Look for a studio that designs, prints and installs under one roof. A custom vehicle wrap passes through three separate crafts, and most of what goes wrong happens in the handover between them: a design drawn without a vehicle template, a print approved on a screen instead of a proof, an installer discovering at 8am that a graphic lands across a body seam. When one team owns all three steps, there is no handover to lose the detail in. That is how we work at 2wrap.com in Westlake Village, California and in Weelde, Belgium.
What should you ask before you commission a custom vehicle wrap?
Four questions separate a studio from a shop that outsources.
Who does the design? Ask whether the design is made on a measured template of your exact model, and ask to see a rendered proof on that vehicle before anything is printed. Who prints it? In-house printing means color can be adjusted and reprinted the same week instead of re-ordered. Who installs it? The person who designed the graphic should be in the room when it goes on, because the design decides where the seams fall. What happens to the panel edges? Wrapped edges and removed hardware are the difference between a wrap that looks new at year three and one that lifts at year one.
Why does in-house design, print and installation matter?
A one-off design is made of decisions that only make sense in combination. Our McLaren 720S project in Beverly Hills used four materials on one car: a KPMF Matte Black base with 3M Gloss Cosmic Blue, 3M Gloss Deep Orange and 3M Satin White graphics, finished with a layer of clear gloss paint protection film over the whole design. Mixing matte, satin and gloss on one body only works if the person drawing the shapes knows how each film stretches and where a butterfly door interrupts a line. Designed by our own team, printed in-house, installed in Westlake Village.
The same logic applies on the other side of the Atlantic. For the Hillewaere Group in Belgium we designed and installed a Gulf-inspired livery on a Porsche GT4 RS at our Turnhout studio – powder blue and burnt orange, with printed graphics placed so the classic stripe reads correctly over a modern aero body, not simply pasted across it.
How much does a custom vehicle wrap cost?
Custom design work sits above a straight color change, because you are paying for drawing time and printed material rather than a single roll of film. In the US market, a full custom vehicle wrap on a standard car generally starts in the range of a color change and climbs with the complexity of the artwork, the number of materials and the amount of disassembly. Design itself is usually quoted separately from installation. These are orientation figures, not a price list – the only accurate number comes from looking at your vehicle and your brief.
How long does a custom vehicle wrap take?
Design and revisions typically run one to two weeks, depending on how quickly proofs are approved. Printing and laminating takes a day or two. Installation of a full custom wrap normally occupies the vehicle for several working days, longer when hardware comes off or when protection film goes over the design. Our guide to how the wrap design process works sets out each step in order.
Before any of it starts, you should see the result. We use the Instant Color Changer to show your own vehicle in the film being considered – click it before you stick it – and a rendered design proof follows for anything custom. When your brief is ready, send it to us for a quote.
Frequently asked questions about custom vehicle wraps
Can I bring my own design?
Yes. Supplied artwork is welcome and we will adapt it to a measured template of your vehicle, which almost always means reworking scale and placement. What looks balanced in a flat drawing rarely survives a door handle and a wheel arch unchanged.
Do I need a design before I get a quote?
No. A description, a reference image or a logo is enough to quote the work. The design stage begins once the direction and the budget are agreed.
Can a custom vehicle wrap be protected?
Yes. Clear paint protection film can be applied over a printed design, as on the McLaren 720S above. It adds cost, and it is worth it on a car that sees real mileage.
Is a custom wrap reversible?
A quality cast film, professionally removed, comes off without changing factory paint in sound condition. That reversibility is the main reason owners of collectible cars choose a wrap over a respray.
