed and the original paint looks great. I haven't had any issues at all. Unfortunately, I haven't used Avery on any of my cars, but that's partly because I liked the color offerings 3M had more.

There's a company called T Sportline here in LA. They did my complete 3M application and also the crystalline tint. They did a good job and happy with it so far. You have to look very close to even realize that it's even a wrap and that's because of the vinyl material finish. Real OEM paint just has a unique luster that is hard to replicate.

One of the most important factors to consider is paying for a well-experienced and skilled technician for the application. Also, depending on the color and brand you select, the actual finishes can vary greatly. Seeing the actual swatches help, but when applied they do have slight variations, again depending on the color/brand. Living in Los Angeles, I often see 200k priced cars with terrible vinyl applications. Bulging at the seams, air bubbles, and peeling are issues I've seen and it's very unsightly. The imperfections are magnified under the sun and it's a hot mess!

I don't know anyone in the NE area, but can ask around. Hope this info helps!





View attachment 284031 View attachment 284032

That red is just orgasmic. Uhhh.


All you need is a black license plate and black frame with red SpaceX text to finalize the look! (What I'm going to do)

 

[Thomas Edison]

Greetings! I just did a full 3M wrap for my Model 3 and here are a couple of photos to show off how gorgeous the color is. I also had the door jams wrapped too, which is more tedious and time-consuming, but definitely looks better. I had my other cars wrapped with 3M as a means to protect the paint and temporarily change the color for fun. Upon selling my cars, I have the 3M removed and the original paint looks great. I haven't had any issues at all. Unfortunately, I haven't used Avery on any of my cars, but that's partly because I liked the color offerings 3M had more.

There's a company called T Sportline here in LA. They did my complete 3M application and also the crystalline tint. They did a good job and happy with it so far. You have to look very close to even realize that it's even a wrap and that's because of the vinyl material finish. Real OEM paint just has a unique luster that is hard to replicate.

One of the most important factors to consider is paying for a well-experienced and skilled technician for the application. Also, depending on the color and brand you select, the actual finishes can vary greatly. Seeing the actual swatches help, but when applied they do have slight variations, again depending on the color/brand. Living in Los Angeles, I often see 200k priced cars with terrible vinyl applications. Bulging at the seams, air bubbles, and peeling are issues I've seen and it's very unsightly. The imperfections are magnified under the sun and it's a hot mess!

I don't know anyone in the NE area, but can ask around. Hope this info helps!





View attachment 284031 View attachment 284032

Can you post some door jam pics?

 

[kmporter]

I did a satin dark gray wrap on M3. These guys are great. I had my MS wrapped by them a couple years ago.

 

[Marilyn]

I just did a full wrap. Avery bright yellow satin. 35% tint side and rear and chrome delete with matte black. The satin yellow is awesome and the matte black trim is a great contrast. We’re really pleased! Atlanta Custom Wraps.

 

[jamnmon66]

I really like your cars. Thanks for posting pics. I'm kind of interested depending on price How much did you guys pay for the wrap if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Marilyn]

I really like your cars. Thanks for posting pics. I'm kind of interested depending on price How much did you guys pay for the wrap if you don't mind my asking?

$3000 for wrap and chrome delete

 

[wbhokie]

Greetings! I just did a full 3M wrap for my Model 3 and here are a couple of photos to show off how gorgeous the color is. I also had the door jams wrapped too, which is more tedious and time-consuming, but definitely looks better. I had my other cars wrapped with 3M as a means to protect the paint and temporarily change the color for fun. Upon selling my cars, I have the 3M removed and the original paint looks great. I haven't had any issues at all. Unfortunately, I haven't used Avery on any of my cars, but that's partly because I liked the color offerings 3M had more.

There's a company called T Sportline here in LA. They did my complete 3M application and also the crystalline tint. They did a good job and happy with it so far. You have to look very close to even realize that it's even a wrap and that's because of the vinyl material finish. Real OEM paint just has a unique luster that is hard to replicate.

Can you give a rundown of products you used? Tint %, specific 3M products? Did you use anything over the wrap?

 

[ELRev]

Can you give a rundown of products you used? Tint %, specific 3M products? Did you use anything over the wrap?

