Vroom! Vinyl Wraps Race Cars with Elaborate Graphics

BRISTOL, Tenn., May 22, 2009 – When renowned race car veterans such as Jimmy Spencer and Harry Gant climbed back into the driver's seat for a charity race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the old school look of their cars was provided by the latest technology in vinyl wrap graphics.

Earlier in the spring, The Scott Saturday Night Special united former Bristol speedway winners, including Rusty Wallace and Junior Johnson, in a 50-lap race for charity. The car of each driver was made to look like their winning car at past Bristol races, recreating the cars' numbers, colors, and overall design of the drivers' respective victories.

Modern D-signs of Bristol accomplished this for Spencer and Gant, whose cars were donated by the United Auto Racing Association-Stars, by designing and applying vinyl wraps for their cars, using a wide-format ink-jet printer.

When the vinyl wraps are completed, they are placed over each of the car's panels and then heated to 212 degrees. Cast vinyl was used, so if the vinyl panel was applied in the wrong position or needed to be moved, reheating with the blowtorch would allow the wrap panel to be removed or shifted.

Kurt Kummer, owner of Modern D-signs, says, "We'll wrap just about anything." They have also applied vinyl wraps to boats with a camouflage design, as well as telephone booths and a 1997 Aston Martin sports car. The cost of wrapping a car ranges from $2,000 to $3,500 depending on its size, and that a fully logo-laden race car can be wrapped in less than six hours, without the mess and extra time needed to paint the car.

Artistic Signs & Graphics of Palestine, Texas, began offering vinyl wraps to its customers' cars, trucks, and trailers last fall, mainly as a method of advertising businesses and services. Owner Eric Frye offers a five-year warranty with his vinyl wraps, and says it can be removed without damaging the car if the customer chooses to do so within five years.

Frye observed, "Your vehicle is an excellent source of advertising because it moves when you do. Vinyl is a great solution because it can be put on glass and paint."

Water Graphix in Moultie, Ga., produces vinyl wraps and graphics for boats with 33 vinyl colors. Owner Chuck Reagin attributes his booming business to boat owners who are fixing up their old boats instead of buying new ones.

Its VisionPrint product offers a graphic image that can span the surface of the boat and continue onto the windshield. The graphic is visible from the outside, but appears as normal tinted glass from the inside. It comes with a 10-year warranty, durable even in saltwater environments.

WaterGraphix also wraps cars, trucks, dragsters, and other vehicles in vinyl. Its web site notes, "A car graphic can cover most of your windows if you desire, and the driver can still see out." WaterGraphix also notes vinyl wraps "will dramatically increase your visibility to the public" and cites a statistic from the American Trucking Associations that the average delivery truck makes 16 million visual impressions in a single year.

For more information, go to: www.modernd-signs.com, www.artisticsignsandgraphics.com, and www.watergraphix.com.

The Vinyl Institute represents the leading manufacturers involved in the production of PVC vinyl in the United States, and promotes the value of PVC and vinyl products to society.

For more information, contact:

Jeffrey B. Palmer
Director of Marketing & Communications
The Vinyl Institute
(703) 741-5669
jeff_palmer@plastics.org

Also go to: vinylindesign.com and www.vinylinfo.org.