# Black vinyl roof?



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Oh man!

This is an example of beauty in the eye of the beholder.......and, sorry, it ain't working for me.

In any color BTW.......Are you sure about this or is it April 1st again?

Sorry, just can't get into that one....and I'm rather open minded.


Rob



Ah hah hah hah......I'm a doomash.
I just reread the post and a apology is in order.

Please take my age into account....soon 64.

OK....I interpeted the question as Vinyl Roof......you know, that bumpy/textured covering that was often found on cars in the 70's/80's.......not a wrap like the OP was asking about.
So, my mental picture was horrifying.

So, since the question is about a wrap, creating a two tone effect of sorts, I will, with apologies, bow out.

OOOOOPS,
Rob


----------



## dsmskyline (Mar 21, 2014)

Honestly those are hard questions to answer and I work in that industry. There are many variables involved thqt can determine price.

What grade and brand material used has a huge impact. I have 2 different materials both made to do the same job for the most part but one costs 4x as much as the other. 

If you get a cheaper product that will cost less up front it may end up costing more down the road. The cheaper material will start to break down in a couple years(1-2) and need to be removed. Problem is that once it starts to break down it is very difficult to remove cleanly. Running the issue to paint damage. Then you have the additional cost if you want to wrap again. 

if you buy the premium to begin with the material will last about twice as long (environmental dependant, no one can say for sure exactly how long it will last) and be easier to remove once you have reached the end of its life.


----------



## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

dsmskyline said:


> Honestly those are hard questions to answer and I work in that industry. There are many variables involved thqt can determine price.
> 
> What grade and brand material used has a huge impact. I have 2 different materials both made to do the same job for the most part but one costs 4x as much as the other.
> 
> ...


^This man speaks truth.

In general, people go with a gloss black roof, or carbon fiber over matte for a couple reasons. Gloss black can give the appearance of a one piece glass roof in pictures, which would make your car seem more luxurious, and matte by itself is a very dull finish that most people don't like. As for carbon fiber, thats more for people who want race car.

Now, as dsm mentioned above, longevity of the vinyl matters greatly on how you maintain it, how well you install it, and the quality of vinyl you choose. First off, gloss is more prone to showing scratches compared to matte, and can be scratched by squeegees upon application of the roof. You can help "fix" the scratches by waxing the vinyl, or cleaning it with a detailer, however deep/medium scratches will never go away. Also, if you park outside a lot without protection off your roof, things like bird poop if left on the vinyl for a couple days can result in a stain in the vinyl, although its usually hard to notice unless in a certain light.

Now, as for installation of the vinyl, its best to search around for local businesses/shops that have a good reputation. Try going to a couple local car meets and ask around for who they would recommend. Over at MAD where I work we typically charge ~$100 for a gloss/matte black roof, so if you get some crazy $80 offer(without sale price), or above $150 they're ripping you off with labor, or material. Also when it comes for installation it helps to watch how they apply it. Do they just clean the top, or do they clean the hidden parts under the weather stripping, and clay bar the top? Do they tuck adequate material on all 4 sides of the roof under the weatherstripping? Are there visible bubbles/defects in the material once applied? Things like this are what you should look for if you can, you'd be surprised at how many people will just do a half-assed job. And the result could mean your vinyl peels up/bubbles.

Finally, we come to material. 3M is always a great material, and you cant go wrong with it, and Avery is also a good company. A lot of other places will use Hexis or Arlon, and they're good material, but if they say other brands that have a weird name, the quality of the vinyl could end up being sub-par. There was a local guy in SoCal that advertised full car carbon fiber wraps for $800, and roofs/hoods for $80, and claimed to be using 3M, little do most people know that a roll of actual 3M carbon fiber big enough to wrap an entire car (75ft.) costs ~$900 alone. Stuff like that right there is a huge red flag that you should watch out for.

In the end, if you take care of your vinyl, its installed properly, and its a good quality vinyl, it can last 5-7 years or even longer.


----------



## SnowBlindLTZ (Jan 4, 2012)

I personally went with the flat black from 3M. I DO like gloss but i think it shows wear iver time, and ive have my flat black for 2 years now woth absolutely no signs of weat. I live in NH so we get from 0-100 degree weather and the roof sees the occasional broom or whatever to remove snow. Definately do 3M whichever route you go! I did mine myself, the vinyl was $40 off ebay. But i have a friend who owns a wrapping business that charges $100-$125 for roofs.


----------



## SnowBlindLTZ (Jan 4, 2012)

Oh and he does re-vinyls and doesnt usually see damage that wasnt already there. Installation prep is key in avoiding paint damage though.


----------



## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

From what is being said here painting the roof seems cheaper and longer lasting. Also depending on how long you want to keep the car you can always repaint if you want to sell it as original colour, but if it looks good, why bother.


----------



## Austin9991 (Oct 7, 2013)

thanks for all of the great information guys, however Aussie does bring up a good point, does anyone have any experience with getting the roof powder coated? I plan on keeping the car for a while and I don't think a professional powder coat job would decrease trade in value.


----------



## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Have you priced having the entire roof powder coated? Since the roof isn't a removable piece, I don't how you can bake an entire car with all of the interior, etc. still installed. I really think a good quality paint would be the way to go for a long term relationship, not to mention a lot less expensive.


----------



## Austin9991 (Oct 7, 2013)

Jim Frye said:


> Have you priced having the entire roof powder coated? Since the roof isn't a removable piece, I don't how you can bake an entire car with all of the interior, etc. still installed. I really think a good quality paint would be the way to go for a long term relationship, not to mention a lot less expensive.


Jim, would you recommend a body shop painting it then?


----------



## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Austin9991 said:


> Jim, would you recommend a body shop painting it then?


