Earlier this year while watching the show Luther on Netflix, I was intrigued by the fact that England used E39's as police cars. I wasn't crazy about their vinyl design, but after some Googling, I came across Germany's version with the green stripes. I'm not a huge fan of green anything, but I liked the Titan Silver/Green combination, and the idea of the homage (since our cars are German anyway). Since I do vinyl decal and sign work on the side, I decided to replicate Bavaria's Polizei cars for Bimmerfest East this year. I'm no wrapping pro, but I have installed some pretty large vinyl signs, and wrapped two roofs in black vinyl. After discovering Oracal actually makes a vinyl color called "police green", I had to do it.
I used their 951 line, which conforms to curves and responds to heat well, but doesn't have the air release channels like the 970RA. I wasn't willing to shell out the extra cash for the air release, especially since this was likely going to be temporary. We used the wet install method to avoid tons of bubbles, which worked great for the flat and semi-rounded areas like the doors and fenders, but wrapping around edges was a challenge since the vinyl was wet and didn't want to stick. This was also my first time using the knifeless tape, which allows you to cut the vinyl on the car without using a blade on your paint, but I got the hang of it quickly. It tended to bunch the vinyl up at the start of each cut due to the wet install method not allowing 100% adhesion, but it left sharp edges once you got it started. I was very impressed with it. I also decided to leave off the reflective dashed lines on the original polizei cars, partly because I didn't like the look, and partly because the reflective vinyl is very expensive. I have seen some without the dashes though, so I didn't think it was a big deal.
Despite having to order a second roll last minute and finishing the hood the night before Bimmerfest, we got it done and I am very happy with how it came out. I'm still a little paranoid about getting hassled by the cops, but I have passed several including a NJ State Trooper, and nobody has said anything.
Anyway, here are the pics:
polizei_01.jpgpolizei_02.jpgpolizei_03.jpgpolizei_04.jpg
I used their 951 line, which conforms to curves and responds to heat well, but doesn't have the air release channels like the 970RA. I wasn't willing to shell out the extra cash for the air release, especially since this was likely going to be temporary. We used the wet install method to avoid tons of bubbles, which worked great for the flat and semi-rounded areas like the doors and fenders, but wrapping around edges was a challenge since the vinyl was wet and didn't want to stick. This was also my first time using the knifeless tape, which allows you to cut the vinyl on the car without using a blade on your paint, but I got the hang of it quickly. It tended to bunch the vinyl up at the start of each cut due to the wet install method not allowing 100% adhesion, but it left sharp edges once you got it started. I was very impressed with it. I also decided to leave off the reflective dashed lines on the original polizei cars, partly because I didn't like the look, and partly because the reflective vinyl is very expensive. I have seen some without the dashes though, so I didn't think it was a big deal.
Despite having to order a second roll last minute and finishing the hood the night before Bimmerfest, we got it done and I am very happy with how it came out. I'm still a little paranoid about getting hassled by the cops, but I have passed several including a NJ State Trooper, and nobody has said anything.
Anyway, here are the pics:
polizei_01.jpgpolizei_02.jpgpolizei_03.jpgpolizei_04.jpg
E39 Polizei Car Replica
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