The Fast and the Furious franchise made it popular. The Orange Toyota Supra had it and so did the Sliver-Blue Nissan Skyline GT-R ­-- both belonging to Brian O’Conner in the movie, played by Paul Walker. And now the trend has become mainstream in India too. Vinyl wrapping is the new obsession that has taken hold of auto enthusiasts in the country and it is not just amongst fans of the movie franchise.

The trend is gaining momentum thanks largely to the urge amongst car and high-end bike buyers to personalise their machines. The prospect of giving their vehicle a one-off, unique finish for a small price is a big draw. Wrapping is applying vinyl graphic, or decal, directly over the car’s original paint to give it a new look. It is sort of like a second skin that transforms the car and gives it a new avatar.

How is it done The process is pretty simple, in theory. The garage that handles the wrapping strips the car down to its ‘body in white’. The vinyl is then carefully wrapped around each and every individual panel until it is completed and panel by panel, the car is assembled back to its original.

But why the craze? Well, it is an effective way to transform the look of your vehicle without the need for costly re-sprays. Wrapping can also be customised in ways that paint can never hope to match. “Some people get bored of their stock paint. They want their car to stand out in a crowd and be unique. We have around 4,000 different shades to offer our customers,” says Tanuj Gaind of Chennai-based Modern Beauty Cars, an outfit that specialises in vinyl wrapping.

This craze, as expected, is popular among owners of higher-end vehicles who have some serious cash to spend. “Wrapping isn’t cheap. Right now, we are working on a Mercedes-Benz GL SUV and the cost to wrap this entire car is around ₹85,000. We have done a BMW Z4 earlier and worked on a Mercedes-Benz E-class too,” he says.

But it’s not all Beemers, Benzs and Bentleys that get the wrapping treatment. ‘Humbler’ cars such as the Volkswagen Polos, Hyundai i20s and the Suzuki Swifts are also getting draped in all possible colour combinations of the spectrum. The wrapping finishes that seem to be the most popular are the mattes and the ultra glossy. 24-year-old Ahmad Hathim had his Chevrolet Cruze wrapped in matte yellow and it is definitely an eye-ball grabber at traffic lights. “I wrapped my Cruze a year ago and since then I’ve been getting stares at traffic signals. Sometimes, people actually chase my car and that gives me a kick.”

Maintenance But maintaining the car’s new vinyl skin isn’t easy. First, before wrapping the car, you must ensure that the body panels must be clean and as good as new. Scratches, dents or any undulations can spoil the effect of the wrap. Post-wrap maintenance should also be strictly adhered to. You can’t use just about any cloth to wipe dust off your car. Only special, soft micro-fibre cleaning cloth makes the cut. While it’s okay to water wash the vehicle, it can’t be done on a regular basis since that would affect the life of the skin and adhesive. And if you meet with an accident or damage the wrapped parts, the slightest tear could mean sinking thousands of rupees more into repairing the damage.

Wrapping is a bit costly and difficult to maintain, but the inherent advantage is that the original paint of the car is left intact. This ensures that the warranty on the paint does not become void, otherwise it will be a big deal-breaker for many of us. And there is also the stares you get on the road, and the likes and shares on social media from showing off your prized possession which make it worthwhile.

Keeping all this in mind, the only way to justify this obsession is the amount of effort you are willing to put in and, oh, how deep your pockets are.

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