When you make the decision to re-do your vehicle’s exterior, you have two main options available – car repainting and car wrapping. Which one is right for you depends on a number of factors. Here is a breakdown of the pros and cons of car wraps vs car paint:
Wrapping vs Painting Cost
There’s no overall answer as to whether vehicle wrapping or repainting is cheaper; it depends on what exact look you’re going for. For a quality paint job, it’s going to cost you around $3,000-$10,000. A vehicle wrap that’s made of high-quality materials and applied correctly could run you around $3,500-$5,000. These are only ballpark estimates; the price of your job may be more or less depending on your needs and wants. The factors that affect the costs of vehicle wrapping and car painting are:
Solid vs Matte
Matte colors have become a popular choice for car owners lately. The biggest issue with matte paint jobs is that they are more expensive than traditional solid color paint jobs. So if you’re looking to get your car painted a matte color, you’re going to be paying a lot of money.
However, since it costs about the same to print a matte vinyl wrap as it does to print a traditional solid wrap, a matte and solid car wrap will cost about the same. If your heart is set on the matte look, but you don’t have the money to pay for an expensive matte paint job, a vehicle wrap is the way to go.
On the other hand, if you have a small car that you want a traditional solid color on, the difference between the cost of a paint job and the cost of a vinyl wrapping won’t be as significant. At that point, you’ll want to weigh other factors before ultimately choosing between painting and wrapping.
Vehicle Exterior Customizations
A car painted one color will cost you a lot less than a car with multiple colors or designs. If you want racing stripes, flames, or other designs painted on your car’s exterior, it will likely cost you a lot.
Car wraps, however, can easily be printed with just about any design you could want. You may pay a bit more for the graphic design cost, but since the printing and installation costs will be about the same for single color and customized wraps, you won’t be paying much more if you want to add customizations to your car wrap.
Preservation of Original Paint Job
A lot of people enjoy driving around in classic cars. Some of those people want to repaint their classic car or add designs to it. However, a classic car with its original paint job tends to have a much higher resale value than a car that’s been repainted. Many original classic car paints have been discontinued, so you’ll never be able to add that value back to your classic vehicle if you repaint it.
Vehicle wraps, on the other hand, let you customize your classic car without diminishing its resale value. Professionally-installed car wraps don’t damage the paint underneath when removed, so a car wrap will preserve the original paint job while still letting you add whatever colors and designs you want to your classic car. In fact, a vehicle wrap is a good idea to add to your classic vehicle whether or not you’re looking to customize it. A car wrap will protect the original paint job from UV rays, oxidization, and other harmful factors so that the paint will be well preserved for resale.
Car Painting vs Wrap Installation Time
Do you want your car back in 3 days or 3 weeks? A well-done paint job can take weeks to complete, while a professionally-installed vehicle wrap will generally take less than one week. So if you need your car back sooner rather than later, a car wrapping is the better option.
Maintenance
Vehicle paint is highly susceptible to damage. It’s easily chipped and scratched, and it needs constant cleaning and waxing to protect it from damage caused by the elements. A vinyl car wrap is much more durable. It’s much more resistant to scratches and UV rays, and only requires an occasional wash with soap and water to keep it looking good. Even if you don’t clean it consistently, the buildup of dirt and other grime won’t do much (if any) damage to the vinyl wrap, whereas car paint gets damaged by such things very easily.
Matte paints are especially tedious to maintain. You can’t use traditional buffers or wax to cover scratches and maintain the paint because those are made for more shiny, traditional solid paints. Furthermore, if you wish to use paint to cover up the scratches, it won’t blend well because matte paints are almost impossible to match. However, a matte vinyl wrap is much more durable and won’t have quite as many problems as matte car paint.
If you’re ready to get your car wrapped, contact Signs By Randy. They do all kinds of vinyl prints and installations in addition to signs, such as vehicle wraps, wall decals, window graphics, and more. For a beautifully-printed and expertly-installed car wrap, contact them today.
See More Examples Of Our Work