Cost to wrap a car

How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car? DIY Car Wrap Cost

Last Updated on March 16, 2023 by Tokyo

Do you have a car but got bored of its old look? Then this is the time to change its look by spending some money on it instead of purchasing a new one. “Are you getting confused between the paint job and vinyl wrap?” in case you have less time or a limited budget, then wrapping should be your priority.

How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car?
How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car?

Now a question is popping into your mind “How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car?” and “How Expensive is it to Wrap a Car?” To get the answer first, you need to decide which type of vinyl wrap you want and what is the condition of your car then, you can easily set your budget. If you want to get the estimation of cost, then go through the entire article:

What Are the Different Ways to Wrap My Car?

There are two different ways to wrap a car, such as the DIY method, and you can hire a professional. Let’s discuss both of them:

First Method: Car Wrapping by Yourself and DIY Car Wrap Cost

You can wrap your car by yourself. If you are tight on budget and have experience, then you can do it easily. First, you need to buy the below-mentioned essential material, which will be used on the wrapping by following the DIY method:

1) Hot Air Stations

The main thing to stick the wrap on the car properly is a hot air station, and without it, nothing is possible. So, you have to purchase the heat gun, and the cost of it will be about 60$ to 110$.

2) Pyrometer

If you don’t want that the temperature of a heat gun goes higher than the required temperature and will cause any problems, then you should have a pyrometer. Through it, you can do the wrap job at an ideal temperature, and you will pay around 60$ to 110$ for this.

3) Vinyl Wrap

Quality of wrap matters a lot because the low quality of vinyl will not be durable and long-lasting. That’s why It is recommended to buy the high-quality wrap that will last on your car for years.

The expense on purchase of vinyl wrap will be approx. 250$ to 1050$, and it can also go higher if the vehicle is big in size.

4) Blades

While wrapping, you will need to use a blade, and it might be possible it will be available in your toolbox. In case you do not find it there, then you will have to buy a new blade set which will be almost 35$ to 55$.

5) Squeegees

To get the even and neat finishing, you will need to purchase the kit of squeegees and tucking tools. Approximately the cost of these tools will be 60$ to 350$.

6) Overall Cost

So, if you are doing the wrap job by yourself, then the average cost will be around about 550$ to 2600$, which is affordable.

Cost of Material at Single Glance

MaterialCost
Blades35$ to 55$
Squeegees60$ to 350$
Vinyl Wrap250$ to 1050$
Pyrometer60$ to 110$
Hot Air Station60$ to 110$
Cost Overview of Wrapping

How many wraps Do I Need for my car?

The quantity of wrap depends on your car size, and to know this read the below-mentioned details:

1. Coupe

To wrap the coupe, you will need to purchase around 14m to 15m vinyl wrap.

2. Sedan

The family sedan wrap job will be done with 16m to 18m vinyl.

3. Sports Car

If you want to give the graphic or designed look to your sports car by wrapping, then 17m to 18m of wrap will be enough.

4. Mini Car

For mini car wrapping, the ideal quantity of vinyl will be 13m.`

5. Pick Ups

As we know that the pick-ups are large in size, and the quantity of wrap will be used more than small or mid-sized cars. So, you should purchase a 21 to 22 meters’ wrap for this.

Second method: Cost to Car Wrap Job Professionally

Sometimes you want to give your car a different look by vinyl wrapping, and you have no experience or time to do this job. So, you don’t have to get worried because you can get the service from professionals.

Professionals provide guaranteed results as per your requirements, and they charge the cost for car wrapping according to your car size and required preparation.

The cost will increase if you want them to customize your car with designed vinyl wraps or choose high-quality wrap. Scroll down to know the cost that will occur on different sizes of car:

1) Cost to Wrap Sedan

The sedan is the perfect car for a family, and if you want to wrap it, then you will pay for this about 3000$ to 3500$.

2) Cost to Wrap an SUV

The cost to wrap an SUV will be around about 4000$ to 4500$.

3) Two Doors Car

If you want to get a vinyl job for your compact car, then the auto wrap cost will be almost 2200$ to 2500$.

4) Compact SUV

You will spend around 3500 to 4000$ to get the professional vinyl wrap job for your Compact SUV.

5) High-End Sports Car

It is obvious that you will not like to get cheap vinyl wrapping for your expensive sports car, so it is suggested to get the high-end wrap job from a top-reviewed technician. The initial car wrap cost will be as low as 5500$, which can reach up to a maximum of 10500$ or more.

How to Protect Vinyl Wrapped Vehicle?

