Wrapping My 2022 BRZ

Hey, folks.

Got my white Limited MT BRZ in December '21. Now has about 10.5k miles on it. I've done a few mods here and there, mostly cosmetic: catback, spacers, filter, spoiler, lip, side skirts, tail lights, 4th brake light, side markers, LED upgrades, underglow, carbon fiber hood.

I started wrapping my car in KPMF Absolute Matte Royal Amethyst vinyl about 4 weeks ago, in April. Just finished two days ago. I was determined to do this by myself, so even though it came out with some imperfections I'm pretty happy with it. I learned a ton about wrapping and about the car itself, and I plan on doing it again with a new color in a few years once the vinyl has run its course.

Before I started wrapping, I watched probably 30-50 hours of wrapping tutorials on YouTube, mostly from CK Wraps who does an incredible job of explaining why he does things a certain way. There are other great channels out there, so find someone you vibe with if you want to learn, but keep in mind that watching someone do it is NOT the same as doing it yourself, so you can really only learn from experience with this hobby.

This thread is to give anyone considering wrapping their car an idea of the work involved from the perspective of a beginner (assuming you're a beginner yourself at wrapping) and to answer any questions anyone might have.

Links to the vinyl I used:
KPMF Absolute Matte Royal Amethyst - Amount & cost: 5ft x 75ft for $709
KPMF Gloss Perfect Black - Amount & cost: 5ft x 15ft for $145
VViViD Light Smoke Headlight Tint - Amount & cost: One roll (covers two lights) for $17.24

Additionally, I ordered tons of tools and random things that would help me out. There was too much to list everything or give you exact costs, but it probably all came out to about $200-300. Items I can remember off the top of my head are listed below. The links aren't necessarily the exact items I purchased, but they are similar just to give you an idea.

• Snitty (cutting tool, allows you to cut large pieces of vinyl quickly off the roll)
• Utility Cutting Knife (I actually ordered 3 just in case, ended up using two)
• 3M Design Line Knifeless Tape (will make your life so much easier)
• Heat Gun (absolutely necessary. Link takes you to a bundle I bought on Amazon that I recommend)
• Vinyl Tucking Tools (see link above, though I did purchase more from VViVid that were thinner)
• Wrapping Gloves (see link above)
• Squeegees (see link above, again I did purchase some extra ones with different firmness)
• Magnets (see link above, bundle comes with two but I would recommend getting two more)
• 3M Double Sided Auto Mounting Tape
• 3M Painter's Tape
• Auto Trim Removal Kit
• Fender Clip Replacement Kit
• Cleaning & Prep:
  • Tons and tons of microfiber towels
  • Chemical Guys Wipe Out Surface Cleanser Spray (alternatively you can get <=70% isopropyl alcohol)
  • Chemical Guys Clay Bar Kit
  • Glass Cleaner
  • Whatever normal car wash stuff you use

To start, here was my car just before beginning the wrap:



Step One: General Prep

Washed the car thoroughly, including inside the wheel wells, under the car along the edges, inside the hood, trunk, and doors, inside the fender and hood vents, and any other little nooks and crannies you may usually dismiss while washing. Anywhere you need covered needs to be clean, and you have to keep in mind that you will be tucking the vinyl behind the panels so you need the edges and as far into the backs of those panels to be clean as well.

I also went ahead and removed my roof vortex generator, trunk spoiler, rear badge/emblem, and side skirts. Easiest to do everything you can all at once if possible. I used Goo Gone Adhesive Remover to get rid of all the glue, then fresh 3M double sided auto mounting tape to reattach everything once the car was wrapped.

Step Two: The Roof

I mean to get better pictures (and even videos) of the entire process, but it ended up taking much longer than I expected and my hours/availability to work on the car were a little hectic. So, unfortunately I do not have any close up pictures of this step while I was working on it.

I removed the roof rails (start from the rear and pry out, then wiggle back and forth while lifting to CAREFULLY nudge the rest of it out.) The back has a standard pressure-sensitive clip but going forward there are 3 sets of four "hooks", two on each side, that you have to unhook the railing from. These can break. I broke one. Be more careful than me. You can watch Kevin Vo's video to help with removal (and wrapping the roof) here.

