Installations in various weather conditions

How does weather affect your vehicle wrap?

In colder months, it is more challenging to install vinyl wraps. The best temperature range for a vinyl vehicle wrap is between 60 to 80 degrees. If it is too hot or cold, the material will become too soft or stiff, making it challenging to wrap precisely. It’s essential to think about your vehicle installation's weather condition and location.

Why does the temperature of the surface of a vehicle matter?

If the material, vehicle, and workplace are too cold, the wrap will become too stiff and rigid to work with. It can impact the adhesive bond and have a hard time adhering to the vehicle’s curves.  It can also become difficult for the wrap to conform and contort with the ridges and curves of the vehicle. Like your body, when it is too cold, the wrap also freezes in places and becomes hard to pull or stretch; this can also cause breaking or tears in the vinyl, just like you can pull or tear a muscle. The adhesive can lose a lot of its tack and wouldn’t bond to the surface. Condensation can also form between the vehicle and the wrap making the bonding process difficult. 

If the material, vehicle, and workplace are too hot, it will become very stretchy, soft, and pliable, making it hard to handle. It can overstretch and cause discoloration in the areas where it is overstretched. The material is created in very high temperatures, and when you decide to install it in high temperatures, it goes back to the state it was created in and becomes malleable. UV rays also cause Ultraviolet damage, discoloration, and the wrap to warp.

Indoor installation versus outdoor

Indoor installations are done mainly by professional vehicle wrap companies. When doing it indoors, they can manipulate the temperature and conditions of the workspace. If a vehicle wrap is done outdoors, you have chances of rain, wind, and various temperatures affecting the outcome. Weather can also delay vehicle wraps or limit the time spent on a vehicle wrap. If there is a possibility of rain, it can cause the team to rush or not finish it in one day. 

For a professional installer, the weather may not always be a challenge, and they can work with the weather conditions presented, depending on the circumstance. There are limits to everything, though, and extreme weather conditions create difficulty in outdoor installations on both ends of the spectrum. It becomes preferable, in those cases, to be indoors.

At Total Truck Branding, we take advantage of both indoor and outdoor installations. This allows us to take advantage of natural light to envision how the vehicle will look when driven on a day-to-day basis, ensuring you have the best quality and detail.

Why should you laminate the vinyl before doing a wrap?

Over-lamination of vinyl improves the life span and quality of the vehicle wrap. It improves the….

• Durability
• Protects against UV rays
• Protects vehicle from Scratches
• Prevents Fading.

Laminating makes the material a few millimeters thicker, making it easier to install and more challenging to tear when the vinyl is stretched in awkwardly shaped parts of the vehicle. Here at Total Truck Branding, we always laminate vehicle wraps before installation. This ensure our customers get the best quality and life span for their vehicle wraps.