The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

Wrapping VS Painting a tracked car.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I have my new door, bumper and fender arriving next week. Since track time always leads to rock damage (or worse:(). Would wrapping with vinyl be better then forking out for a paintjob and watching it get chippped again?? Since the door will be wine color and the fender black....the car would look a little bruised!! o_O
 
680
215
Wrapping makes it easy for you to change things up quickly. That's why allot of race cars are painted white; the wrap is used to easily change up designs as the sponsor sees fit. Not entirely cheap, but much cheaper and faster that a respray.

At the of the day, even a wrap will start to get dinged up from track use.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Now if I can only get a sponser!! My last paint job down here starting chipping just from high speed bug impacts... Went through a swarm of yellow jacket wasps and ended of with about 40 chips in the paint.... was a cheap paint job. I wrapped the hood since it was cheaper then the OEM boss hood decal and that seemed to protect that car quite a bit. trying to fined a appealing design that does not look too ridiculous
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Wrap would be a good way to go but do be aware of the cost; if you are having someone else apply the material, and it's a complex design, it can cost just as much as a paint job. Do your homework and get estimates first.

If you end up painting, I highly suggest getting a clear bra for the front end of the car. Money well spent.
 
369
146
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Waco, TX
Depending on how much you want to spend you could plastidip the whole car. There's a ton of guys doing this and it's themed. But one solid color would work too. Plus you can always change it and or respray knicks and scratches.
 
Depending on how much you want to spend you could plastidip the whole car. There's a ton of guys doing this and it's themed. But one solid color would work too. Plus you can always change it and or respray knicks and scratches.
+1. Thinking about doing this myself. I don't care much, since it's not a street car, but I got more knicks and whatever the first track day than since I bought the car.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
My track buddy did this printing to his Camaro....he is still just a second ahead of me..... if I get something similar maybe I can narrow the gap!
Down at this end of the world it only cost about $1500 But dont look to close...

18425436_674517449403973_4955841836499156968_n.jpg
 
6,361
8,183
I have mixed emotions on this, IMO you can do some really cool graphics with wrap, but that stuff always frays and looks like crap around wheelwell openings and the front edges of almost every body panel. The paint we use seems to stand up to the sandblasting pretty well, but even it deteriorates over time.
I think I would try to design a scheme in that the front of the car, and things like the forward part of the rear wheel openings (things that get blasted by debris) were a basic color, like white, black..whatever so it could be easily matched. Then I'd go a little bonkers with the rest of the car with wrap. So...I'm saying a well thought out combo of the two is the way to go.
There's also a lot to be said for painting a car in paint that is obtainable from duplicolor at the local auto parts store.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top