All I want for Christmas is a Carbon Fiber Wrap for my Hood...make mine black and shiny...but I have some questions... Would you install yourself? (it looks easy just a friend and a heat gun from what I see). Looks like I need to change every year and polish out the paint or it will forever damage the finish below? Looking at the 3m. Anyone else have experience with this film? Why you ask...because...and also I can't stand the look of my 1-year road rash and a re-paint will cost $800.00. Any advice would be appreciated.
3m, Di-Noc carbon fiber is definitely the way to go. It looks really good....best carbon fiber wrap I have seen. As far as install goes....you will prob need a friend to help out. Personally I would have it professionally done, but if you think you can do it....go for it, it is pretty forgiving.
3M rates Di-Noc at about a 3 year life when used on the outside of a car on a vertical surface and they don't recommend it for outside horizontal surfaces that get direct sunlight. I agree that it's the best looking wrap and is good for indoor or inside a car use. There are other wraps made for use on the outside of cars that would be good for the OP's hood.
I've used Di-Noc inside a car. Read what 3M says about using it on the outside of a car, particularly in a sunny climate like Florida. I have heard of good wraps for the outsides of cars but don;t have any experience with them These people This product simulates the look of carbon fiber used on auto and motorcycles, also consumer electronics. the possibilities are endless. are where I bought my Di-Noc. Even though they sell Di-Noc they recommend a less expensive wrap for outside use. A web search should get you some useage reports. But some sample of whichever wrap you choose. You can't really tell what it looks like from pictures. I think the stuff made for outdoor use will last a few to several years, but verify. Depending on the wrap, there is some chance it will stick good enough that you damage your surface removing it. Di-Noc has cautions about that. Based on my limited experience with Di-Noc, it wouldn't be difficult to do a Prius hood with it if you had a helper and a heat gun. It gives you a lot of time to reposition it and it stretches easily. Air bubbles are also easy to chase out. To bad it's not made for outdoor use.
My only reservation on the Metro M series products is that I haven't been able to find any thorough, independent Youtube videos or other reviews like you can with the Di-Noc. I might be worth getting a couple of square feet of the M-Series and seeing how it is to apply.
i hope this will help this is my car... still work in progress tho... but this should help out with your question... i had it on for about 7 month now...http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...styling-my-prius-iii-build-4.html#post1195105
FYI: I put 3M Di-Noc on the interior of another car. Be advised that the finish is not shiny - it is closer to the matte look of "dry" carbon fiber.
That's a good point. Before anyone gets serious about any vinyl wrap coating they should but at least a sq foot to see how it looks and how it is to apply. I tried Di-Noc CA-420 which is black CF and CA-421 which is charcoal CF. I expected to prefer the charcoal but didn't. I'm glad I didn't buy the whole batch of it first.
So why not go for a true carbon fiber hood...? Prius Carbon Fibor Hood, Prius Carbon Fiber Body Panels, Seibon Carbon Fiber Hood: Juicedhybrid.com