Teran Marsell | Published on May 4th, 2015
To get a flawless installation that doesn’t peel or damage your vehicle, there are a quite a few little things you need to right — five of them, in fact. If you do these things before you bring your car to the shop, you’ll cut down your wait time (and cost) significantly.
1. Wash But Don’t Wax
Have you ever tried to walk on a floor that’s been recently waxed? Or stepped over the line at a bowling alley? Yeah, there’s a reason you’re not supposed to do that. It’s super slippery. And car wax is no different.
While a good wash will remove dirt and debris that can cause adhesive failure, waxing afterward is a big no-no.
If you leave it there, or fail to remove all of it, you’ll notice that your wrap will start to lift or bubble away from the body of your vehicle. It may not happen right away — it may even take a year — but your won’t last for its intended lifespan.
If there is hard-to-remove wax on your vehicle, wipe those areas down with a little rubbing alcohol. Just be sure to was with soap and clean water afterward.
2. Thoroughly Clean Problem Areas
Any area where dirt, mud, residue, road sludge or bug splatter get splashed (or squished) onto the vehicle will need a little TLC outside of your normal wash. This could be:
- The area where your wheel wells meet the front doors
- Back quarter panels
- Bottom of a truck tailgate
- Around the exhaust pipe
- The front bumper
- Around the gas cap
- Edges of the hood (check for oil or grease spots)
- Bottom lip around the vehicle (about five inches past where people can see)
3. Deal With Rust, Paint Issues and Damage
A wrap won’t stick to dirt, open air or missing car parts. But it will stick to bubbling paint and rust exceptionally well.
Inspect your vehicle for any kind of damage. Rust spots and areas with peeling paint are potential causes of wrap failure and damage when the wrap is removed. A dent will interfere with adhesion and ruin the quality of your wrap.
If you’ve painted your vehicle or had body done in the last 30 days, you’re going to have to wait until the cure time is over. The paint could actually rip off when the wrap is removed if you don’t.
4. Clean Your Windows
It sounds pretty basic, but if you’re installing graphics on any windows, you’ll want to clean them really well. Yet you can’t use just any window cleaner because some of them contain wax — and that’s bad for wraps. So check the ingredients list or use a simple solution of soap and water.
5. Don’t Do It Too Early
You don’t want to get your car washed and then drive it around for a week before you bring it to the shop. Residue builds up quickly and you want your vehicle to be as clean as possible when you drop it off, so get it washed as close to your installation date as possible.
Get Wrapped At Team Acme
We always ask our customers to bring their vehicles to us pre-cleaned, but that doesn’t stop us from doing some cleaning and nitpicking of our own. Before we install your graphic, we’ll make sure there are no potential failure points and will let you know if there’s a serious issue we won’t be able to handle before the install.
Contact us today to get a well-designed, high quality wrap installation on any type of vehicle.
