(apologies if this has been done as a guide before, I couldn't see anything when searching)
I've been in the VW scene for over 20 years but I've recently bought my first van and I am truly shocked at how inflated some of the prices are for some things, these coloured bumper strip bars being the example in todays post.
They are around £40 to buy but I honestly can't see the value in that, so I took measures into my own hands.
Queue ebay and some red vinyl wrap. 300mm x 1500mm for £6.50 delivered. Usually I'd recommend the seller/item but I had a slight issue with my order so I don't recommend the seller in this case - search coloured vinyl and you'll see lots of options under £10. The amount I ordered was more than enough.
Procedure for those who have never done it before :
1. Use plastic trim panel removal tool and unclip the trim
2. Use a degreaser or just give them a good clean before going any further so the wrap sticks to it
3. Optional but I also keyed the surface with some sand paper to further aid the sticking process
4. Have a heat gun to hand/or a hairdryer.
5. Cut out the pieces and leave some overlap to tuck around the edges
6. Place the trim onto the piece of vinyl and gently mould the vinyl around the contours, use some heat if the vinyl is tough or stubborn but not too much or you'll burn it
7. One it's attached to the front of the trim you can start to trim and tuck it around the edges and sides. I used a brand new blade for all the trimming.
The edges are the hardest part but once you get them to wrap around and stick, use some heat which will activate the stickiness better.
Then just clip them back on
I've been in the VW scene for over 20 years but I've recently bought my first van and I am truly shocked at how inflated some of the prices are for some things, these coloured bumper strip bars being the example in todays post.
They are around £40 to buy but I honestly can't see the value in that, so I took measures into my own hands.
Queue ebay and some red vinyl wrap. 300mm x 1500mm for £6.50 delivered. Usually I'd recommend the seller/item but I had a slight issue with my order so I don't recommend the seller in this case - search coloured vinyl and you'll see lots of options under £10. The amount I ordered was more than enough.
Procedure for those who have never done it before :
1. Use plastic trim panel removal tool and unclip the trim
2. Use a degreaser or just give them a good clean before going any further so the wrap sticks to it
3. Optional but I also keyed the surface with some sand paper to further aid the sticking process
4. Have a heat gun to hand/or a hairdryer.
5. Cut out the pieces and leave some overlap to tuck around the edges
6. Place the trim onto the piece of vinyl and gently mould the vinyl around the contours, use some heat if the vinyl is tough or stubborn but not too much or you'll burn it
7. One it's attached to the front of the trim you can start to trim and tuck it around the edges and sides. I used a brand new blade for all the trimming.
The edges are the hardest part but once you get them to wrap around and stick, use some heat which will activate the stickiness better.
Then just clip them back on
