Vario Panniers Refurb

[jim123]

The aluminium finish on my Varios have taken a few knocks over the years. I was thinking about spending some time over the winter covering the aluminium finish with Vinyl, which is probably about as impact resistant as the original.

Forsaking p*ss taking comments about why bother etc. does anyone have experience about doing this?

I don't really want to spend time and cash if the end result looks like a 2nd rate job. I'd appreciate advice about :

Does the Vinyl effectively shape into the small indentations on the pannier face?

How durable is the fixing adhesive backing on Vinyl, and does it loose adhesion in warm (Spanish) climates if the bike is out in the sun?

Can the Vinyl be trimmed so that you don't end up with scabby edges where the bright finish meets the black plastic surround on the pannier lids?

 

[Ted]

Had a go at mine. Stuff is very cheap but try and get the 3M stuff its the best. Lots of UTube videos. Just take your time and if it all goes wrong just pull it off and try again..
Did one in brushed alloy then both in silver carbon look. The front and rear black plastic covers come off just a few screws so and vinyl finishes neatly underneath, sides just runn along with a sharp, Stanly, knife.

 

[SteveM]

They look really nice.

 

[jim123]

Thanks Ted. Any problems with the backing adhesive loosing grip if the bike is left baking in the sun?

 

[birdseye]

I cant imagine that this treatment will hide the dings any more than painting would.

 

[Ted]

No problems so far, was in the 30s this summer in Turkey. Did have problem with original brushed steel bubbling, you can just see one in picture. Was due to me not cleaning it properly and also stretching rather than using heat (hair dryer) to mould it to contours, much better second go.
As for hiding marks etc. both top boxes were badly scratched and had a couple of dints, (bit like the sort you get on car doors in car parks ) after using as tables when camping, you would have to look pretty hard to spot them now. Look at the picture of the two boxes and nearest top right. If you look hard you can just make out the lines dip slightly on the cross. Also if you paint then you cant go back for that original travel worn "Adventure" look that is popular with some folk
Since the pictures were taken have redone one with a black carbon finish and done the small side plastic panels, looks good. To be honest the stuff is so cheap to buy worth a go. Just watch a few videos and take your time, cup of tea clear the kitchen table and have patience.

 

[Pukmeister]

If the metal skin is badly dented/dinged, why not use a skim of filler and flat back then lacquer before applying the vinyl sheet ??