[rogerdodger]

I finally got time to move forward on blacking out the trim on my Deep Sea Tucson Hybrid and it went really well. Links to the materials I used are below.

1- I tested 'gloss' and 'matte' over the doors first, decided I liked 'gloss' better. In the image the rear door still has the 'matte' above it, probably take me 10 minutes to swap that for gloss.

2- The larger rear piece takes some careful work to stretch and mold it to the non-flat area. It didn't work for me first time with a lower cost material (TECKWRAP) but what you see in the image above is my first try with the better 3M 1080 material. No bubbles or scratches to the gloss.

3- I believe this piece is plenty big to do all the silver trim plus rear logo and have extra for other things:

Amazon.com: 3M 1080 Gloss Black Air-Release Vinyl Wrap Roll Including Toolkit (2ft x 5ft) : Automotive

Amazon.com: 3M 1080 Gloss Black Air-Release Vinyl Wrap Roll Including Toolkit (2ft x 5ft) : Automotive

www.amazon.com

4- I used this 3M knifeless cutting tape and it worked just fine after I spent some time practicing with it. Applying this tape and getting it stuck down in the correct location is worth the time you spend doing that. I used a Leatherman to grasp the cutting string, trimmed the green carrier right at the edge of the black film, then held the end down with a finger on each side of the line and 'snapped' to start the cut, then pulled it low so the line cuts flat without trying to pull the film away.

Amazon.com: 3M Knifeless Finish Line Vinyl Wrap Cutting Tape 50 Meter Roll (164 Ft) for Stripes and More : Automotive

Amazon.com: 3M Knifeless Finish Line Vinyl Wrap Cutting Tape 50 Meter Roll (164 Ft) for Stripes and More : Automotive

www.amazon.com

 

[ChrisCanada]

Did you take before pictures? it would be cool to see how they look at different angles before and after the install.

Thanks for sharing anyway, looks great and I think I'll probably use your advice if I ever actually get my Tucson lol

 

[rogerdodger]

Did you take before pictures? it would be cool to see how they look at different angles before and after the install.

Thanks for sharing anyway, looks great and I think I'll probably use your advice if I ever actually get my Tucson lol

here's a good 'before' image:

 

[Tampa8]

VERY nice. Others who have posted pics doing this also look great.

 

[Grfxguy]

Great writeup. Thanks for sharing. Not my biggest priority, but thinking of doing something like this on my silver HEV just to add a splash of color to the exterior. I'm also going to be adding some red accents in the interior. Got to break up all that black.

 

[Toranio]

You could have used something called plasti dip to do the silver column on the back of the vehicle. Comes in aerosol cans.

 

[rogerdodger]

You could have used something called plasti dip to do the silver column on the back of the vehicle. Comes in aerosol cans.

I think that using air release wrapping film is the best method for changing the appearance of trim/emblems and similar areas that are not removable. a big advantage being that it can be easily removed without leaving any marks or evidence that it was ever there. cheers.

 

[BCP]

I think that using air release wrapping film is the best method for changing the appearance of trim/emblems and similar areas that are not removable. a big advantage being that it can be easily removed without leaving any marks or evidence that it was ever there. cheers.

How hard was the process? Any tips on where to lay the knife less tape exactly?

 

[rogerdodger]

How hard was the process? Any tips on where to lay the knife less tape exactly?

it wasn't difficult if you take your time. I practiced on the rear window "H" and then did the easy piece over the rear door. my suggestion take plenty of time getting the knifeless tape positioned well and stuck down good. stretching the cutting tape gently will straighten out the line. and you want just a little bit of the wrap to tuck under, position the tape string with that in mind. start the cut with sort of a 'snap' while holding down the wrap on both side, then lay the cutting flat against the wrap and continue cutting. doing a couple of practice pieces really helped me.

and use the 3M 1080 wrap, the other stuff I tried (lower cost at Amazon, can't remember the brand), it looked great but didn't perform as well, would not stretch and lay flat around the non-flat stuff on that big rear piece of trim.

 

[BCP]

I ordered some vvivid piano black because I needed it here before Wednesday (getting a ceramic coating)



Ill take my chance 3m vvivid and avery are all well known brands



Yea I'm going to try to have a little lip to roll over the edges and push down in the seams
Thanks

 

[rogerdodger]

I ordered some vvivid piano black because I needed it here before Wednesday (getting a ceramic coating)
Ill take my chance 3m vvivid and avery are all well known brands
Yea I'm going to try to have a little lip to roll over the edges and push down in the seams
Thanks

just checked, it was TECKWRAP that I couldn't get smooth over the large rear trim piece.