I can't speak for the specifics of gemmisa's order, but I have done some work on my Model 3, some of which also took place at T Sportline.

From here, it looks like that's a 35% tint all around in 3M Crystalline film to go with a full body 3M Gloss Dark Red wrap and 3M Gloss Black chrome delete (w/ dark red on the chrome door handles instead of black) + T Sportline's 19" Gloss Black TST Turbine wheels and tire package. Also looks like the front Tesla T emblem was completely removed while the back emblem was replaced with a duplicate emblem painted black.

Generally speaking, there's no need to put anything over the wrap, as the wrap itself serves the function of paint protection and can itself be touched up. The full body wrap and chrome delete are two of the most popular modifications and can be done in pretty much any vinyl wrap film available, with 3M and Avery Dennison being the most often used brands. I personally had my car wrapped in a different brand of film, while still using the 3M gloss black for the chrome delete and 3M Crystalline film for the tint (also 35%).

Not sure what other questions you might have, but I hope that helps.

 

[KiddFunkadelic]

Wraps look great but once I heard they don't tend to last more than 3-5 years I kind of soured on the idea. I plan to keep mine (when I get it!) for closer to 10, so the cost and the fact that I'd have to do it a second time or remove it makes it less appealing... Esp in New England - I imagine that bad weather expedites the wear.

 

[Thomas Edison]

View attachment 293303 View attachment 293304 View attachment 293305 View attachment 293306 I just did a full wrap. Avery bright yellow satin. 35% tint side and rear and chrome delete with matte black. The satin yellow is awesome and the matte black trim is a great contrast. We’re really pleased! Atlanta Custom Wraps.

Can you post a pic that shows the door jambs?

 

[octoad]

From people that have done protective wraps, how long do they last before they start looking like they need to be re-done?

 

[Darmie]

Can't wait to see a model 3 wrapped as below.

 

[gemmisa]

I can't speak for the specifics of gemmisa's order, but I have done some work on my Model 3, some of which also took place at T Sportline.

From here, it looks like that's a 35% tint all around in 3M Crystalline film to go with a full body 3M Gloss Dark Red wrap and 3M Gloss Black chrome delete (w/ dark red on the chrome door handles instead of black) + T Sportline's 19" Gloss Black TST Turbine wheels and tire package. Also looks like the front Tesla T emblem was completely removed while the back emblem was replaced with a duplicate emblem painted black.

Generally speaking, there's no need to put anything over the wrap, as the wrap itself serves the function of paint protection and can itself be touched up. The full body wrap and chrome delete are two of the most popular modifications and can be done in pretty much any vinyl wrap film available, with 3M and Avery Dennison being the most often used brands. I personally had my car wrapped in a different brand of film, while still using the 3M gloss black for the chrome delete and 3M Crystalline film for the tint (also 35%).

Not sure what other questions you might have, but I hope that helps.

Thanks for commenting and you're right about the mods.

 

[gemmisa]

I really like your cars. Thanks for posting pics. I'm kind of interested depending on price How much did you guys pay for the wrap if you don't mind my asking?

Feel free to contact the folks at Tsportline for a quote. The pricing can vary depending on the vinyl brand you choose and if you're doing chrome delete too. They were nice enough to give me a package pricing because I had some other interior work completed by them too.

 

[scrapps]

The detail shop I used for Ceramic Pro recommends coating the wrap in ceramic pro.

 

[gjunky]

$3000 for wrap and chrome delete

That seems really cheap. I assume there isn't a big price difference between clear wrap and one of the color ones.

These cars look awesome. Love the chrome delete and color matched handles

 

[Acho]

That seems really cheap.

That seems about right.

I'd appreciate input from current or potential owners of the Model 3 concerning body wrapping, both as a means of full-body protection and as obtaining a body color not offered by Tesla (dark green). What has been the experience with either Full Body 3M or Avery Dennison vehicle wrap vinyl?

Any recommendations for providers in New England?

Thanks!

As wrap installer I can tell you that if I have choice between 3M and Avery I will go Avery every time. The material is better than 3M and conforms way better which leads to less risks of failure on hard to do spots.

Don't get me wrong - 3M is great material but Avery is a bit better in my opinion.