If you want to protect the vinyl wrapped car, then you can choose any of the below-discussed options:

1. Coats of Ceramic:

This is the best option for those who have a limited budget but remember one thing it will not be durable as compared to paint protection film because the user will need to reapply the coating again and again after 2 to 3 years in order to get the same protection and shine.

2. Papering Over

You can also apply paper over the vinyl wrap, which will protect from the dust particles, but it doesn’t provide other required protections which you get from the ceramic coating.

3. Paint Protection Film

If you are high on budget, then it is the best option for you to use paint protection or film for protection because it will stay the same even after 9 to 10 years. Vinyl wrap will not get scratches and cracks with the use of PPF.

How Much Does It Cost of full or Partial Wrap?

Parts of Car Wrapping Cost
Handles of doors120$ – 140$
Side Mirrors200$ – 225$
Hood300$ – 315$
Spoilers310$ – 330$
Trunk350$ – 400$
Roof300$ – 315$
Cost of different parts of wrapping

How to Get the Best Wrap Job for Your Vehicle?

Car wrapping job is a very tricky or smart job which is not easy to do by yourself then there is another option to get the service from the technician and to know which will be the best option for you follow the below-mentioned instructions:

1. Research the Top Reviewed

First of all, ask your family or friend if they have any good experience of wrapping jobs by professionals in the past. Then search on google or visit physically 2 or 3 top reviewed wrap installers.

2. Save Money

Now ask them the cost of wrap installation, then choose the suitable one that goes according to your budget.

3. Cure The Paint Issues Before Wrapping

Some believe that it is not crucial to cure the paint damages before car wrapping, which is not the truth because the peeled-off or scratched paint causes many issues in the finishing. So, if you are hiring a professional, then you should stop getting worried because they will cure the paint damage first, then they will apply the vinyl wrap on the car.

4. Quality Products

When you hire a wrap installer for your vehicle then definitely, he will use high-quality products to give you amazing results. If you ask him to use cheap material, then forget to get the required finishing, appearance, and durability.

How much does it cost to wrap a car
How much does it cost to wrap a car

What Will Be the Cost of Wrap Finishing?

There are a lot of variables of vinyl wrap available in different price ranges in the market. Those are discussed below in detail:

1. Matte Finishing

If you are not the kind of person who wants to give their car glossy or shiny finishing, then you can give your car a matte look by using the vinyl wrap, and the cost to matte wrap a car will be almost 2.80$ to 4.00$ per sq. Ft

Matte finishing
Matte finishing

2. Glossy Finishing

Do you want to give your car a glossy or semi-glossy look? If your answer is yes, then you need to select high-quality glossy vinyl wrapping for a car. The vehicle wraps cost per square foot will be 2.37$. Let’s suppose you are taking 25 per sq. ft. vinyl wrap, then you can calculate it like this 2.37$ x 25 sq./ Ft = 59.27$.

Glossy finishing
Glossy finishing

3. Metallic

To get super luxury finishing to make your car attractive then, you should look into metallic vinyl wrap finishing, which will be 12$ for 1ft x 5ft and 192$ for 5ft x 50ft.

Polychromatic or Metallic
Polychromatic or Metallic

4. Carbon Fiber

As we know, installing the parts of carbon fiber on the car to transform the car look will be an expensive procedure. So, it is recommended to use carbon fiber wrap, which will give you the required finishing. This sheet is more expensive than a gloss finish. Its cost will be 13$ for 1.75ft x 5ft and 250$ for 5ft x 50ft.

Carbon Fiber Wrap
carbon wrap

5. Satin Finish

It can’t be said that whether the satin wraps have a glossy or matte finishing, such wraps give a bit shiny but decent look. When it comes to the cost, it depends on the area for which you are buying it, which is as follows:

  • The cost for 5 per square foot will be 18$.
  • The cost for 125 per square will be 296$.

How to Choose the Right Color?

Choosing the right color of wrap is important because this strongly shows the personality of its user. Anyone who is paying high would definitely want the best output, so choose wisely.

Coming to the shades, each shade has its own identity, and it’s not as simple as a single shade is available in different finishing’s. Such as, a shade of blue varies with the finishing. The blue matte finish gives a bit decent look while, on the other hand, blue with metallic finishing provides a glossier and brighter look.

Now, if you are thinking of buying a more common and infamous colored wrap or buying a cheaper colored wrap that will save you time or money, then you are totally wrong. You can’t believe others’ choices blindly. You have to personalize your colors according to your liking.

