A Fresh Look

Pali High Grad Shay McAvoy Launches Car Wrap Business

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Recent Palisades Charter High School graduate Shay McAvoy has always been into cars—but now, he is able to turn that passion into a career through a car wrap business, which serves customers across the Westside, including Pacific Palisades.

“When I was younger, my stepdad had a garage,” McAvoy said to the Palisadian-Post. “So I was always familiar with cars.”

McAvoy described himself as a “big Porsche guy”: “I like the German cars.” He used to skateboard, and right next to the park where he would go, there was a garage he would pass by in West Los Angeles.

“One day, I decided to go in,” McAvoy said, “and I got an internship there.”

That was about two and a half years ago, McAvoy said, and since then, he has launched his own branch of the business, Ideal Wraps, working under Joshua Opheim.

“My business transforms cars that are bland or have damaged paint, into vehicles with vibrant colors and designs with the help of vinyl wraps,” McAvoy described. “This business of mine stemmed from my passion of cars.”

McAvoy, who lived in the Highlands, graduated from Pali High with the Class of 2024. In addition to wrapping cars, McAvoy is also attending Santa Monica College, so he moved near the campus.

When it comes to wrapping cars, McAvoy said that his clients can be very particular about the final product, which, he said, makes the work satisfying and “very fun.”

“It soothes the mind because it’s very soothing to do the job,” he described. “You feel very accomplished once you finish, because you see the actual progress you made.”

McAvoy said he has a wholesale deal with a couple of name brands—like 3M and Avery—which affords him “unlimited colors.”

“We provide the options and we put it on your car,” he explained. He said that a typical car, like a sedan, takes about two to three days to wrap.

When it comes to projects, McAvoy said that Teslas are the easiest car to wrap “because they don’t have door handles.” He typically works with “more higher-end cars,” but has worked with a wide range. Recent projects include an Aston Martin DB11, GMC Denali and C300 Mercedes.

McAvoy is currently taking new clients. The best way to reach him is through his Instagram. In addition to working out of the garage, McAvoy also said he makes house calls.

“I’ll either go to their garage, if they have a home garage,” McAvoy concluded, “or they’ll come to me.”