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FauxDiablo · 07-12-2016, 07:11 AM

I have been in the sign industry for over 25 years as a designer and fabricator, pretty much well-versed all aspects of it. I have also been a car-guy for a longer period of time.

Wrap technology showed-up not long after computer-cut vinyl and large format printing became "affordable" back in the late 1990's. Everyone and their brother was scrambling to find new uses for wrapping, me included. Let me tell you what I know...

1) The quality of the wrap job is entirely based on three things all coming together at the same time; The intelligence and carefulness of the installer, the quality of the material, and the quality of the surface it's being applied over. A fourth would be the quality of the printing if it's printed.

2) On cars...NO wrap will look as good as a nice, professionally painted surface for more than three months if that wrapped surface is driven in the sun and washed more than a few times. A wrap is vinyl, a soft plastic that cannot be buffed-out. Vinyl is also 10 times easier to damage than paint.

3) On cars...When a seam is cut and matched on the car at the time the wrap is being applied, the installer WILL use an X-Acto knife to the cut vinyl, and more times than not, WILL cut into paint underneath...even the BEST installers cannot avoid this. I might fall into that category, so trust me on that one. If you know you will keep the car "forever" and are hoping that your paint will look good after you remove the wrap sometime down the road, think again. Water WILL migrate through the tiny cut seams, and it WILL find any bare (scratched) metal left by the trimming procedures.

4) No, you will not see slight defects in the car's original finish under the wrap. The vinyl used is anywhere from .003" to .008" thick...it WILL make a crappy paint job look better...but in 3-6 months of use, it's an EXPENSIVE wash if the car is washed or driven a lot.

5) When you see people on TV who have decided to wrap a car, it's usually because the original paint is shot and they are cheap, only looking to flip the car to make money.

6) Removing the wrap without damaging the car... It's actually pretty easy IF you know what you are doing. However. If you have any clearcoat or basecoat that is not well-bonded to the surface, you will probably see areas where the wrap will pull it right off. The colder the surface when you remove it, the harder and worse if WILL look when you remove it.

7) With what I know from experience, I would never wrap a car if it were something I cherished. Most wraps are done to leased vehicles and used to promote a product or service, and they are removed after 3-6 months.

LOL...we can talk about Plasti-Dipping cars too, if you want...Basically the same pitfalls, except that you are spraying the vinyl onto the car, and it is actually easier to damage/remove than regular vinyl because the adhesion is not as good.

07-12-2016, 07:11 AM	#9
FauxDiablo Registered User Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Minnesnowta Posts: 90	I have been in the sign industry for over 25 years as a designer and fabricator, pretty much well-versed all aspects of it. I have also been a car-guy for a longer period of time. Wrap technology showed-up not long after computer-cut vinyl and large format printing became "affordable" back in the late 1990's. Everyone and their brother was scrambling to find new uses for wrapping, me included. Let me tell you what I know... 1) The quality of the wrap job is entirely based on three things all coming together at the same time; The intelligence and carefulness of the installer, the quality of the material, and the quality of the surface it's being applied over. A fourth would be the quality of the printing if it's printed. 2) On cars...NO wrap will look as good as a nice, professionally painted surface for more than three months if that wrapped surface is driven in the sun and washed more than a few times. A wrap is vinyl, a soft plastic that cannot be buffed-out. Vinyl is also 10 times easier to damage than paint. 3) On cars...When a seam is cut and matched on the car at the time the wrap is being applied, the installer WILL use an X-Acto knife to the cut vinyl, and more times than not, WILL cut into paint underneath...even the BEST installers cannot avoid this. I might fall into that category, so trust me on that one. If you know you will keep the car "forever" and are hoping that your paint will look good after you remove the wrap sometime down the road, think again. Water WILL migrate through the tiny cut seams, and it WILL find any bare (scratched) metal left by the trimming procedures. 4) No, you will not see slight defects in the car's original finish under the wrap. The vinyl used is anywhere from .003" to .008" thick...it WILL make a crappy paint job look better...but in 3-6 months of use, it's an EXPENSIVE wash if the car is washed or driven a lot. 5) When you see people on TV who have decided to wrap a car, it's usually because the original paint is shot and they are cheap, only looking to flip the car to make money. 6) Removing the wrap without damaging the car... It's actually pretty easy IF you know what you are doing. However. If you have any clearcoat or basecoat that is not well-bonded to the surface, you will probably see areas where the wrap will pull it right off. The colder the surface when you remove it, the harder and worse if WILL look when you remove it. 7) With what I know from experience, I would never wrap a car if it were something I cherished. Most wraps are done to leased vehicles and used to promote a product or service, and they are removed after 3-6 months. LOL...we can talk about Plasti-Dipping cars too, if you want...Basically the same pitfalls, except that you are spraying the vinyl onto the car, and it is actually easier to damage/remove than regular vinyl because the adhesion is not as good.