If you don’t want to stand out in the crowd but also want something attractive and vibrant, then I would recommend you to make a choice of these black, white, blue and grey. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of colors’ appearance:

  • Red looks passionate, livelier, and modern.
  • White gives younger and fresh looks.
  • Green is a shade of friendly and cool folks.
  • Yellow looks warm-hearted, youthfulness brimming and bright.
  • Blue is for those with committed and dependable personalities
  • Orange displays energy and cheerfulness.
  • Brown shows a decent and vibrant look.
  • Gray is a fully-fledged and sober one.
  • Black gives a premium, classy and enlightened look.

You can also use several software to design the color of your vehicle wraps. Although it will cost you some extra money, the results will definitely be worth every penny.

Cost of Vinyl Wraps for different colors

The following are the two most common and infamous colors to use for vinyl wraps:

How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car in Gold?

The costs of wrapping your car in gold usually depend on the model of the car on which you are using the wraps. If you’re using a sedan and wondering what will be the cost of wrapping it in gold, you must’ve to keep a minimum of $3,000 with you or more than that.

How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car Matte Black?

If you have a mid-size Sedan and you want to pay for it in the matte black color, then there is nothing wrong with doing it. And for the cost, I would recommend you to keep your budget at least within $500-$3000 for a complete wrap.

Which One Is Better: Vehicle Wrap or Paint?

There is a variety of ways to transform a car, such as painting or a vehicle wrap. It doesn’t mean that these are the only ways but are the trendiest ones.

Vinyl wraps are like plastic adhesives that stick to the car just as paint stickers do, and these are waterproof stickers. If you have to choose one of them, then I would definitely recommend you prefer vinyl wraps. There are many reasons behind this recommendation, including:

  • Take lesser time to dry than the paint.
  • Your car requires extra maintenance after vinyl wrapping.
  • This is the best business strategy to advertise your brand.
  • If you keep in check its necessary maintenance, then it can easily last for 10 years or longer.
  • If you are not happy with the results, you can easily peel it off, unlike paints.
  • It doesn’t only protect your car from scratches but also acts protective layer for original paint.
  • We can customize it with fascinating images, graphics, and text.
  • Helps your brand grow more professionally

Is it cheaper to wrap or paint?

If you’re wondering which method is cheaper when it comes to wrapping or painting a car, definitely, it is vinyl wraps. As if you are going high-quality paint jobs, it will cost you $1,000-$5,000.

Whereas if you are doing this in a professional way, it will cost you somewhere between $2,500 to $5,000, which is almost equal to or sometimes lesser than the painting cost.

FAQ Section: How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Car?

If you’ve used high-quality vinyl wraps on your cars, then you don’t have to worry about how you would remove them. It is much easier to remove such wrapping, and for this, all you need is a heat source. It would be great if you could find heat guns for this, a bit of know-how to use it properly with a lot of patience.

There is another great thing about branded and high-quality vinyl wrapping is that they don’t leave any residue behind after the removal.

Commercial wraps are for those who want to advertise their businesses as a single commercial wrap. This is the best reliable way which lets you attract 70000 users in a day.

The time of car wrapping depends on whether you are taking partial or full wrap. So, when you are giving your car full wrap service, the full car wraps cost will take 3 to 4 days to complete. And if you are installing vinyl on 1 or 2 parts of your vehicle, then this job will be done within 2 hours.

In case you are getting the vinyl wrapping job when the weather is cold, then the cost of it will be higher because more heat will be used to stick the wrap properly on the car. But if you are taking the car wrap service in warm weather, then less heat will be used, and also, the cost of car wrapping will be lower

No, it is not true. Even it will protect your car from getting old, rusty, and scratchy.

If you want to change your car look with your favorite design or color wrap, then hire a technician and ask him to do a custom design. The custom car wraps cost will be around about 10500$ or more.

Yes, because through wrapping, you can give your car an attractive and customized look. Also, you can cover the paint damage and scars through the vinyl.

If you’re thinking of getting help from professionals in this process, it will cost you almost the same price as the paint job does, so it is better to do it by yourself. And it is not that difficult to do this, plus you can easily get access to all the tools required in this procedure.

The size of the truck is much bigger than the cars, so definitely, to cover it completely, you would need much more quantity of the vinyl wraps depending on its size. So as the quantity will be more, the price will also increase. 

Final Verdicts:

After reading the above article thoroughly, you must have got your answer to “How Much Does Wrapping a Car Cost?” and “How Much Is a Car Wrap?” so you can wrap your car by yourself and can also hire a professional for it.

As per my recommendations, it is the best option to get the wrap job from a professional to avoid the risks. But if you are low on budget, then you can go with the DIY method.

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