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Hello everybody, this is a helpful DIY on how to vinyl wrap the inserts on your accent. I bought the carbon fiber wrap on eBay for $6, (bought a few in case I messed up) really sticks well and is good quality for the price (3m vinyl). I have never wrapped anything in vinyl before so I did not know how it was going to turn out, It turned out great! here are the steps
1. prep the surface with alcohol or some type of cleaner and dry it thoroughly
2. peel the corner of the vinyl and start from one side of the car to the other pressing mainly on the center flattest part of the bumper, focus on getting the vinyl unrolled and on all the way before wrapping the bends by the grill
3. use a squeegee to smooth out all of the flat parts first (I just used my hands but a squeegee will be a big help) remember to keep working from the middle outward and don't rush, push hard to keep any bubbles out and don't be scared to stretch the vinyl, use force around corners and roughly cut off excess vinyl as you go, once you have all of the vinyl on use a hobby knife and do your best to trim it all up following the curves, there will be bubbles and some crinkling below the upper grill because the curve is so tight,
4. take the knife and poke a hole in the bubbles (I had a lot) and just smooth them out, the small hole will let the air out and you can't even tell where you poked the hole.
5. use a heat gun or hair dryer or park the car in the sun for a few hours and most of the crinkles under the grill will go away, for the rest just press them out with your fingers, and most if not all should be gone.
6. use some black pinstripe (or the color of your choice) and pinstripe the sides of the inserts and any rough edges, It will clean up your cuts and in my case any errors, lol.
7. you are done enjoying the look of your new front bumper.
this took about 30 minutes and if you mess up the vinyl comes off clean, it is easier than you would expect and I didn't mess up thankfully, just be sure where you cut and have it laid out completely before you do any final cuts. I couldn't get really close to the crack of the grill so there is a bit of green, but it's barely noticeable so I didn't bother. hope this helps, sorry I don't have pics of me installing it.
Attachments
1. prep the surface with alcohol or some type of cleaner and dry it thoroughly
2. peel the corner of the vinyl and start from one side of the car to the other pressing mainly on the center flattest part of the bumper, focus on getting the vinyl unrolled and on all the way before wrapping the bends by the grill
3. use a squeegee to smooth out all of the flat parts first (I just used my hands but a squeegee will be a big help) remember to keep working from the middle outward and don't rush, push hard to keep any bubbles out and don't be scared to stretch the vinyl, use force around corners and roughly cut off excess vinyl as you go, once you have all of the vinyl on use a hobby knife and do your best to trim it all up following the curves, there will be bubbles and some crinkling below the upper grill because the curve is so tight,
4. take the knife and poke a hole in the bubbles (I had a lot) and just smooth them out, the small hole will let the air out and you can't even tell where you poked the hole.
5. use a heat gun or hair dryer or park the car in the sun for a few hours and most of the crinkles under the grill will go away, for the rest just press them out with your fingers, and most if not all should be gone.
6. use some black pinstripe (or the color of your choice) and pinstripe the sides of the inserts and any rough edges, It will clean up your cuts and in my case any errors, lol.
7. you are done enjoying the look of your new front bumper.
this took about 30 minutes and if you mess up the vinyl comes off clean, it is easier than you would expect and I didn't mess up thankfully, just be sure where you cut and have it laid out completely before you do any final cuts. I couldn't get really close to the crack of the grill so there is a bit of green, but it's barely noticeable so I didn't bother. hope this helps, sorry I don't have pics of me installing it.
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