I vote BOTH! Paint for the fenders, vinyl for the graphics. If I ever want to sell, I can peel off the graphics, but will probably need a repaint from fading.

 

I am a signmaker and can tell you that a good vinyl will truly outlast paint. Take a look at old signs in front of buildings. Paint will fade out after awhile, but I must admit that most of our cars will long be traded out or in a salvage yard before that happens. There are instances where paint is better - if you choose to have those fancy designs (like you typically see on the back of a pickup truck - or on the hood). Those are real art and deserve paint I think. On the other hand, a stripe in vinyl is just fine. Notice GM used vinyl on our stripes in the limited edition models. You'll also notice that some of the neatest factory stuff on trucks is vinyl.

 

Vinyl is great (my flames are vinyl) but they do have their drawbacks. Since the HHR is so curvy with sharp creases, it is hard to avoid bubbles in some areas. You have to take into account when designing them that the body curves will change the way they look on the car. Plus, vinyl tears when brushed against and can not be touched up. If paint is damaged you can repair it. Finally, when you have pointy ends like my flames, they can peel up if you rub them the wrong way when waxing, cleaning, or drying the car. And you have to get high quality or else it will fade (some of my decals are looking washed out).

Still, vinyl is much cheaper that paint, and faster to apply. Plus, they are supposed to be easy to remove (as long as the paint underneath them does not look different than the rest of the car).

 

uh huh

 

I like paint and think it just looks better. However, Vinyl is cheaper, easier for the D.I.Y. person to do, changeable, and if you did something kinda wild you can take it for resale purposes.

 

Here is another Vote for both. I actually did some stripping in the "50"s and If I had had, the vinyl back the for the "straights" I would of loved it. Now for stuff on compound sections paint "bends" better. And I have not found many flames that look right to me except air brushed ones. Purple Harley makes some brushed decals that are nice I have them on my Bike. But for lines Vinyl is the way to go for me.

 

I vote both also........ i have hand painted pin stripes on my wifes 06 monte carlo..... and i have vinyl stripes on my fall edition.....