Many factors can determine whether a finish is perfect or not, and Post-heating is one of them. But it is also a step that some people would neglect or even skip during an installation.

A vehicle is made up of many recessed areas that you will have to stretch a vinyl wrap film over 10% when applying. For example, mirror, door handle, license plate area, and bumper… This is where you should post-heat when you finish installing. Otherwise, it will affect the durability of the material.

Why post-heating

For most vehicle wraps, there is a memory effect. Whenever a film is stretched over 10%, the vinyl will tend to go back to its original shape while the adhesive is trying to hold the section as you want. Thus, this tension will continuously build up, and will mostly lead to the lifting of the material. You have to post-heat those areas to kill the memory effect to avoid this.

Get rid of the air

Before post-heating, ensure you get rid of all the air underneath the vinyl film, especially for materials that do not have air-egress technology. As you heat the car wrap up to a high temperature, the film will tend to split if there is air underneath. So if there are air bubbles, make sure you poke them before post-heating.

Precise temperature

To destroy the memory effect of a vinyl film, you have to heat material up to a specific temperature. Thus, post-heating is not just about heating but precision. This is why you will need an IR temperature gauge to help. Do it precisely, and your wrap will stay on the surface securely as you want.  (You can check our previous article here to learn more about the post-heating temperature)

Since you now know the importance of post-heating, why not equip yourself with more advanced techniques in this field? Keep learning here.