How To Vinyl Wrap A Car | Creative Solutions With a Tesla Model 3

PREPARING TO WRAP YOUR CAR

After contacting us with your inquiry, we will ask the Reg and Model of your vehicle, as well as some images. This is so we can accurately digitally map your vehicle, and the amount of vinyl needed. Our brilliant in-house design team will then digitally render your vehicle and can send mock-ups of your finished car as well as potential samples and images of the vinyl you've chosen.

DINKS, DENTS AND DAMAGE Considering the canvas, minor scratches won't pose a problem, but chips, dents, gouges, and rust will need to be noted, or smoothed out efficiently before a wrapping. When the vinyl sticks to these, it can tear or bubble affecting the finished looked considerably, ruining the wrap job. If you plan on wrapping your car because of these dinks and issues, you don't need to go to the trouble of getting your car professionally back to manufactured levels, as long as the area is smooth, primed and protected, our team can assess these areas and have a good chat about how to proceed.

LOCATION We have a dedicated work room for vehicles of all sizes. It is a clean, and controlled environment, and very important to be dust-free and heat controlled to allow the vinyl to act its best when its time for application. As discussed earlier, vinyl is heat-reactive, so these parameters need to be at the top of the priority list. Vehicles need to arrive as clean as possible so don't go to a field party the night before! - and don't use a wax based cleaning products prior to your wrap. As with paint and body defects, dust, wax, oil and grease,  debris and stuck on bugs will effect your finish.

TIME TO VINYL

The best place to start a wrap are the main flat, open areas of a vehicle. As the bonnet moves independently from other areas its a great starting point with a large single sheet with minimal edging required. Our team are well versed in judging area coverage, and will cut sheets of vinyl for each face of the car as they go. Think of vinyl as big, big stickers.

The protective backing paper will be removed and tension applied by holding the sheet between 2 or more people, this helps reduce wrinkling and creases whilst being laid on the chosen panel. The vinyl is pressed from the middle outwards to remove air bubbles using a squeegee device, and starts to activate the adhesive backing.

If you've ever tried to wrap a single sheet of rolled royal icing around a cake, you'll know getting a 2D sheet to conform to a 3D object takes patience and precision.

By gently lifting the vinyl, applying a little heat from a heat-gun, the vinyl can be reapplied where air bubbles may have formed. The squeegee tool can then work the vinyl flat for a smooth finish.

This process is rinsed and repeated across the vehicle, but when wrapping the cars more extruded parts like mirrors, wheels, interior door, boot trims and grill, a little more time, heat, and stretch is required to make sure the adhesive is well bonded and flush to perfection. 

EDGING AND FINISHING

So we've covered the majority of the Tesla's main areas now on both sides. The image gallery above shows how the team moves down the sides of the car, working across the front edges, doors and roof. This Tesla Model 3 has the futuristic flush-to-car handles which are no issue for our team continuing with the one sheet of vinyl!

With the body of vinyl adhered, the most time is spent making sure those edges are cleanly cut around each panel, making for a seamless finish and no original paint work on display. In this image, you can see how the vinyl has been stretched across the top of the boot, joining the seam where the roof beam ends and is now ready for finishing.

The vinyl is cut just larger than the edge, heated and folded for a long-term bond. Remembering that this 2D sheet is folding around a 3D edge, the cutting precision is paramount, as cutting the vinyl short can leave exposed edges and not enough adhesive grip to stop the vinyl curling back.

PREMIUM FINISHES WE OFFER

We offer to vinyl wrap all externally viewable areas of a car when doing a wrap service. For the Premium Finish, we are also able to offer to work on the internal areas too. This includes the inside of doors and hatches, and all the way around the doors hardware. This makes the car appear to be manufactured as a completely different colour rather than opening the doors and seeing the painted white areas of the original paint job. As you can imagine the exterior of a car contains a lot of open panels, whereas the internal trims require that much more care and attention to cover all facets and faces.

CARING FOR YOUR VINYL CAR WRAP

We would always recommend cleaning your car often to prevent build-up of excess road dust and dirt - and with your investment into wrapping your car, wouldn't you always want it looking its best? Find a provider of car washing equipment that is made to work with vinyl vehicle applications, the best ones on the market will protect glossy finishes, and prevent hazing of matte vinyl finishes.

Do not use brush car washes! They are far too harsh for vinyl, and you will end up tearing or scratching your application - best to stick to a warm, soapy damp cloth and bucket. The same with not washing your car with a wax-based product before wrapping, we do not recommend it for after care either - the wax can mar the texture of your vinyl affecting its appearance.

Pressure Washers are okay, but make sure the psi is much, much lower and never above 1300 PSI, gentler pressure is better. It is possible to safely pressure wash a wrapped vehicle, but it is not the most risk-free solution.