Car wrap vs complete paint job

I re-painted my car, and then wrapped the entire thing in a clear wrap (because I'm a psycho).  It worked -- no paint chips yet!  But I'll probably have to repaint if I ever remove the wrap.

Perhaps @OCC Scott has more expertise here?

Another member here wrapped his Speedster in a rusted looking wrap that looked really cool on his car. @OCC owns a wrap shop and will definitely be able to help you out. It would be less than a full paint but there's a lot that can't be wrapped if you're looking full a color change.

Hey Indianbob wraps are great for getting colors paint can't do and for a cheaper price but wraps still do coast a few thousand to be done right. On my personal cars with taking great care of the wraps and keeping them garage you can 3 to 5 years our if it.  After 6 your really want to be sure it's been replaced as it can do more damage then anything at that point. Paint will always be better by far then a wrap and look better but price/color makes wraps so cool.

I am actually a fan of wraps on other cars, but have had 2 bad experiences with them on our replicas.  1st off, we've had terrible luck with someone who can do a speedster/spyder (wrap or PPF) without unsightly seams in odd places.  They just have some pretty serious compound curves and the shops around here seem to cater to large RV's that are like a flat billboard.  I've seen some really good wraps, but not in my area.

2nd, we had a red wrapped hood on a 904 bleed into the paint.  Pulled the wrap off the car after almost 2 years and the ivory paint underneath was pink.  It would not wet sand off either, so we had to sand down and repaint the hood.

@chines1 posted:

I am actually a fan of wraps on other cars, but have had 2 bad experiences with them on our replicas. 

2nd, we had a red wrapped hood on a 904 bleed into the paint.  Pulled the wrap off the car after almost 2 years and the ivory paint underneath was pink.  It would not wet sand off either, so we had to sand down and repaint the hood.

Wow. What a pain!

I've gone to a few shops and all have said that they can't do it because the speedster has no panel seams. They need to have natural breaks to make up for the limited sheet sizes. These cars demand that it all be done in one piece, or you get some odd places where the sheets meet.

Or, so I've been told

That may be because those places only do certain model cars and use pre-cut templates for them and don't have any bulk film rolls to use on a 356 (Besides, they probably know how difficult filming a Speedster can be).

There are several places that offer a pre-cut front film kit for 356 Porsches.

Google "Porsche 356 Clear Front Bra Template" and you should get a bunch of hits.

Or start here:

https://www.autotrimdesign.net...ction_for_356A_2.asp

You could then contract with an application guy locally to install them.

I was limited to a rather pricey custom application for the PPF on the Coupe.  The existing 356 templates didn't handle the lack of a bumper and most places wouldn't touch a custom application due to the compound curves.   Luckily I know a fellow with one of those auto concierge businesses who was willing to tackle a custom job, and I think it turned out well.  It covers the entire frunk as well as the front of the car from underneath and up the sides, but the tops of the fenders aren't covered.  That, a color correction (fixing a few small scratches and a dull spot) and a 10-year ceramic coat job cost a whopping $3500, about half of which was the PPF.