DecalGirl vs Wrapgrade

[Nonprophet]

Anyone use both DecalGirl and Wrapgrade drone skins? I got one from Decalgirl shortly after they were available for the MA2 (no one else had them then), but despite following all the directions carefully it has lifted pretty badly in several areas. I contacted DG and to their credit they sent me a free replacement, but, it's kind of a pain installing them and I'm wondering about just biting the bullet and getting a Wrapgrade skin. DG: $27 shipped for drone, RC, and 3 batteries, WG: $59 for the same thing.
Thoughts?

 

[hiflyer201]

I've installed Decal Girl skins on a couple of drones, batteries and controllers..and have had no complaints at all.. In fact after a couple of my Mavic Air batteries started to swell a bit I just took the Decal Girl skins off and put them on the new batteries. They came off clean and stuck like they were new.

 

[Thomas B]

I’ve used both... DG was fitted to my drone
poorly.
I have been using Wrapgrade on my M2P in a full wrap applied over a year and over 1000 flights and still looks like the day I installed it. The coverage is complete and they are almost twice as thick as the others, including DG, I have tried. Opinions likely will vary. Either can be fun.
Remember that at 50 feet plus in flight all drones are just a dark spot in the sky.

 

[Repaid1]

Anyone use both DecalGirl and Wrapgrade drone skins? I got one from Decalgirl shortly after they were available for the MA2 (no one else had them then), but despite following all the directions carefully it has lifted pretty badly in several areas. I contacted DG and to their credit they sent me a free replacement, but, it's kind of a pain installing them and I'm wondering about just biting the bullet and getting a Wrapgrade skin. DG: $27 shipped for drone, RC, and 3 batteries, WG: $59 for the same thing.
Thoughts?

While I am not sure about the many brands of skins I have applied, I know I used DecalGirl for sure. As a professional decal applier.... aka parent of three children . I have learned a few tricks over many years. First is surface prep. Plastics have a release agent applied in some instances and even if not oils from your finger touches will hamper adhesion.

I use a good windex/glass cleaner at first and wipe down the whole of surfaces for the decals, I then use a tack cloth and a high grade of rubbing alcohol for surface prep. This helps your hands as well and removes the oil so that you don't contaminate the prepped surface when applying the skins/decals.

I then use a blow dryer and warm the surfaces for the decals. The blow dryer is used while applying as well to soften the decal to allow tight turns if you get a bit out of alignment, be careful not to over pull decals when warming them. if so pull decal back up and gently warm the decal and it should shrink back to normal. Once you have all surfaces covered. Heat all surfaces a bit more and press decal down to seat and allow adhesive to bond firmly..once cool you shouldn't have any issues with decal separation. That is how I do it, and I have great results. YMMV according to skill set.

I will add that the Skins made with true 3M vinyl seem to be much better than their China counter parts so buy USA!

 

[woodbutcher50]

Anyone use both DecalGirl and Wrapgrade drone skins? I got one from Decalgirl shortly after they were available for the MA2 (no one else had them then), but despite following all the directions carefully it has lifted pretty badly in several areas. I contacted DG and to their credit they sent me a free replacement, but, it's kind of a pain installing them and I'm wondering about just biting the bullet and getting a Wrapgrade skin. DG: $27 shipped for drone, RC, and 3 batteries, WG: $59 for the same thing.
Thoughts?

Iv used both and Wrapgrade is superior! comes with detailed instructions. its expensive, but you pay for what you get. i covered my MA2 in white. Highly recommend!

 

[jgullam]

I've used both, Decal Girl are good and have a wide variety of designs, Wrapgrade are incredible.
The quality of the material is outstanding and the precision of the cut blew my mind. As you're applying you fold over an edge or around a corner and there's the other piece or an edge and it just lines up with no gap or overlap.
IMHO Wrapgrade is worth the extra money. I have the Caribbean Blue on my MP and it's beautiful. I wish they made one for the Inspire.

 

[G Saunders]

I've used both WrapGrade and Decal Girl. My quick summary is:

Decal Girl drone skins have fewer pieces and are easier to apply and make a neat job. They don't do 100% coverage but it's easy to make a neat job where the drone shows around the edges of the pieces. Their 'solid color' line includes neon orange, green, and yellow that make it easier to spot the drone. I'm wrapping the drone for better visibility and Decal Girl's wraps are quick to apply and it doesn't bother me that the drone isn't 100% covered.

WrapGrade's skins have lots of pieces and they're made to overlap so none of the drone shows at the seams. They provide a map that shows where to align and overlap, and with a bit of practice you can get a wrap job that's as close to painted on as it can be. But, it takes a long time and some practice to get a neat job, but when you're done it's worth the trouble. They also have neon colors.

I'm only wrapping in neon, fluorescent colors, haven't found the patterned or metallic wraps to be helpful with visual line of sight. An entirely un-natural, neon wrap is easy to spot against trees or the sky.

WrapGrade's shipping to the US again using FedEx which makes them a bit expensive.

