There would be a time when you - or if you are a wrapper, your client, in this case, are desperate to wrap a car but this vehicle that you want to wrap has quite a few damaged sections, where there is damaged the clear coat, paint or even rust.
Previously in our articles in regards to pre-install, we would always mention thoroughly cleaning, especially checking every inch of the surface, making sure wax, oil, and dirt have been removed. And not only that, but rust is also a big part! Because if there is rust spot on the surface and you did not remove it, it will grow underneath and affect the performance of the vinyl adhesive.
However, if a vehicle is already damaged like what we mentioned above and a person is dying to get it wrapped, you really cannot do much to fix the situation, although you can still try as much as possible to finish the installation.
What you have to do first is to explain to your client about the situation, for example, because the vehicle has already been damaged, if a wrap goes on, when it is removed, a bit more paint might be pulled off during the process.
Also, you will have to let your client know what you would have to do about it so to ensure the performance of the wrap. But s/he would be able to see the indentation when the job is done.
So here is the question now: what you have to do about it when there are damaged areas on a vehicle that is to be wrapped?
First, at all, you have to think about how to make sure the film sticks on that damaged area, because there might be an open section, paint chips and rust here and there.
What you can do is to prep the car, first make sure it is thoroughly clean. And after a bit of cleaning, you will have a better idea in terms of what is going on with the damaged section.
And now, you can use a paper towel to try your best to get off the rust as much as possible. When it comes to areas that have paint chips around or open section, try to sand it down to minimize any edges.
You can also take a scratchless kind of sponge or pad to sand it down or buffer down as much as you can without damaging too much of the rest of the body, just to sand down the edge a little bit and prep the surface.
And it now comes to a point using another tool, which is an adhesive promoter. You can run a line on the damaged area with it. The adhesive promoter is going to help the material hold on these weak sections on the vehicle.
When you do this, you can use an applicator which is used primarily for a printer, and you can get it quickly in a pint shop. It holds the promoter well for a long time, much better than using a paper towel. You can dip it in once. But as you go over the section, make sure you get a nice and even coat with the adhesive.
No absolute proof using this will hold the material 100% well, but it does help quite a lot. But at least the material will go on; it supports much better than just a damaged and untreated surface.
After you put the adhesive promoter on, remember to let it dry for 5 to 45 minutes (referring to the product manual for details). Just do not put the material on right away to the wet adhesive promoter, because it will possibly damage the adhesive of the film.
After around 45 minutes when the promoter is dry, you can put the material on. The trick is though, as soon as you are applying, do not pick the film back up as you go over the section. You commit to it. Because if you pick it up and paint comes off the material, there will be cost.
After you finish the application, you would want to come back with an edge seal pen and put an excellent seal there. Just try your best to make the section as secure as possible.
These are basically what you can do when dealing with a vehicle with damaged sections. If your client cannot accept what you explain to him/her and you really cannot do much to fix the situation, you might want to advise him/her to go to an automobile shop and to get it repaired first.
