So we've been considering it since we bought it, finally got around to having the black roof on the Trailhawk wrapped a different color with vinyl. We debated trying to find a yellow that was close, but realized that as the desert sun beats down on the vinyl, the yellow would probably fairly quickly no longer match the paint color, so instead we looked at what other SUVs historically have done and went with a gloss white. I suppose the inspiration came from seeing Toyota FJ Cruisers; there are yellow ones with black bumpers and other trim but with white roofs. I pulled the rails over the weekend and finished pulling the roof ditch moldings on Monday, and cleaned the roof thoroughly before taking it in. Left it with them Tuesday afternoon and picked it up a day later. They did a very nice job, they were able to place the seams in the roof ditches and wrapped down into them, and they wrapped well under the roof door frames too. Because the Renegade has the ridges at the front and back of the black portion (or body-color on non-Trailhawks) it was very easy for them to make the vinyl line up well. I'm probably going to put some Sport roof moldings on, and leave off the rails (but keep them in case I change my mind), so we sat the rails on top and took a few pictures so to show how it looks. We spent all of $250 on the wrap. Down the road when my wife gets bored with the yellow we may end up having the whole thing wrapped, will see.
i love fjs and i LOVE what u did to your reny. Great job Sent from my iPhone using ToasterJeep mobile app
Thanks guys. We basically felt we had three options, plastidip, vinyl, or paint. Plastidip I might have been able to do myself, but I probably would've had to spend a considerable amount of time simply getting the shop organized to make that happen where I wouldn't end up with everything dusted, and it seems there's some debate as to how long-term the stuff holds up on large panels like a roof. The vinyl would require a shop, and probably requires a shop to remove, but would give us 5+ years of good service before having to be reconsidered or removed while also being fairly cheap. A paint job on the roof would be permanent and expensive, and if we didn't like it we'd be SOL. So vinyl for now. If we like it down the road still, maybe replace the vinyl with paint. We'll see. No reason to get ahead of ourselves.
I had considered how much of the roof to wrap, since there's also a natural break at the windshield frame where it meets the fender. Decided just to do this bit since it wouldn't interfere with glass replacement (we've already had to do the windshield once) and since the way they formed the roof there's that ridge front and back separating the roof center. I could see someone wrapping the windshield frame a different color than the body, since that same ridge would work that way too.
Lol! That looks clean! Great idea, did they give you any idea how long it would last or if it would burn (discolor) in the sun? Here in Vegas that'd be a great mod. Sent from my SM-T810 using ToasterJeep mobile app
We're expecting about five years. The Jeep is garaged after getting home from work and all night so it will reduce the wear from temperature variation, so hopefully it'll help. The gloss finish is apparently a little more resistant too.
I know this is an old post, but I really love the way this looks. Can I ask where you had it done? They did an outstanding job!
