DIY: Vinyling Roof

nismo 1234 · 01-30-2011, 04:49 PM

so i vinyled my roof myself. it is the second time i did my roof. The results of the first vinyl roof wasnt that bad, but i wanted it to be perfect... i thought some of you guys would be interested in doing it yourself. Some shops charges way too much for doing the roof. i was quoated for $250(in canada), and i did it myself for $100

Tools needed:
squeegee, heatgun, knife or blade, and a 4 by 6 feet vinyl ( 4 by 3 can fit but 4 by 3 might be too small for people doing it for the first time)
try to get a friend to help out, it be a lot easier

Step 1: Remove the antenna. the roof panel does not have to be removed, you can pop the four clips that hold up the rear half of the roof panel. the antenna was hard to remove for me... i pulled the connector too hard and the wire came out of the connector.. so i ended up connecting the wires without a connector in between. i attached a picture of the connector so its easier for you guys to remove it

Step 2: clean your roof, try to make sure there is no dust and left over wax. also clean the area that you will be tucking your vinyl into. some people use a bit of soap that you use to washing dishes.. but i just used hot water

step 3: lay out the vinyl on the roof, and if you bought a 4 by 6 feet, then you will find that you have a lot of vinyl left over. i didnt cut the extra vinyl yet b/c you might cut it too short. Use tape to hold the vinyl in place if you dont have a helper.

Step 4: peal off half of the the back of the vinyl. i found it easier to do the rear half of the roof first and slowing moving forward towards front left corner and front right corner. Left or right doesnt matter, but b/c of the curve of the roof, it is easier to do the rear half and then front left and right.
- this part takes pretty long. When you get to the front and right corner, you will find that the vinyl has a lot of folds and wrinkles. Use a heat gun to relax the vinyl and the wrinkles wil go away.

Step 5: after the vinyl is flat on the roof, start tucking in the vinyl. i started with the rear. using a heat gun and a squeegee to tuck the vinyl into the space between the rear hatch and the roof. I left about 2-3 inches to tuck into the space. Use the heat gun for this step or else the vinyl would not want to stick. Do not tuck the rear sides yet, you will do that when you tuck in the sides.

Then the two sides. use the heat gun and squeegee to make sure the vinyl is stick in the grove well. This step is important, the first time i applied my vinyl, i did not do this part enough so it started to bubble up. Then find a card that you dont need anymore and put it in between the rubber and the roof. lift up the rubber a bit and use the squeegee to tuck in the vinyl. Do not apply too much pressure or the vinyl can rip or distroy the pattern or color.

The front of the vinyl is easy to tuck in, simple use squeegee and heat gun to tuck in the the small space in front and cut it lightly along the space. Then use the squeege to make sure the vinyl is sticked on to the roof properly.

Tips: - Do not heat up the vinyl too much, it gets thin. If you are doing your roof in CF vinyl, the CF pattern will dissappear if you heat the vinyl too much
- try not the force the vinyl, let it do what it wants.
- When you heat up the vinyl, you can stretch it a lot, but try not to stretch it. It will want to shrink after awhile. Let the vinyl do what it wants for best results
- i did not use the squeege for laying out the roof. i only used the squeegee for tucking in on four sides. I found that the squeegee can sometimes scratch the vinyl.
- i observed the vinyl after 4 hrs to see if there is any bubbles. if there is, then heat gun the bubble and then squeegee it. 3m dinoc vinyl is really easy to get the air out but im not sure about orcals vinyl

it took me 4 hrs to do the vinyl...but im not a professional haha.

RockStarKick · 01-31-2011, 11:38 AM

Man, I tried to vinyl my roof this weekend, it was a disaster...

I had my girlfriend helping me and we watched some video on youtube of two dudes
wrapping a roof. They made it look so easy and we just could not get the vinyl to not
wrinkle and bubble.. I might try again with some better vinyl, I think the vinyl I had was
cheap..

nismo 1234 · 01-31-2011, 01:32 PM

did u use 3m dinoc vinyl? and i think all vinyl will wrinkie, u just need a heat gun. and whenever there is a fold, u can remove that part of vinyl and heat gun it to smoothen it out

kenchan · 01-31-2011, 02:42 PM

ive done mine as well with DiNoc (removed the next day...work turned out perfect but i just did not like the canvas like look). the trick for me was to remove the backing and start from the center of the roof and squeeze out as much air with my hands going slow. if air bubble doesnt want to go out, peel back just enough (wet your fingers so you dont weaken the adhesive) and massage the air out.

only near the edges maybe 5" inward did i apply heat in low setting to stretch the vinyl into shape. it's not hard to do but be careful with the amount of heat you use. if you use too much heat the vinyl will turn kinda brownish and have a burnt appearance.

i dont remember how much time it took me but it took at least a couple of hours.

RockStarKick · 01-31-2011, 03:19 PM

Man, I was using some cheap a$$ vinyl, I can't even remember the name of it.. It was sticky as hell and anytime you would pull it up you would stretch it out. I tried the heat method, but it would not stop bubbling or wrinkling when you would try and squeeze the bubbles out.. I started in the rear and couldn't even get halfway across the roof before I decided it was a lost cause..

I know for sure it was not 3m or Oracle, I want just the gloss black roof. I'm not a huge fan of the CF roof.

