Let's see pics from everyone who wrapped/dipped/painted their Model S
Here's my vinyl wrap, Avery Brilliant Blue Matte Metallic with Milky Way for the nosecone. I wasted $600 trying to wrap the inside trim with milky way too but the matte obeche wood grain showed through so had to take it off; get piano black if wrapping inside. I also might wrap my winter wheels that I'm putting in next week since they are flat (TSW Rivage), probably the same blue color & if it looks good may switch my all season wheels when warm again so i can wrap that too.
For me regarding the wrap choices: Regular matte (i.e. not matte metallic) is more boring and heard it was harder to clean. Chrome is too flashy and doesn't last as long, plus is almost like camouflage & might cause accidents. Satin or Gloss is too much like a normal car paint and doesn't feel special to me, plus with light shining on the dark blue base color it just looked black due to reflection; I love how the matte metallic shines a little but diffuses light to fully see the color all around. I love blue and the Brilliant blue from Avery stood out more in certain light (not as boring/unnoticeable as other colors) while being a little cheaper than 3M, the other top brand I considered. If I were to try any other style/color it would probably be Blue Brushed Steel (or variation of that name).
A dark base color is best so that the gaps and unwrapped areas aren't very visible; if you plan to wrap just choose black so can save the $1,500 paint upgrade to uss toward wrapping. For me its worth it to protect the paint (which I heard gets chipped easily) and I love the color (might help with resale too since its more unique, or I can take off the wrap and it'll be perfect condition paint).
Price can widely vary depending on quality & amount of work, I have heard some pay up to $10K but I paid the lower end about $3,000 because I didn't get a warranty and didn't have them take off many parts to wrap fully (e.g. didn't wrap the side/bottom inside the doors or the sides of the inside of the trunk). When road debris damaged my fender and bumper, insurance covered the repaired dent/scratch and replacement of the wrap for those panels.
Painting your car I think would be over $10K and not worth it given no extra protection. Plastidip is much cheaper (kind of like spray painting that can be peeled off later) but also not nearly as durable, might last a few months rather than 5 years.
I pay a mobile carwash to use Meguiar's Ultimate (safe for vinyl wrap) Detailer every 2-3 months (along with full wash/detail for $150) and the Wash&Wax and Quik Wax every 2-4 weeks for $20, if some things aren't cleaned quickly (e.g. acid from bird droppings or bug guts or salt in the winter) it isnt good for the wrap so i also spot clean in between.
Here's my vinyl wrap, Avery Brilliant Blue Matte Metallic with Milky Way for the nosecone. I wasted $600 trying to wrap the inside trim with milky way too but the matte obeche wood grain showed through so had to take it off; get piano black if wrapping inside. I also might wrap my winter wheels that I'm putting in next week since they are flat (TSW Rivage), probably the same blue color & if it looks good may switch my all season wheels when warm again so i can wrap that too.
For me regarding the wrap choices: Regular matte (i.e. not matte metallic) is more boring and heard it was harder to clean. Chrome is too flashy and doesn't last as long, plus is almost like camouflage & might cause accidents. Satin or Gloss is too much like a normal car paint and doesn't feel special to me, plus with light shining on the dark blue base color it just looked black due to reflection; I love how the matte metallic shines a little but diffuses light to fully see the color all around. I love blue and the Brilliant blue from Avery stood out more in certain light (not as boring/unnoticeable as other colors) while being a little cheaper than 3M, the other top brand I considered. If I were to try any other style/color it would probably be Blue Brushed Steel (or variation of that name).
A dark base color is best so that the gaps and unwrapped areas aren't very visible; if you plan to wrap just choose black so can save the $1,500 paint upgrade to uss toward wrapping. For me its worth it to protect the paint (which I heard gets chipped easily) and I love the color (might help with resale too since its more unique, or I can take off the wrap and it'll be perfect condition paint).
Price can widely vary depending on quality & amount of work, I have heard some pay up to $10K but I paid the lower end about $3,000 because I didn't get a warranty and didn't have them take off many parts to wrap fully (e.g. didn't wrap the side/bottom inside the doors or the sides of the inside of the trunk). When road debris damaged my fender and bumper, insurance covered the repaired dent/scratch and replacement of the wrap for those panels.
Painting your car I think would be over $10K and not worth it given no extra protection. Plastidip is much cheaper (kind of like spray painting that can be peeled off later) but also not nearly as durable, might last a few months rather than 5 years.
I pay a mobile carwash to use Meguiar's Ultimate (safe for vinyl wrap) Detailer every 2-3 months (along with full wash/detail for $150) and the Wash&Wax and Quik Wax every 2-4 weeks for $20, if some things aren't cleaned quickly (e.g. acid from bird droppings or bug guts or salt in the winter) it isnt good for the wrap so i also spot clean in between.
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