How to Read Your Vinyl Wrap Film and Create Glass

Reading the vinyl wrap film is a must for every wrap job in order to get rid of bubbles or wrinkles on material and create glass. It might be not as complicated when you apply a film to a window or wall, but it is particularly crucial for vehicle wrap application because the surface of a car is not always flat, there are corners and compound curves, where they tend to draw attention to bubbles and wrinkles.

The ultimate goal for any car wrap installer is to create glass and get a paint-like finish. But wrinkles and bubbles are certainly standing in the way – Apparently you cannot squeegee on the surface when these come up, otherwise, you would very possibly create permanent wrinkles on the vehicle wrap film.

But to understand how to handle it, the wrapper must read the material before handling it. When you spot a wrinkle or bubble, you first have to be clear why it happens.

It is generally because there is tension in the film. But if you do not read the vinyl wrap film first, you would not have figured out where the tension comes from, where you need to pick the car wrap back up, and to what direction you need to pull.

For example, if you see a bunch of wrinkles on the section you are wrapping that is going up and away, it means you will need to pick the material up and pull it downwards. This is kind of an obvious guidance that you can figure out from your first observation.

But then it is about how you pick the vinyl wrap film back up. To answer this question, it is important that you do not pull with two closed hands and straight, because there will be new wrinkles coming up if you just pull straight and away.

The solution is to pull outwards in the shape of a triangle – so your two hands should be on different sides, wide away from each other. Pick the vinyl wrap film up, pull with firm tension (not just hang the film up loose though, because this way you would make wrinkles too) and in 45 degrees, create glass and pull it back down, then you can tack the film.

By pulling the material cold, you will avoid overstretching the film. And you get rid of the wrinkles and bubbles. The material is pulled back down flat. Once you have made glass, you can then squeegee on the surface, and you are now on the right track to finish up the job.