How To Maintain Your Car Wrap
The high quality and expertly installed vinyl car wraps here at Queen City Tint & Design are beautiful and long lasting. With the proper care your vehicle wrap will last and maintain its vibrance for many years. There are some easy steps to keep your wrap protected and looking its best. Read on to learn how to maintain your car wrap.
Steps to Maintain Your Car Wrap
- Keep your vehicle in a garage or protect it with a quality car cover. This makes a huge difference as far as how long your wrap lasts and how good it looks for its lifetime.Â
- When your car gets dirty, wash it. Wash your wrapped vehicle by hand with soft, gentle towels or sponges and a non-abrasive cleaner. We like microfiber towels or automotive sponges. You can find gentle car cleaners specifically formulated for car wraps, like 3M® Car Wash Soap 39000. Rinse your car well after washing and dry it with a microfiber towel.
- Spot clean as needed. Bird poop, tree sap, and insect splats should be cleaned as soon as possible. These tough stains should be allowed to soften with warm, soapy water, rinsed, and dried. If this doesn’t work try 3M® Citrus Base Cleaner, denatured alcohol or a 2:1 mixture isopropyl alcohol to water.
Things to Avoid When You Have a Vehicle Wrap
- Automatic car washes. The brushes can be hard on vehicle wraps and degrade or damage them. This can cause peeling and lifted edges.
- The sun. Extreme heat and sun can be brutal on a wrapped vehicle kept outside unprotected. Over extended periods of time, sun and heat exposure can cause your wrap to become “baked in.†This can damage the paint underneath and increase the cost of removal when the time comes to replace it.Â
- Pollutants. Pollutants are hard to avoid, but they can do a number on the vinyl of a car wrap. The keys to avoiding pollutant damage is protecting your vehicle in a garage or with a cover and washing your wrap regularly.Â
- Wiping a hot car wrap. Never rub a car wrap when it’s hot! This can cause distortion or even damage your wrap.
- Harsh cleaners. Never use cleaners that aren’t mild or specially formulated for vehicle wraps. Solvents and oil based cleaners are too harsh to use on vinyl wraps.Â
- Gas spills. Avoid gas spills getting on your wrap when you are pumping gas. If this happens don’t panic, wipe it off and when you get home, spot clean the area. If it is left on your wrap it can cause the vinyl to degrade.Â
Maintaining your car wrap isn’t difficult. It simply requires some knowledge, consideration, and a bit of work. It is all worth it when you consider that you can extend the life of your vinyl wrap from 3 to 5 year to 8 to 10 years! If you have any questions about maintaining your Queen City Tint & Design car wrap give us a call at 980-498-1549 or shoot us an email here.
