Over the years, more and more technologies have been developed to improve the experience in vinyl wrap film install. Air egress technology is a significant outcome among those.
With them being available in the market, it becomes much easier for installers to handle most vinyl wrap film projects. However, confidence usually comes with pros and cons. It is always best to understand how it works precisely to avoid unnecessary troubles.
Back in the days without air egress technology, all vinyl wrap films are put together with flat adhesive, which means the material will stick to the surface for 100% right away when it touches there. Thus, the stickiness is very strong. To some extent, it is great because you do not have to worry about it lifting easily.
However, this strong adhesive gives headaches to wrappers when it comes to application. It is really hard to pick back up, especially when you need to re-apply (If it is an aggressive film, it might tear as you try to pick it up). Not only that, if bubbles come up after wrapping, you will have to use something sharp to poke a hole and release the air.
But those are no longer problems when the air egress technology came out when manufacturers started creating channels in the adhesive of the liners. There is a pattern where the liner will emboss the adhesive side.
With the help of those channels, when you have bubbles appear on the vinyl wrap film, you will not need to poke them anymore but simply press it and spread the air out through those channels. And it becomes much easier to pick the material up.
On the flip side, the adhesive power of a film with air egress technology is not as strong as a material put together with flat adhesive, although the channels have been made smaller and smaller throughout time. So you might want to add adhesive promoter to certain areas at some point.
Also, you might have to leave a wrapped car for over 24 hours because of the less stickiness until the adhesive is completely settled on the surface. (Learn why in our previous article Make the best of post-heat for better vinyl wrapping result)
There still are vinyl wrap films with flat adhesive available in the market nowadays. They are mostly budget films, cut vinyl, tint, and PPF. As long as you know how the adhesive works, you will be able to choose according to your need and handle the material properly. For more wrap tips, visit teckwrap.com
