Want to change the look of your car? Need your vehicle to stand out in the crowd? Perhaps you just wish to make a personal style statement?
As an external and specialized coating, a vinyl wrap can help you transform the typical look of your car without putting it through a conventional paint job. With different finishes and various designs, it also allows you to flaunt your unique style to the world.
For optimal aesthetic improvement, vinyl car wraps are manufactured to take the shape of the vehicle they are installed on. This makes them seem like an original paint job for the car in question. This also gives way to a flawless installation.
But if your vehicle is damaged or shows signs of wear and tear, it is natural to worry whether the seamless look can be achieved through your vinyl wrap.
From stone damage to paint chips, a typical car can have several problems to start with. To see whether they can pose an issue to your car’s brand new look, let’s learn about the effects they can have on vinyl wraps.
It’s Typical for a Working Car to Have Some Sort of Damage On It
Lamborghini Bumper Scrape
Even when your vehicle is in a working condition and drives you from one place to another without any issues, it doesn’t mean that it’s in a perfect shape. It can be functioning properly from a technical point of view. But it can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to visual perfection.
For instance, scratches and dents are normal for a car that doesn’t get much maintenance done overtime. Similarly, paint chips and body fillers are also typical for a vehicle that has been used for a few years. Stone chips are another common problem, and quite usual for those cars which drive off road or in rougher conditions. With that being said, these cars can still function without a hitch as long as their main components are taken care of.
If your car is part of such a group, you don’t have to feel ashamed about it. Similar to how not every human is a runway model, not every car is fresh off the showroom. Plenty of people don’t pay much attention to the visual condition of their car, especially when it doesn’t have any negative effects on their driving experience.
But when it comes to installing a new wrap on your car, paying attention to your vehicle is no longer optional. You absolutely have to fulfill its visual demands, and you need to meet them before getting the wrap job done for it.
Car Wraps Amplify Every Contour of a Vehicle
xpel trackwrap
As mentioned above, car wraps do an excellent job of becoming a part of the vehicle that they are installed on. When handled by a seasoned expert, it’s difficult to tell whether a car has an exceptional paint job or a high quality vinyl wrap. This is one of the many reasons why car wraps have been around for well over half a century, even if their widespread usage has become clearer in the past decade.
But this feature of clinging to every contour of a car also raises questions for those who don’t have a highly maintained vehicle. If there’s any kind of noticeable flaw on the exterior of your car, you need to get it checked before moving forward with getting it wrapped. Otherwise, you not only amplify the twists and curves of your car’s body, but also enhance all kinds of deformities that it may hold within its exterior.
This effect can be quite significant, to the level where even a small scratch can become a focal point of your car wrap. Since the vinyl material is built to react this way to every single car it’s applied to, it will only be doing its job at that moment. But this perfect execution in Los Angeles would bring a world of trouble to your end.
Can You Install a Wrap Over Body Filler?
Using body fillers or putty is quite a common practice to repair dents in a car. Even when your dents are resolved by an expert, they can often leave behind noticeable pockets. A body filler such as Bondo fills in these hollow spaces and brings them in level to the rest of the body, so your car can look good as new again.
Since putty is translucent and has a distinct white color, any areas in the car that have body filler on them need to be painted over. While this hides the presence of fillers to a great extent, it sometimes does not level it off completely. The mixture of applied resin and paint can often stick out on the auto body, especially when the work is performed by someone with limited experience.
If you install a vinyl wrap over such a car, it can cling to all these dips and bumps that are left over by the body filler. As a result, it can look extremely unappealing and out of place. This is why, it is recommended that before you have your car wrapped, you check it for any body filler jobs.
This doesn’t mean that a body filler completely rules out the possibility of installing a car wrap. Since putty or Bondo is used quite widely all over the world, it is common for every other car to have it applied for restoration jobs. This is why, a car wrap can be applied over body filler, with a few stipulations attached.
First of all, it is important to note that wrap films do not stick over bare resin or body filler. The filler needs to be covered with a primer, sealer, or body paint in order for the vinyl adhesive to work.
In addition to that, the body filler also needs to be completely leveled to the surface. This can be done by sanding the body filler into a smooth surface that doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. An experienced auto body expert can help you achieve this goal.
As long as these requirements are fulfilled, you can easily have a vinyl wrap installed over body filler and enjoy the perks of a whole new look to your car.
Can You Easily Wrap a Car With Stone Chips?
If you install your wrap film right over these stone chips, it can make the damage look more prominent by sticking to the hollow contour of the stone dents. This can amplify the negative effects of these stone chips and disrupt the whole look of your car wrap.
But if stone damage is fixed properly before vinyl wrap installation, the final installation looks as seamless as though it’s performed on a brand new car.
You can fix stone damage by consulting with a seasoned auto body professional. These experts can fill in the dents with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) paint and then sand off the dried material to create a smooth surface. You can then install the vinyl car over the repaired stone chip area without any worries.
Can You Wrap a Car Over Paint Chips?
Paint chips are yet another common yet highly frustrating problem. The issue is so widespread that it is found all over the world, with even luxury vehicles falling prey to it from time to time.
Simply put, paint chips are tiny scratches or dents in the surface of your vehicle. They are quite similar in appearance to the stone chips defined above. However, unlike stone chips, they can be found anywhere on the vehicle, even around its back. They occur when the paint of your car chips or cracks due to issues such as abrasions, scratches, and exposure to weather.
If you install a car wrap over an area with paint chips, it can cause the vinyl film to stick to the scratches and dents. It not only looks out of place, but also causes larger problems in the future. For instance, if the paint starts to peel off under the vinyl film, it can cause scuffs and bumps under the wrap.
In order to steer clear of these problems, it’s essential that you look into fixing the paint chips before having a wrap installed on your car. Once again, consulting with an auto body professional can help you through this process. By shedding off peeled chips and painting over the affected area, such a professional can help you resolve this problem in an effective way. You can then install your car wrap over the previously affected area without stressing about the outcome.
Vinyl Wraps Can Be Installed Over Most Cars After Resolving the Underlying Issues
These points make it clear that as long as you resolve the underlying issue with the help of a professional, you can install vinyl wraps over any type of car. You just need to consult with an experienced expert who can guide you through the process and execute it for you in an efficient way.
To learn whether your car needs additional auto body work before it can enjoy the look of a car wrap, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today. We will be glad to inspect your and advise the best possible way to obtain your desired result from the process.