€2,500 worth of modifications... and a priceless smile

What turns orange after being left in a garage for 200 hours? Ask Sergio Baldacchino, winner of The Sunday Times Motoring Facebook competition organised in collaborationwith Source-R Restyling and 3M, specialists in car wrapping.

Readers of The Sunday Times Motoring were asked to submit a photo of their car to be uploaded on the Motoring page and the participant with the most likes would win a car makeover worth €2,500.

Baldacchino won the competition, which saw over 200 participants amassing more than 15,000 likes between them. Baldacchino alone managed to collect 3,592 likes.

Baldacchino’s car was taken to the Source-R Garage in Mrieħel and stayed there for a just over a week until all was revealed last Tuesday.

“As soon as I saw this competition in the Motoring supplement in April, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to give my car a makeover so I submitted a photo of my Golf,” Baldacchino said.

Not happy with the number of likes he had attracted in the first days, he embarked on a strategy to attract more.

“I spread the word as much as I could, calling for help on several international VW club forums, public websites and I even made a small Youtube clip for what it was worth,” Baldacchino said.

His strategy paid off as Baldacchino had the most likes on the closing date. “I handed over the car with some trepidation and eight days later the Golf was driven out completely changed,” Baldacchino said.

On his reaction to seeing that his once silver Golf was now a bright burnt orange colour, Baldacchino said: “I got a glimpse of the bumper and immediately thought ‘orange juice’”.

“I was and still am amazed by the car’s new look. I love the black matte grille, the badges, the roof, the mirrors and the wheels. The whole experience has been amazing and I thank The Sunday Times Motoring for this opportunity and Source-R and Just Ltd for the amazing job they did.”

The process started with the dismantling of the car, cleaning and polishing every part in preparation for a full body wrap. The car was jacked and the suspension removed to lower it, Jason Cini of Source-R said.

“In the meantime we started spraying the wheels to give them a matte black finish to match the rest of the car. We sprayed the mirrors, front grille, rear badge and tinted the rear lights and side repeaters, then we started work on the tinted windows, leaving the wrapping to the end.”

Source-R decided to wrap the car in burnt orange from front to end, without Baldacchino having a clue of what was being done to his Golf.

“The car was given a new skin,” Jeffrey Shaw, director of Just Ltd, local distributors of 3M Automotive said. The term ‘3M Skin Design’ is used by 3M Italy for car wrapping using 3M’s latest vinyl films and technology.

This car wrapping method is a distinctive way to make you and your car stand out in a crowd. There are a variety of finishes, textures and colours including carbon fibre and brushed metals to choose from, Shaw said.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Motoring, Shaw explained how 3M are passionate about offering the most innovative vehicle personalisation products and this is backed by 3M’s brand promise of quality, reliability, service and warranty.

Car wrapping and customisation is taking the international automotive industry by storm and most dealerships are now offering this type of customisation for new car sales, since the applied film also offers protection for the original factory paint and can be removed anytime without leaving a trace.

Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080, another 3M product, is suitable for watercraft.

“For Sergio’s Golf we applied 3M Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080 burnt orange and 1080 matte black for the roof and other touches. Burnt orange was chosen as it’s quite a unique colour and it gives the car a sporty look,” Shaw said.

For the windows, 3M’s Color Stable Automotive Window tint film was used to give it a hot look while keeping the occupants and interior cool.

Modifications

1. Full wrap with 3M 1080 series, in burnt orange; roof and side pillars in matte black.
2. 3M tinted windows cs20 medium black.
3. Tinted sprayed rear lights and side repeaters.
4. Matte front grill, rear badge and side mirrors.
5. 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 205/45/17.
6. Lowered with K-sport racing suspension.
7. Cleaned and sprayed underneath the arches.
8. Full service.
9. Full valleting.
10. Permanent smile on Baldacchino’s face.