Author: Wayne Ihamäki Date: May 31, 2008 Manufacturer: MaxPlus

Vinyl Film Gallery » Page 1: Introduction

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MaxPlus International Co., Ltd might be a familiar name with the auto-tuning and car-styling industry. From wheel spacers, spoilers, guages, custom engine parts, fog lamps, hood pins, sun visors, etc., if you're interested in making your ride look and perform it's best, they'll have products you want.

But we're here to talk about computers, not cars. The good folks at MaxPlus sent us some awesome looking self-adhesive, 3D Carbon-fiber style design film and a couple of samples of diamond-shape aluminum grill mesh for us to try. I'll use these samples to mod a notebook and a never-been-seen custom mod project. So please, read on!


Up First: - The Carbon Fibre Film.


I was blown away by how good this looks. The 'carbon-film' in the local department stores doesn't hold a candle to this stuff. I've worked with carbon-fibre in the prosthetic and orthopaedic industry and can say this is a dead-ringer for the real stuff. Okay maybe nicer looking. The depth of the gloss is incredible, it looks much thicker then it is. Really hard to photograph, it's so reflective and shiny.


Having used this vinyl film, there's a few pointers I would like to give. First, make sure you're doing it in a clean environment. Any little piece caught under the film will show up. Secondly, don't bend. Those creases will also show up. I was able to lift the adhesive when accidentally made contact. However, this film will show up any rough handling so be careful. I ended up recruiting my loving wife to help apply it. An extra set of hands came in very useful on larger panels.


The film is made of PET/PVC laminated plastic and aluminum. And although it states it's a non-stretch film, I had to try. Using my heat gun easily destroyed the material. For flat surfaces only!


This shows the film being sized up to go on a plexiglass front panel. The next shows the finished results. I'll never custom paint again!


Look at the difference the film made to these steel handles! Looks awesome if I don't say so myself.


Looks good. There's no way I could of made this case look so good with paint alone.

Now MaxPlus makes more then just silver and black carbon film, they have a whole line of patterns to choose from. Please take a look at the image gallery that follows. Maybe it'll inspire you on your mod.

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Vinyl Film Gallery » Page 1: Introduction Page 2: Vinyl Film Gallery Page 3: Up Next: - Aluminum Grill Mesh Page 4: Conclusion