Vehicle wrapping tips. Roof wrapping without damaging paint

When it comes to roof wrapping, there are times when installers accidentally cut directly on the paint or overstretch the film if not doing in a proper way. So today we will introduce you two ways to cut excess film away from the roof gaps, which help you avoid cutting on the body and in the meantime, promise you full coverage on the section and good vehicle wrapping.

The first one requires a knife as we would usually do, but the other only needs TRI Line from 3M Knifeless Tape.

First at all, let’s see what the situation on this area is: mostly, there is a natural break between the roof section and the driver/ passenger side as you are wrapping the roof. And there is usually a molding there which can be easily removed in most cases.

When we get to this break, what we would usually do is to bridge it with our material. Some might jam it in, which will lead to overstretching. Thus, what installers often do is to pick the material up from either side and tuck it into the base. Then they would come back with their knife – usually vertical to the surface and make their cut, where there is a high chance of cutting directly on the body – and it is extremely hard to make a straight cut in this case.

So how can we avoid this? Here are our two solutions, which does not require much preparation and are very simple to do.

The first method is the one we mentioned that requires a knife. Before we start, we are going to bridge the gap with material as usual. But instead of picking the material and tuck it in, we can get our plastic knife and have the blade just barely out. The material is already set tight there over the gap.

What we need to do is to press the knife right in the middle of the groove, which is going to get us around one centimeter (half an inch) material over the groove. Then set it down to the gap. Technically speaking, what we do here is a giant relief cut. But it is safe enough because there is no knife touching the paint.

It is a quick and easy way to do – just bridge the gap, get our blade short and make the cut, which also gets us a full coverage on the roof. The only negative part is that it might hard for beginners to cut it perfectly straight. But of course, it is way better than cutting on the body.

So this is the first solution above, which involves the knife. For the second method, we will have to get our Tri Line prepared first. The 6mm one is enough – but you can use 9mm to get it a bit deeper.

What we would do here is to take the one string Tri Line on the upper area of the roof. Then slightly put the two other strings into the groove. Before start, the application, pick up the tri line and cut the two inside lines – so the outside line which is deep in the groove is the one that is going to be pulled. Once the material is bridging the gap, there is tension that will help us make our cut very clean there.

By using this way, there is no knife involved, thus there is no chance of cutting the paint at all. Even more, it helps make the cut perfectly uniform. In the meantime, it promises a full coverage on the section.

However, there are still things that we need to bear in mind: Do not do the middle part first then feed the material to the corners, because you will be getting wrinkles if you do this.

So here are two solutions we have for you to avoid damaging the vehicle body when cutting on the roof. They are simple and quick, which save you a lot of installing time and keep you from troubles. The most important thing is that it ensures the best quality in vehicle wrapping.

If you have not tried it and are still worried when it comes to the roof, why not give it a shoot, comment below and let us know how it goes!