Frozen Grey | Satin Liquid Wrap
ELARA MEGASHIFT
We liquid wrapped this Tesla Model S in Raail AirWrap. This peel-able auto paint will last 3+ years, protect the factory paint, and peel off easier than vinyl. Here’s how we did it.
MASK
We start with a car wash off camera 24hrs before hand. Then we go around the car with Wrapsol (degreaser) to remove any residue and oils. Don’t worry all the products will be linked below. Then we have to mask up the car. We are going to black out all of the chrome trim, badges, door handles and grill (if you can call it that). Turns out the model S had a few tricks up its sleeve here. The door handles present themselves when touched but do not stay out. Needless to say we need the handles out in order to spray them properly. After trying a few things we found out that as long as a door is ajar the handles will stay out so we left the passenger door cracked and masked around it. The windshield gasket was also very close to the body panels so we used some J-tape to pull it back and allow us to spray the whole panel. Using high quality materials will not only give you the best outcome but also prevent any mistakes from happening. We use solvent resistant masking paper, Plazmask pre-tapped masking film and 3m yellow tape. All of which are found in the Starter Kit from DrPigment.
BASE
After masking we give the car another wipe down with wrapsol to remove any fingerprints and dirt. Then its on to the base coat. We use Raail Black Base Coat for a smooth and thick base coat. Again, we are spraying the trim black too so all chrome gets covered. For a sedan this size we are going to want at least 4 gallons total so 2gal base, 2gal color. Raail Basecoat is a little too matte so we cover just the trim with Raail AirWrap for a Satin look. Now we let the paint dry for 4-6 hours then mask off the trim so it stays black.
COLOR
For the color we are using a Megashift Pearl called Elara. This is a white pigment so it can be sprayed over any color base but it will show clearest over black. We used 25grams total in 2 gal of AirWrap Matte. We are using a 60gal compressor to spray but a stage 3 turbine would work as well. The pearl coats start off light progressing to medium then wet in order to get the smoothest finish. Painting technique is a whole video in itself but rule of thumb is to overlap each spray by 50%. Here in Florida the heat was speeding up our dry time and causing problems with the finish so we added some AirWrap Reducer to slow it down and dry more evenly.
UNMASK
After the last coat is sprayed we unmask the car while it’s still wet to ensure a clean separation then let it dry over night. The customer picked up the next morning and we are pretty sure he was happy about the end result. We let him know the coating is car wash safe, pressure wash safe, spray wax safe and should last about 3 years if he takes care of it. When he’s ready he can just peel it off. We learned a few things about Teslas but overall it was a smooth job. All the products are listed below including car kits, spray systems and masking materials. If you find yourself using any of our products feel free to reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram for help. If you are interested in getting your car done just give us a call!