As you'll see in later pictures, I went with gloss black for my roof, including the antenna. This was a very good starting point because the roof is mostly flat, and it's easy to get to since it's not as low to the ground as other parts of the car. Tuck as deeply into the roof rail pits as you can, as it's easy to misjudge and leave some of the normal car paint exposed once the rails are back in. Also be very careful with the rubber seal along the rear and front windshields. For convenience, I ended up just leaving the wrap over these seals, but it doesn't look great. It's very hard to get the vinyl tucked in behind them properly, but it can be done with patience and some good tucking tools (the idea is to cut first, then gently lift the seal with one tool while pressing the vinyl down into the gap with your other hand.)

The antenna was very difficult, but there are great tutorials out there on YouTube for pieces like this. Keep in mind this can be done by leaving the antenna on the roof, but I wanted to get the roof done as thoroughly as possible so I removed it. The door handles are very similar to the antenna, in that they have to be off of the car to do a great job on them, and that makes it very difficult, but there are tricks. Personally I used the open window method, linked here from someone's YouTube channel.

Step Three: The Trunk




As you can see in this picture, the trunk technically has two pieces: one piece that makes up the bulk of the trunk, then a separate piece you can actually remove that includes the black bar, the rear camera, the 3rd brake light, and probably your spoiler. Kevin Vo has a video tutorial for removing this piece here, for his trunk brake light installation. I made the mistake of trying to wrap the top of the trunk with this piece attached, in three pieces, which did not go well. In the picture, you can see what happened. I removed the removable piece, then I realized I could have just done this all in one piece (or at least wrapped the top and bottom with that piece removed so that I could tuck deeper into the recess.) You will just need to make sure you don't cover those holes, or cut through them if you do, as that's how the piece attaches.



Here's how it looked when I removed the spoiler and tried to wrap just that middle piece and the top of the trunk. I don't have a good picture of the tuck, but it was not tucked well in that recess between the removable piece and the top deck of the trunk. I redid all of this later.



Here is the trunk fully wrapped, but I hadn't yet cut out the camera and 3rd brake light. Those were very hard to do. Take it slow, use heat, and don't go crazy with the knife until you are positive how deep into the recesses you need to go.



Here is the final look. I actually re-did the bottom piece later because I didn't like some of the cutting towards the top. Wrapping the trunk is relatively easy, as each side is pretty flat. The only tough part is moving the trunk up and down a lot. I recommend removing the tail lights before you do this. I left mine wired through the whole process, and just had them sitting in the trunk but still powered and functional.

Step Four: Small Pieces and Doors

I took this chance to knock out my gas lid and the fender accents (where the vents are, behind the front wheels.) I chose to do those gloss black, not sure why but I like it like this. I didn't do it because I was in a rush to make some progress, but before wrapping those I would recommend removing them from the car to make sure you get a great tuck behind them. You must remove the lower rocker panels first, then remove the accent/vent piece. It does have some double sided tape at the top. As for the gas lid, it was super easy, but be sure not to use a lot of heat here (because gas.)




Next up was the doors. These are an ABSOLUTE PAIN. Just getting them apart was more difficult than probably anything else about wrapping the car. I used this video to help with getting the handles off, and this one for the mirrors. Removing both will make your job so much easier, so I recommend just getting it done with. For the handles, you'll have to pull the inner piece off from the inside, then reach under the window mechanism to undo some clips. Just be patient and try to get an understanding of what you're pulling at, and you won't break anything. It takes some force. Removing the mirrors at this point is a breeze, just keep in mind there are 3 bolts on the mirror itself you'll have to remove first.



Anyways, wrapping the door itself is really not that bad once everything is removed. Using heat to dip into the door handle recess is a breeze. Just be sure you wrap into the car far enough. The only part that may give you trouble is the front side of the door, towards the front of the car, because it's hard to get in there properly even with the door open.



As you can probably tell from some earlier pictures, I had some aftermarket door handle covers that I had to forcefully remove to get rid of the white peeking through for the sensors. Wrapping the sensors will not affect their functionality, so don't worry. The door handles are extremely difficult to wrap properly, but just like with the rest of the job, take your time, be patient, and maybe watch some tutorials.



The mirror caps can also be a pain. Be careful with removing them, and don't force it. I broke some clips on my cap and had to order a replacement, and because I have an IQ of 2000 (jk) I ordered one in black so I wouldn't have to wrap it. They don't match perfectly, but ya know what? I don't care. Anyway, if you're wrapping the cap, be careful about tucking properly around every corner. It will lift if you don't get it right.

Continuing in reply due to attachment limit.