Yes, but check around and find a good one. Body shops are a dime a dozen and that's about all some of them are worth. Also, there are custom body shops that do great, but expensive work. I'd stay away from dealership shops as I've had less than satisfactory results from them. I trust references from my trusted independent mechanic. If you don't have a trusted independent mechanic, you should get one if you are going to keep a car past warranty.


----------



## Austin9991 (Oct 7, 2013)

I currently don't have a trusted mechanic in Sanford where I live (I just moved here last year) but I'm sure I can get a recommendation for a body shop somewhere in Orlando. 

Once again, thanks for the help


----------



## SnowBlindLTZ (Jan 4, 2012)

You cant powder coat the roof. Just paint it if you dont want vinyl.


----------



## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Yeah in short, cheap will lead you to redoing it again. 3M is what most the people I seen use for exterior and don't pick the cheapest paint route as they will just tape and spray the car as you drove it in (clean or not).


----------



## marden64 (Dec 1, 2013)

Dip it.


----------



## nick993 (Dec 30, 2013)

Dip it black with the glossifier. See how you like it, then if you do like it then have it painted. I really like the glossy black vs. the matte because your high end cars have black roofs that are glossy black or glass that has black window tint.


----------



## Austin9991 (Oct 7, 2013)

I know I will like the look so I don't wanna get the plastidip for it. I am leaning towards the gloss black.

if I paint it, would I just give the body shop a paint code for the color I want? this is my first car that I bought myself, and haven't done this stuff in the past. if this is the case, how would the black granite metallic or something similar to that look?


----------



## OldWhiteChevy (Mar 5, 2013)

Robby said:


> OK....I interpeted the question as Vinyl Roof......you know, that bumpy/textured covering that was often found on cars in the 70's/80's.......not a wrap like the OP was asking about.
> So, my mental picture was horrifying.
> 
> So, since the question is about a wrap, creating a two tone effect of sorts, I will, with apologies, bow out.


ROTFL! You're not the only one who had this reaction upon the first reading of this post. My initial thought was: "SERIOUSLY? Someone would want to do that to a Cruze?" :huh: And I'm a bit younger than you!


----------



## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

Aussie said:


> From what is being said here painting the roof seems cheaper and longer lasting. Also depending on how long you want to keep the car you can always repaint if you want to sell it as original colour, but if it looks good, why bother.


Honestly if its a single panel the last thing I would do is have it painted to revert back to stock. Reason being is that re-painting is usually hard as fresh paint, even when factory color matched, is a different hue from years of the sun UV rays hitting the body and changing the hue, even in the slightest way. Secondly, you're talking about what would then be white paint over black paint. Whatever body shop it is would have to do some seriously heavy coats to get it back to a true white, which could then make it even harder to color match.

Heck, I have a silver car and got my rear bumper replaced by my dealership with it painted the same exact factory silver my car came stock with, and at an angle the bumper is a completely different hue of silver than the rest of the body of my car.


----------



## SnowBlindLTZ (Jan 4, 2012)

This should be such an easy one, vinyl the roof gloss black. I am willing to bet you will not be able to tell the difference unless you put your nose 6" from the roof. Do not plastidip the roof, it will turn to crap long before 3m vinyl will. Vinyl is cheap too, i just bought a 4 x 10 ft roll for $48 shipped! It lasts for years and wont harm the paint. Dont be cheap whatever you do, do it right the first time.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/60-x60-3M-1...Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c368c878b&vxp=mtr


----------



## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Since people mentioned to paint the top, and I have a black car, a thought came to mind. What about finding a wrecked out Black Cruze and swapping parts??? How hard would it be to swap the roof panel?


----------



## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

a local shop in my area does it for $100 with a nice quality wrap.....i have never seen a cruze anywhere with a black top, or maybe i just havent been looking lol.


----------



## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> Since people mentioned to paint the top, and I have a black car, a thought came to mind. What about finding a wrecked out Black Cruze and swapping parts??? How hard would it be to swap the roof panel?


Simple answer, "don't go there".


----------



## Austin9991 (Oct 7, 2013)

Well I just noticed a sign shop that tints and does wrap s down the road from me, will have to check them out and get my gloss black roof!


----------



## YukonSinc (Apr 30, 2014)

I just had my Roof painted as I didn't think the vinyl would last long and I believe that over time the more you wash the vinyl the more it'll scatch. It cost me $450 (Canadian) to have it painted and they removed my antena and rain toughs and pealed back the front and back window rubbers so this looks like factory paint.

The look is awesome and yes it does look like a glass roof. (I have pictures in my albums if you wanted to see.)

As mentioned in another post a cheaper vinyl could cost more in the long run.

Regards,






YukonSinc.


----------



## Nunez (May 17, 2014)

CHEVYCRUZE RS said:


> a local shop in my area does it for $100 with a nice quality wrap.....i have never seen a cruze anywhere with a black top, or maybe i just havent been looking lol.




Sounds about right. Near me there is one place who does it for about $90 and another place that does it for about $120. Both guarantee it for about 5 years though.

I plastidipped my roof for about $45 (matte & gloss) myself. Seeing that it was my first time doing an area that large it didn't come out looking so good. I was really disappointed. From far it looks really good though! haha
Personally I think I'm just going to have the color of the roof fully sanded down and professionally repainted black. My old neighbor fixes crashed cars (including the paint job), so I'm hoping he'll hook it up with a discount.


----------



## hificruzer226 (Mar 27, 2013)

My shop chargeS $395 for 3M


----------



## Austin9991 (Oct 7, 2013)

hificruzer226 said:


> My shop chargeS $395 for 3M


Just for the roof?!


----------