Does 3m do a dinoc gloss black.

nismo 1234 · 01-31-2011, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockStarKick

Man, I was using some cheap a$$ vinyl, I can't even remember the name of it.. It was sticky as hell and anytime you would pull it up you would stretch it out. I tried the heat method, but it would not stop bubbling or wrinkling when you would try and squeeze the bubbles out.. I started in the rear and couldn't even get halfway across the roof before I decided it was a lost cause..

I know for sure it was not 3m or Oracle, I want just the gloss black roof. I'm not a huge fan of the CF roof.

Does 3m do a dinoc gloss black.

i believe they do. 3m has a lot of colors. but im not sure what sizes they come in. i know 3m dinoc come in 4 by 3 or 4 by 6. some other colors have different dimensions

RockStarKick · 01-31-2011, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nismo 1234

i believe they do. 3m has a lot of colors. but im not sure what sizes they come in. i know 3m dinoc come in 4 by 3 or 4 by 6. some other colors have different dimensions

I might just go to a sign shop and see what they have, there is one right down
the street..

One other thing,, The vinyl I had was so sticky that when there was an air bubble, you couldn't squeegee it out. The vinyl wouldn't let it out, you had to pick up that section and start over..

nismo 1234 · 01-31-2011, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockStarKick

I might just go to a sign shop and see what they have, there is one right down
the street..

One other thing,, The vinyl I had was so sticky that when there was an air bubble, you couldn't squeegee it out. The vinyl wouldn't let it out, you had to pick up that section and start over..

it depends on how small the bubble was. i worked with a unknown brand vinyl before, the air bubble was a lot harder to remove it. 3m dinoc has this new technology that makes it a lot easier.

kenchan · 02-07-2011, 11:30 AM

yep, DiNoc has microscopic air holes that releases air when you have a bubble.

this is why they work so well under heat (hot sun) as it can out-gas on its own for the final near permanent cure. too bad the material can't handle engine bay temps... already tried engine cover...and failed.

DakineZ · 06-24-2017, 01:30 AM

Iam stuck at removing the antenna?? The panel nearest to the headliner is stuck?? I see 1 snap on type clip and that one is half way ripped off the plastic, what is the rest held on and how'd you get it off so easily?

The Wizrad · 06-26-2017, 10:01 AM

I'm assuming there is a small hole where the antenna was. Does the vinyl just cover that up? Does the shape of the hole still show through the vinyl?

01-31-2011, 11:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
RockStarKick Enthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Houston Posts: 298 Drives: it like a rental Rep Power: 14	Man, I tried to vinyl my roof this weekend, it was a disaster... I had my girlfriend helping me and we watched some video on youtube of two dudes wrapping a roof. They made it look so easy and we just could not get the vinyl to not wrinkle and bubble.. I might try again with some better vinyl, I think the vinyl I had was cheap.. __________________ 2013 Mustang GT, 6M, Track Pack & Leather Recaros 2011 Pearl White 6M /Sport Pkg - SOLD

01-31-2011, 03:19 PM	#5 (permalink)
RockStarKick Enthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Houston Posts: 298 Drives: it like a rental Rep Power: 14	Man, I was using some cheap a$$ vinyl, I can't even remember the name of it.. It was sticky as hell and anytime you would pull it up you would stretch it out. I tried the heat method, but it would not stop bubbling or wrinkling when you would try and squeeze the bubbles out.. I started in the rear and couldn't even get halfway across the roof before I decided it was a lost cause.. I know for sure it was not 3m or Oracle, I want just the gloss black roof. I'm not a huge fan of the CF roof. Does 3m do a dinoc gloss black. __________________ 2013 Mustang GT, 6M, Track Pack & Leather Recaros 2011 Pearl White 6M /Sport Pkg - SOLD

06-26-2017, 10:01 AM	#11 (permalink)
The Wizrad Base Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: TX Posts: 27 Drives: 2013 370Z Nismo PW Rep Power: 9	I'm assuming there is a small hole where the antenna was. Does the vinyl just cover that up? Does the shape of the hole still show through the vinyl? Brett_z34 likes this.

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01-31-2011, 01:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
nismo 1234 Track Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Canada BC Posts: 501 Drives: 10 370z M6 40th Rep Power: 15	did u use 3m dinoc vinyl? and i think all vinyl will wrinkie, u just need a heat gun. and whenever there is a fold, u can remove that part of vinyl and heat gun it to smoothen it out

01-31-2011, 02:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
kenchan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 76,801 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 141520	ive done mine as well with DiNoc (removed the next day...work turned out perfect but i just did not like the canvas like look). the trick for me was to remove the backing and start from the center of the roof and squeeze out as much air with my hands going slow. if air bubble doesnt want to go out, peel back just enough (wet your fingers so you dont weaken the adhesive) and massage the air out. only near the edges maybe 5" inward did i apply heat in low setting to stretch the vinyl into shape. it's not hard to do but be careful with the amount of heat you use. if you use too much heat the vinyl will turn kinda brownish and have a burnt appearance. i dont remember how much time it took me but it took at least a couple of hours.

02-07-2011, 11:30 AM	#9 (permalink)
kenchan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 76,801 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 141520	yep, DiNoc has microscopic air holes that releases air when you have a bubble. this is why they work so well under heat (hot sun) as it can out-gas on its own for the final near permanent cure. too bad the material can't handle engine bay temps... already tried engine cover...and failed.

06-24-2017, 01:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
DakineZ Base Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: USA Posts: 24 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 8	Iam stuck at removing the antenna?? The panel nearest to the headliner is stuck?? I see 1 snap on type clip and that one is half way ripped off the plastic, what is the rest held on and how'd you get it off so easily?