 

[Heindrich1988]

I've used both WrapGrade and Decal Girl. My quick summary is:

Decal Girl drone skins have fewer pieces and are easier to apply and make a neat job. They don't do 100% coverage but it's easy to make a neat job where the drone shows around the edges of the pieces. Their 'solid color' line includes neon orange, green, and yellow that make it easier to spot the drone. I'm wrapping the drone for better visibility and Decal Girl's wraps are quick to apply and it doesn't bother me that the drone isn't 100% covered.

WrapGrade's skins have lots of pieces and they're made to overlap so none of the drone shows at the seams. They provide a map that shows where to align and overlap, and with a bit of practice you can get a wrap job that's as close to painted on as it can be. But, it takes a long time and some practice to get a neat job, but when you're done it's worth the trouble. They also have neon colors.

I'm only wrapping in neon, fluorescent colors, haven't found the patterned or metallic wraps to be helpful with visual line of sight. An entirely un-natural, neon wrap is easy to spot against trees or the sky.

WrapGrade's shipping to the US again using FedEx which makes them a bit expensive.

That's quite the fleet you have sir.

 

[Heindrich1988]

I will add that the Skins made with true 3M vinyl seem to be much better than their China counter parts so buy USA!

Errrm...

1) Wrapgrade is a Japanese company.

2) China does make good quality stuff nowadays. (Like our Mavic drones ).

3) Having said that, I agree, don't buy Chinese wraps for your drones. lol I bought something that looked like Wrapgrade from a Chinese e-seller. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the legit imported product and the result was so ugly that I've since peeled it off my drone.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

I've used both WrapGrade and Decal Girl. My quick summary is:

Decal Girl drone skins have fewer pieces and are easier to apply and make a neat job. They don't do 100% coverage but it's easy to make a neat job where the drone shows around the edges of the pieces. Their 'solid color' line includes neon orange, green, and yellow that make it easier to spot the drone. I'm wrapping the drone for better visibility and Decal Girl's wraps are quick to apply and it doesn't bother me that the drone isn't 100% covered.

WrapGrade's skins have lots of pieces and they're made to overlap so none of the drone shows at the seams. They provide a map that shows where to align and overlap, and with a bit of practice you can get a wrap job that's as close to painted on as it can be. But, it takes a long time and some practice to get a neat job, but when you're done it's worth the trouble. They also have neon colors.

I'm only wrapping in neon, fluorescent colors, haven't found the patterned or metallic wraps to be helpful with visual line of sight. An entirely un-natural, neon wrap is easy to spot against trees or the sky.

WrapGrade's shipping to the US again using FedEx which makes them a bit expensive.

What happened to Mini 1&2 and Zoom 1? ?

 

[GMAN007]

DG vs WG-J is a good question. I own and use both. At the end of the day ~ I prefer WG-J because the template fit (wrap) cutouts are well done. More so - the decal film material / color depth are better than DG.

 

[Dbez1]

While I am not sure about the many brands of skins I have applied, I know I used DecalGirl for sure. As a professional decal applier.... aka parent of three children . I have learned a few tricks over many years. First is surface prep. Plastics have a release agent applied in some instances and even if not oils from your finger touches will hamper adhesion.

I use a good windex/glass cleaner at first and wipe down the whole of surfaces for the decals, I then use a tack cloth and a high grade of rubbing alcohol for surface prep. This helps your hands as well and removes the oil so that you don't contaminate the prepped surface when applying the skins/decals.

I then use a blow dryer and warm the surfaces for the decals. The blow dryer is used while applying as well to soften the decal to allow tight turns if you get a bit out of alignment, be careful not to over pull decals when warming them. if so pull decal back up and gently warm the decal and it should shrink back to normal. Once you have all surfaces covered. Heat all surfaces a bit more and press decal down to seat and allow adhesive to bond firmly..once cool you shouldn't have any issues with decal separation. That is how I do it, and I have great results. YMMV according to skill set.

I will add that the Skins made with true 3M vinyl seem to be much better than their China counter parts so buy USA!

Thanks for the detailed information. I’m about to install a DG wrap.

 

[DronePhotosNZ]

DG vs WG-J is a good question. I own and use both. At the end of the day ~ I prefer WG-J because the template fit (wrap) cutouts are well done. More so - the decal film material / color depth are better than DG. View attachment 116042

That's an excellent Smart Controller decal, and having just got mine for my MA2, I was wondering where you had sourced this one from ? Thanks, Stu

 

[GMAN007]

That's an excellent Smart Controller decal, and having just got mine for my MA2, I was wondering where you had sourced this one from ? Thanks, Stu

It was a custom design template I created (per my configuration setting(s)) for WG-J to generate a print. WG-J high print resolution process and direct (true) color film are far superior to DG...

 

[Mavic Merrick]

I personally am a fan of Wrapgrade. The fact that my wrap still looks almost brand new even after 1,300 flight miles on my Mini 2 has made me expect their wraps. I also installed a blue Wrapgrade on my friends Mavic mini 1 and it has treated him very well. Yes, they are more expensive, but they are just better.