Take a dip with Foiladip

To those who follow this column, you would know that I am a firm believer of foiling or wrapping your vehicle for added individualization and protection without lowering its resale value.

This method was pioneered in the country by Foilacar Industries, spearheaded by Lester Codog who brought in the technology to the country after seeing supercars being wrapped in chrome vinyl stickers in Dubai.

In the last couple of years, this technology has progressed from the automotive exterior to the interior.

Codog, along with his partner Vince Mercado, brought in machines that could mimic design patterns and even textures, thus giving more freedom to produce any size and shape of tile or wood panels with just a fraction of the usual application time.

Recently, Foilacar introduced a revolutionary new product to a select group of car enthusiasts and media friends at Mercado’s 4,000 sq. m crib in Pasig.

Dubbed as FoilaDip, this latest technology is sprayed on the car like paint. Once dry, FoilaDip dries up and feels like a rubberized coating that can be peeled off without damaging the material you blasted it on.

Unlike the average car automotive paint, FoilaDip does not require any scuffing, sanding or any another typical paint-prep procedure. “This is the latest alternative that offers fast and reliable exterior protection.

“Unlike vinyl wrap, Autodip is sprayed on easily like paint and requires less drying time. A car or an SUV can be transformed visually in a day,” Mercado, who acts as CFO of Foilacar Industries, said.

Two years of research and development led to the public introduction of the World’s first sprayable vinyl wrap, and in 2014, Autodip was launched at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

This technology, which originated in Canada, combines the best of both worlds to meet the needs of car guys, the high quality of vinyl wrap with the ease of application in spray-on form. “FoilaDip is sprayed on to the car using a professional air-powered spray gun. Although for DIY projects, FoilaDip will also be offered in the retail market by way of easy to use spray cans,” said Mercado.

“As car guys, we all love the concept of temporarily changing the color of our vehicle, wheels and other accessories. We did that with Foilacar, although when it came to wheels and other body panels like the grille of a car or SUV, foil wrapping is a bit tedious and time-consuming. We were searching for a technology that would provide ease of use and offer the same protection and visual appeal of the vinyl wrap. During a trip to SEMA last year, I met up with Autodip USA, and was amazed by the product. This technology was the solution that we were looking for,” adds Lester Codog, president of Foilacar Industries.

I have yet to see Foiladip in action, imagining the endless possibilities of being able to change and style your vehicle in an instant.

As I was going home from the event, I told my husband that if this Foiladip is easy to apply and easy to remove, wouldn’t this technology be cooler if it came as a nail polish?