Wrap around fixed sidelight with vinyl wrap film

When wrapping a car with vinyl wrap film, taking off hardware can help you wrap much further and achieve higher quality. But in some cases, there are certain parts that you cannot remove, and you will have to wrap around them in proper techniques. For example, the sidelight on most vehicles’ fender is removable, while some are not.

When a sidelight cannot be removed, some installers might tend to bridge the vinyl wrap film over the section, and force the material to the gap around the sidelight, then apply heat to kill the memory.

However, by doing so, you will be overstretching and distorting the vinyl wrap film. If it is a full print film or textured film, it will stand out obviously. Or if it is a matte film, it is going to gloss as you overstretch the material.

To correctly wrap around a fixed sidelight, you should bridge the film over the section, and squeegee the material down to the surface without forcing it. Then, sharpen your blade, and make relief cuts along the top, left, and right sides of the sidelight (Do not cut along the bottom side yet).

These relief cuts will help relax the film. You can now pull the whole panel for the fender from the bottom to the left and to the right, evening out the tension and forming it well around the sidelight with your squeegee.

As the material around the light is well set now, you can easily pick the film back up around there, and tuck it underneath the light without having to force it. When the film is well wrapped around the light, use the tip of your blade to cut on the side of the light, and remove the excess material.

This cut will leave you just enough extra material, which you can use your squeegee to tuck underneath the sidelight. Once this final step is done, you would have achieved a perfect wrap around the light.

It is safe and high-quality, which will not bounce back because of overstretching or distorting. And the durability is promising. Wrapping around other hardware? Check out our previous article Wrap around Hardware with High Efficiency to learn relevant tips and get the best result.