Vehicle wrap designs range from colorful logos created to advertise a business to sleek, a variety of car wrap colors for sports cars, pick-up trucks, and the family sedan. Vehicle wrap specialists will tell you that the most important step in wrapping a vehicle is the design phase, but the actual application of the vehicle wraps must occur in specific conditions, too.
Applying a color changing wrap actually takes quite a few steps, and each type of vehicle requires a different number of steps to successfully apply the wrap. For example, a simple wrap applied to the rear of a box truck might require fewer steps than the application of car wraps on a sports car that features several different panels.
Step One: Designing and Printing the Graphics for Vinyl Wraps
Well-known car wrapping experts like SkinzWraps not only employ experienced technicians who install the wraps, but they also house a staff dedicated to the graphic design process. The first step in wrapping a vehicle requires a computer and a program designed to create the design on a small scale.
After the client approves the design, the graphic artist will compile the digital files and begin the printing process. The files created for vinyl wraps are very large, and the designs are printed onto specialized 3m vinyl car wrap pieces that have an adhesive on one side. When the wrapping technician applies the vinyl to the vehicle, he will use a combination of heat and pressure to adhere the material to the vehicle.
Step Two: Prepping the Car and the Vinyl
The average vehicle has a variety of pieces on it that might not require wrapping, such as logos, fender flares, headlight casings, and handles. Every vehicle has a different number of items that must be removed before the wrap is applied, which means some vehicles require a rather time-consuming wrapping process and others are accomplished with much less effort.
In addition to removing various pieces of the vehicle, the technician must also make sure each vinyl wrap piece that will be applied to the vehicle is the right approximate shape. Sometimes, vehicle wraps that will advertise a company’s logo and phone number are applied with two layers. One layer will feature the background image or color, and a top layer will feature the company’s contact information.
Step Three: Cleaning the Vehicle & Wrapping the Car
In addition to removing some parts of the car and prepping the vinyl wrap, it’s also essential that the car is cleaned without any wax and to the point where all traces of soap film have been removed. A freshly cleaned vehicle ensures the vinyl will adhere properly. Wrapping experts usually suggest the vehicle’s owner cleans the car the day before wrapping will commence, so the surface of the vehicle is completely dry when wrapping begins.
The full process for wrapping a car, which includes removal of items like side mirrors and logos, can take somewhere between seven to nine hours. However, some larger vehicles and complex car wraps take even longer and require a few days of work. Vinyl wraps are also always applied when the vehicle is inside the installation facility or other indoor environment.
Get a Vehicle Wrap from SkinzWraps
Rely on the technical expertise and creativity of the graphic artists and installation techs at SkinzWraps for your commercial vehicle wrap, fleet vehicle wrap, or sports car wrap. We’ll wrap anything, and we’ll bring our years of experience to your project, whether it’s wrapping a dozen commercial vehicles or creating a sleek wrap for your brand new car. Contact us today!