The Cessna 120-140 Association Forum

Hello guys,

I wonder if any one here have experience with wrapping a airplane.

I have seen some airplanes been wrapped with unbelievable results, I was thinking get my 120 wrapped in chrome with green trims.

Any concerns?

Julio

I have stripped and polished my airplane and will be having it wrapped in pretty much the original scheme. That won't happen until this winter some time though so can't tell you how it goes just yet.

I’ve had a few airplanes wrapped, they were new and the wrapping was part of an ad campaign.
Some vinyl is better than others, get the good stuff or it will fade very quickly.
Secondly wrapping looks good from 50 feet away, not so good closer. It won’t last, and is easily damaged.
Lastly I wrapped over a paint, over metal I’d be concerned about possible corrosion.

a64pilot wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:38 am I’ve had a few airplanes wrapped, they were new and the wrapping was part of an ad campaign.
Some vinyl is better than others, get the good stuff or it will fade very quickly.
Secondly wrapping looks good from 50 feet away, not so good closer. It won’t last, and is easily damaged.
Lastly I wrapped over a paint, over metal I’d be concerned about possible corrosion.

Thanks for this points, considering the airplane been always on hangar, about 100 hours a year flying, do you think it will last around 10 years?

juliogdiana wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 2:28 pm

a64pilot wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:38 am I’ve had a few airplanes wrapped, they were new and the wrapping was part of an ad campaign.
Some vinyl is better than others, get the good stuff or it will fade very quickly.
Secondly wrapping looks good from 50 feet away, not so good closer. It won’t last, and is easily damaged.
Lastly I wrapped over a paint, over metal I’d be concerned about possible corrosion.

Thanks for this points, considering the airplane been always on hangar, about 100 hours a year flying, do you think it will last around 10 years?

I don’t think it’s going to look as good as you think. I don’t know how to attach a picture, but the airplane in this article was wrapped.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... -turboprop

It was just a white airplane with wrapping on it the idea of the wrapping was several fold, one it’s computer printed, so the GE emblem etc could be done precisely as it’s was printed, painting all the graphics would have taken a real artist, plus this was version two, version one was in red. It’s just a matter of peeling the vinyl off and reapplying.
But the vinyl is not smooth, there are a couple of types, one is full of tiny holes to let air out, another has many small chalets underneath it to let air out, so I don’t think a shiny smooth surface is a achievable.
I’d put some graphics on my polished airplane if I was you as opposed to wrapping the whole thing

I don't plan on wrapping the whole airplane. Just some of the cowl and the 2 stripes down the side. I also need to do the leading edge as I had to body fill the hangar rash there. I just had the shop that is going to do the wrap do my registration and it is pretty smooth and shiny, no holes in the vinyl at all.

Smaller, especially on flat surfaces are easier. I don’t know how well you can see it, but my registration numbers on the wing are red Vinyl, and while I believe it may have microscopic holes it’s smooth, larger sections wouldn’t be.
Suggest you contact a vinyl company, they are sure to have something around they have wrapped, often an automobile or truck for you to inspect.
Smaller sections will last a very long time.
Stern, of our boat is vinyl, as again painting is much more difficult.
Both will last years, boat is never hangered either.

The shop that did my reg is an experienced vinyl shop, they do all sorts of very complex curved surfaces for cars and trucks so I'm not concerned about them doing the cowl.
I will have to have a really close look with a magnifying glass to see if there are microscopic holes or not.

For whatever it’s worth, and I am not the FAA police, but vinyl N numbers do not meet the requirements of being “permanent”
A decal, whatever the difference is, does.
So if asked, call them decals I guess
The vinyl N numbers on my wings are not N numbers, they are from a legal perspective just part of the paint scheme of my airplane.

I manufactured airplanes for a long time, and towards the end of my work, the manufacturer was putting on N numbers for US Registered aircraft in Vinyl, although I advised them it didn’t meet the FAR’s.
I always had on the aircraft that were being exported as they were temporary N numbers.

On edit, just realized your a Canadian aircraft, so I don’t know what your regs say.

We got ours made by the local car “Speed Shop” they also made the larger ones that I put on my wings.
Vinyl from shops like that will most likely be just plain ole vinyl, with no holes etc, they I believe laser cut it from material on a roll. But if you go to a shop that specializes in vinyl wrapping boats and trucks etc, they can computer print graphics etc. on the vinyl, that’s when you get the special vinyl that’s much thicker, stretchy and has either holes or channels in the underside of it to let air out. Can you imagine trying to lay vinyl on a whole automobile without any air bubbles?

Be very careful with the vinyl you buy, some won’t handle sunlight very well at all, red will turn pink in a few weeks, but the good stuff will last for years.
I believe most outdoor advertising signs are now computer printed vinyl now, paper is I believe a thing of the past.

Next airplane I have seen was a Caravan wrapped with what looked like the US flag waving. That would have been exceedingly difficult to paint.

Canadian regs only specify the size and location of the registration marks, not the material.