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Wrap

Mach1 Driver

Mach1 Driver

Well-Known Member
I’m the original owner of an all original 69 Mach1. I kept it so I would have a project when I retired. It still runs but has 77k on the odometer and looks pretty sad. I ran into a guy today that begged me to keep it original. I’ve been tired of the color and the peeling, cracked and chipped stripes for a long, long time. This guy suggested I wrap the car so it would stay original. He said I could get any color I wanted and it would look shiny and new.

I’m interested in your thoughts. Has anyone seen this done on an entire car?
 
I have never had a car wrapped but I have seen utility vehicles and other service type vehicles with a full wrap. It looks okay from a distance but up close you can tell it's a wrap. If the stripes are flaking and such it will show thru as well.
I know they are only original once but if it looks bad and you are unhappy, then it's not probably worth more to leave it that way. Unless it's a one of one or something. Chances are while the paint is original, it has had water pumps, starters, battery's, tires, light bulbs, belts, hoses, etc. etc replaced and not much else is original(?). If you plan to resell it, then check with an auction house or classic car dealer and ask them what sells and brings the most money. If you want to fix it up and keep it a while, do what makes you happy.
I don't think the wrap will be worth the money. But that's my opinion
My son looked into getting his 99GT wrapped and it was almost as much as a paint job so it's not cheap. They also told him for a daily driver it would not hold up as well as paint.
 
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They are only original once...probably why the guy doesn't think you shouldn't mess with it. Are you really tired of the color, or tired of the color looking tired? If the color is just shabby on the exterior, but all the jambs look decent, I'd lean towards re-spraying the exterior and polishing up the jambs to retain some of it's originality. Given it's history with you all these years, I think it would be wiser to retain the color and freshen it up. A complete color change can get much more expensive since it usually requires tearing the car apart to get into all the jams.
 
A wrap will not give you the look/finish you likely desire. Like Craig said, flaws under it will show just as you can't just spray paint over a chip in the paint and expect it to disappear. You have edges everywhere which would also be evident when you open doors, the hood, etc. Plus they do not wear well as they are soft not hard like paint.

Paint the car. Unless it is a one off, super-duper rare, 1 of 8 car it will help the value not hurt it. Easy for someone to portray themselves as a purist when it's not theirs. I would agree though to keep the original color if you are concerned about value...maybe. Unless it's some hideous factory color but your sig pic looks like it's black ( I presume that's the car) which is the best color ever anyway! Yeah, I'm bias a bit.
 
Thanks for the input. I didn't think a wrap would please me but since it is original I thought I would ask. Yes that's her on the left, and no, she isn't a rare car. The color is currently that dark metallic green from the 60s known as Jade Black or Black Jade by some. You've convinced me to paint it...now I just have decide on the color.
 
Mach1 Driver said:
Thanks for the input. I didn't think a wrap would please me but since it is original I thought I would ask. Yes that's her on the left, and no, she isn't a rare car. The color is currently that dark metallic green from the 60s known as Jade Black or Black Jade by some. You've convinced me to paint it...now I just have decide on the color.
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I would repaint it the same exact color! One, that is my favorite color on a 69 and two, it is much cheaper to paint it back original than to do a thorough color change which requires much more work.
 
Your original color is a tough one. Love hate/kind of thing for that color. Not much of a middle ground when it comes to liking it. Ken is right though, keeping to the original color is much easier and cheaper usually.
 
I'd paint it. Wraps are good 10ft jobs. Any closer and it looks like crap. Imperfections, bubbles and such can be seen.
And a "good" wrap still costs well north of a grand anyway. Could be worse though. You could spray it in plastidip.
 
Hell, just wrap it in AL foil. Wouldn't cost more than $80 and you can say it was a Delorean prototype.
 
My dad had a 69 Fairlane/Torino that was black jade. I liked it. But anyway, I was thinking a little more today. If you put a wrap on to "save" the originality it might do more harm. I don't know for a fact but it might pull all the tape stripes off when you remove it as well as any loose paint. Might look worse after being wrapped. But sounds like you might have made up your mind to paint it anyway. Good Luck!
 
Yep, after reviewing what it would take to get a half way descent wrap, it makes no sense. I'll paint it a new color and forget about originality.
 
Have you thought about getting a really good detailer to work over the existing paint and then replace the stripes? A good cut & polish might be enough.
 
scedd said:
Have you thought about getting a really good detailer to work over the existing paint and then replace the stripes? A good cut & polish might be enough.
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The paint was very poor right from the factory. Most of the green paint on the hood is now gone with the the primer exposed, but strangely the black on the hood is in good shape. The top of the drivers headlight bucket is down to primer also. There's a spot where a broken garage door spring bounced off the quarter panel, and a rust spot on the passenger door by the weep hole. I'm sure it could be made to look much better with a complete detailing and some selective painting, but I'm guessing the stripes would be very difficult to remove. What hasn't fallen off by now is rock hard. Can these really be removed without destroying the paint below or adjacent to them? And then there are 47 years of door dings. I would be happier with a new paint job in a color I'm not tired of.
 
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