Wrapped in 3m Matte Riviera Blue

Hey. First post. This forum has been a great resource to me over my first 4 years of Porsche ownership, much appreciated. I'd like to share my experience with wrapping my 99 silver c2. I've been considering wrapping it for a few months and did a bunch of googling as you'd expect, but didn't find a ton of info on cost / experience, especially for Porsches, so here's mine. My reason for wrapping was purely just for fun. The body / paint are in great shape even after almost 17 years, but I was bored with silver and looking for something different. I choose 3m 1080p as it claims to have a high quality finish and that it is easily removed without any negative impact to the paint. 3m says it's good for 5-7 years, installer says the same. We'll see in a few years. It is stored during winter here in Western NY so that should help some with wear. I got 3 quotes for the job ranging from $2500 - $3000. I went with Ewing Graphics in Farmington NY, $3100 all said w/ tax. At pick up they said they put 34 hours into it. As they started the job they expressed some concern about applying the material to the rear vent/spoiler given the potential from heat from the motor, but 3m claims 200+ degrees so I told them to go ahead. I knew I wanted to wrap it in blue, and finally decided on Matte Riviera Blue as the idea of matte sounded cool, and riviera blue being a classic Porsche color (although admittedly typically reserved for gt3 or special stuff). Bubbles So first reaction was holy $)#$*@#$. Dramatic change! It's very very bright blue and not something I've ever seen before on a car. Honestly way more blue than I expected based on the color swatch from 3m. The quality of the material is very good. There's already some smudging though, a product of matte finish. It's been 3 days, I've yet to wash it. During install they admitted a clip for the rear brake light broke, so the installer is planning to replace that once they receive the part. Also note the bubbling over the driver's door. I'll have them remove (hopefully) that when I return for the brake light fix. I'm also considering adding an off-set matte black stripe up the hood, roof, and rear, and maybe classic porsche lettering along the doors to break it up some. Although I'm warming up to it's blue-ness as is as the days pass. My wife is not protesting riding in it, so that's a relief, but it is a little more racer boy than I expected. It will be out on the track at WGI in a few weeks, we'll see how it holds up to the rubber and such that comes after 2 days there. Hopefully this info is useful to others considering a wrap. The 3m Riviera Blue is a lot of blue!!! One friend is calling it "m&m" another "papa smurf". The kids are saying it's "lit" and "fire". Good fun all the way.

Cool. Looks different. Why matte finish? T

Matte just for the different look.

I like it! I think it would look better with black wheels though. Or maybe polished. The plain silver wheels look, well, a little plain compared to the wrap.

Quotes source post: 13613503

Thanks. Agreed. Unsure if spray/dip of the wheels is reversible? Don't feel like buying new wheels at this point. And do want the ability to retain original.

I like it...really cool color. I think the black Porsche classic stripes will make it look even better. Black wheels would go nicely as well...Nice work, fun stuff.

this style of STRIPES (but not the color)

Plastidip the wheels - it will peel off when you're done. Would love to see a cobalt blue over a black interior car, non-matte.

Colour looks awesome, good work Looks like the Sally car model I have on my desk! What is the typical lifespan of a vinyl wrap? Until you get bored and peel it off?

Love the color. I had considered a wrap if I couldn't find a car in a color I loved. My problem with the matte finishes is that it really makes it obvious that it's not paint, and the shiny parts (like the tail lights) really stand out. But that's just personal preference.

I always get sticker shock on the wraps... I mean you can get a pretty good respray color change including jambs for $3100. definetly needs some attitude on the stance and wheel color combo to fully pull this off.

Really appreciate you posting this. It definitely helps others considering doing a wrap. I think it looks cool. Have fun with the new look!

Yes @kromdom that's what I'm thinking. @dan_189 they say 5 years or so, longer if it doesn't take a beating under sun. obviously that's in reference to the color and material. it will be interesting to see how it handles day to day dings and chips. do they end up peeling back? etc. @kcattorney i'll look into that, curious how difficult it is to get the dip off when done. @jleblanc yeah realizing that now. definitely looks incomplete, the chrome tips too. @rrtec admittedly I didn't quote a paint job, but have always heard $5k+. also the factory paint and finish is in excellent shape and when I'm tired of the wrap it will be nice to return to it (assuming it holds up under the wrap like they say)

Great alternative to paint and if the color ever gets old......have a peel party! Are you anywhere near the Harley school in Rochester?

