Having no particular idea about wraps, I dropped by a high end wrap shop to discuss my 1993 Civic. I was surprised that they said underlying paint had to be in excellent condition. For example, my front bumper has some missing paint. They said it would likely need to be sanded, primered, and repainted in order to wrap it. So, in addition to $4000 for a nice wrap, they thought I would at least need bumpers repainted, and maybe the whole car. I had a good quality repaint with factory color in 2009, and most of it is in very good condition. The parking lot scars on the bumpers are the exception.

Oddly, when I go to sites of the wrap manufacturers, I have not found such warnings about paint. I see a lot about having very clean surfaces.

So, what do you think? Did I just go to the wrong shop to ask about wraps? Should I just pay about $300 for the wrap and laboriously do it myself? I am assuming someone here has wrapped an older car, but I couldn't find threads on it. I would like a deep glossy nardo gray.

Thanks

 

Any damage or imperfections in the paint will show through the wrap, hence the warning about the condition of your cars paint.

 

as stated above,

just like paint work, imperfections will show in the final product.

i assume that the reason shop said the paint had to be prestine, is because of future wrap removal.
technically, you can sand the existing surface smooth, then prime before wrap (most wraps have a harder time adhering to primer so it may stick on and look fine but there is a possibility of the wrap lifting at prime area)... but if you remove the wrap at a later time, the wrap will have a high chance of pulling the prime/paint with it.

if you had good condition paint work under the wrap, removal of wrap will lessen the chances of paint pull