Acid Green | Liquid Vinyl Wrap
ACID GREEN
I liquid wrapped my 2022 BMW 430i in Raail AirWrap with the color Acid Green from DrPigment. This peel-able auto paint will last 3+ years, protect the factory paint, and peel off easier than vinyl. Here’s how I did it.
WASH
I started with a wash. Dawn dish soap and water do the trick in removing all dirt and grease. Clay bar if needed. Next we let it dry for at least 24 hours. We want the surface to be completely dry for proper adhesion. It’s a good idea to take an air hose to the cracks and crevices.
MASK
Next is masking. Every car is different but we want to make sure all important parts are covered: engine bay, radiator, windows, headlights, taillights, mirrors, wheels. We use solvent resistant paper, Plazmask, and solvent resistant tape. All of which are included in the Starter Kit from DrPigment. Although we do paint door jambs if the owner requests it, on my car we did not. Not only is the coating a pain to peel out of door jambs when you are ready to take it off but some states legally identify a cars color by the door jambs meaning an updated registration would be required. Since this is a peelable coating and my personal car I decided to not paint the jambs and just clean up the overspray later with a towel and denatured alcohol.
BASE
Primer goes down next and since this is a lighter color, we are going to use a light grey primer then white over that. When spraying peelable paint, it is important to put down enough gallons. A thicker coating will last longer, be more durable, and peel easier. For most small 4 door cars we go with a Small Car kit from DrPigment.com. Two gallons of base coat, and about Two gallons of color or until I’m happy with the color. I ALWAYS use a test panel and speedshape to make sure the color is right, my equipment is right, and the paint is right. I also ALWAYS use a proper mask. This particular color looks the best to me over a white base so we did 1 gallon of light grey primer and then 1 gallon of white for the base coat. I’m using a 60 gallon compressor for this project as I find it has the best atomization and thus the smoothest finish. A 3 stage turbine works great as well like the Earlex SprayPort 6003 on Dr.Pigment.com
COLOR
Acid Green is a very bright color with Gold Pearl mixed in. Spraying this color over white shows a great contrast and helps it pop. We make sure to thoroughly mix the Drop-In tint and filter into the hopper. We put about 2 gallons down on the car with a 15min flash time (dry time between coats). This color was even brighter than expected and it almost glows in the dark.
UNMASK
Make sure to unmask while the paint is wet for a clean separation at the edge of panels. Luckily with the plazmask, unmasking is pretty quick. We cleaned up any over spray with a microfiber towel and some water + denatured alcohol. AirWrap dries pretty quick but we suggest waiting at least a week before hitting the car wash. All in all this was a pretty smooth run for spraying a new car. There were a couple curveballs like the tight window trim but I think it came out great. As always, everything I used is listed below and if you are interested in getting your car done give me a call!