That looks really nice! I love Riveria Blue.

Very cool. I always liked that color.

Quotes source post: 13613708

I disagree. A good paint job is way more than that for a color change. OP, car looks great.

I've been quoted 10K for full respray on wife's truck. That was 3 years ago. OP...I agree on the suggestions about black wheels...T

I love the idea of wraps but, what has always made me stay away is the fact when you open a door or lid and see the different colors matting.

Welcome to the wrap club! I too had a grey car and just wanted to change it up some. Did mine in Avery gloss burned orange a few months ago. I paid around $3700 (but that included paiting the mirrors and rear tail gloss black and the door jams). The work was done in VA. My car is parked outside year round so not really sure if I will get the full 5 years out of it. But I also had it opti coated so that should help a bit. I've only had it for a few months and I have alredy noticed some rock chip marks in the vinyl up front. I too have some bubbling in some deep concour areas around my rear spoiler. Need to make time to bring back to installer so he can redo those pieces. I also need to get my rims and tail pipes blacked out. Just need to find some time for it.

Quotes source post: 13619350

Thanks. Looks great. Also 3m?

Quotes source posts: 13616636, 13616773

I'm with Mike and Tom - a paint job you'd actually want on your Porsche is not $3k. An Earl Scheib paint job is $3k; if you live near the border, you could PROBABLY get a decent paint job for $3K in TJ or one of the other border towns. $3k will buy you a fender respray with blends into the adjoining panels - but not a properly masked, prepped, full-body color + clear paint job. No way.

Quotes source post: 13613393

It looks great. I wanted to DIY a wrap this year, but thank the maker I didn't. It looks like a metric crap tonne of work.

A full strip down and re-spray on these cars is $13,000 plus. Maaco might be $3000.

Quotes source post: 13620703

Avery

Very nice will be able to find your car in next snow storm Love Riviera Blue still miss my 968CS race car. Rich

Man, that's gorgeous. I would have never parted with that beauty...T

Hard to part with any of them but in race cars moving up in class and speed feels so good! Rich

The bright colors are fantastic, I just don't know if I'm a fan of the matte finish. Changing the wheel color would probably help in my opinion. Nice way to change the look for a considerably lower cost than painting and you can take it back off.

That's not a bad consolation prize! T

Whatever floats your boat.

Quotes source post: 13626504

What oil do you use?

Living in Florida so not dealing with low air temps I use Mobil 1 V-twin oil designed for air cooled motorcycles in my street 996 like the additives and the lack of viscosity break down. Rich

How does it feel opening the door and seeing that you've cheaped out?

Intense Gloss Blue with Black Wheels ...

OP here with 1 year update. The wrap is holding up very well. ~3000 miles including 2 days at WGI. There's some light staining around the wheel wells where I didn't wash it soon enough after picking up road grime, but otherwise it's in very good condition. The company I used to wrap it created a time lapse and posted it to their website here: https://www.ewinggraphics.com/?wix-v...51a41bbefd0061 I added some decals and painted the wheels black. Hope this helpful to anyone else considering it. wrapped 996

Looks pretty good, I like the colors that wraps come in now, however the gloss blue in the pic above yours would be more favorable, IMO. I personally wouldn't do it because the human blood mixed in with Guards Red would be an abomination to hide. However, silver cars could use some real color in their life.

I like the flat color look. Maybe see you at the Glen next spring with Zone 1.

Looks awesome. Getting my grey cab wrapped next spring.

Wow, I gotta say that with the black wheels and the stripes, it really looks good. Normally, I'm kind of "meh" on both black wheels and stripes, but those really work.

Bump. Considering getting a riviera blue matte wrap also. ​how has it held up? Did you regret not doing the door jambs, etc? Thanks!

Quotes source post: 17071080

It's held up well. Color is still true, no noticeable fading. It is garaged and probably <1000 miles this year sadly. A few stains from normal road grime where I wasn't quick enough to wash off. I believe 3M says 5-7 years so will probably take it off next summer or the following. I don't regret not doing the jambs, nbd to me. Would you do underside of hoods too?

Quotes source post: 13620717

As a refinisher I can completely verify this...

Bump! It's been over 5 years, have you removed the wrap yet? Further thoughts? @FL 911