There are times when your vehicle wrap film gets really cooked like wrinkles bunching up sections by sections, especially when you are a beginning installer. But picking up a panel when it is already on the body of the vehicle can be tricky sometimes.
Today we are going to talk about how to deal with wrinkles when the vehicle wrap film is already on the body, and how you should squeegee it back down to make it smooth and flat.
For case study, let’s say we have a whole piece of vehicle wrap film on the side that covers both doors and goes literally from the top to bottom. And there are wrinkles near the gap, which you can only see them when you get close enough. The worse thing is that those wrinkles are just bunching up there and you cannot pop them.
To fix those wrinkles, instead of picking up the whole panel, the better way is to separate the panel into two sections by making a cut through the gap between the two doors, which will save you from a lot of troubles and help you pick the vehicle wrap film back up more easily. So here is rule number one: Do not try to fight the whole panel when you can actually separate it.
Once it is separated into two sections, pick the vehicle wrap film up from the bottom. Remember, those wrinkles will not actually come out as long as the film is still attached to the body. So lift the material up and pull from the bottom evenly all the way to the top. The reason why we have to do it is to trigger the memory of the film so that the wrinkles can go away.
But remember, when your free hand is lifting the material up, remember it should not be stretching, but just simply keeping the material away. Otherwise, you might overstretch it.
For vehicle wrap films that have PVC or memory on, they can self-heal. This is where our goal is. But as you pick up the material, the tension would appear. You should then give the material a little bit of heat and relax it. Wait until the film goes cool.
Remember, your free hand should not be pulling and stretching. Just simply hold the film away, let it relax and cool. You will then see the panel go back smooth again, and those tiny wrinkles are gone because they are self-healed by the heat.
But now the challenge is, without the backing paper on and with the vehicle wrap film being picked up again, how can we squeegee it back down straight and flat?
The trick is to work with your two hands together. Use your right hand to squeegee the vehicle wrap film down, while your free hand is responsible for creating glass. And as we keep mentioning, squeegee at a 45-degree angle when you do it. Also, do not do it with too much of your squeegee, probably just a quarter-inch of it. Otherwise, there would be tension.
Squeegeeing down little section by section, just try to get to the point where you create glass from left to right. It is especially critical to be patient, as well as being able to read your film at this point. Reading your vehicle wrap film, make your judgment, know what you can do and what you cannot, then squeegee accordingly. When it needs, give a little bit more heat, wait until it cools down, and continue again until you work the material back out.
To conclude, in order to fix wrinkles when you have to pick the panel back up, first check out if it is possible for you to separate it into smaller sections so that you can lift the material easily. Next, trigger the memory of the film, use heat to relax and self-heal it. To finish, simply just squeegee down with enough portion of your squeegee, read the wrinkles during the time and do accordingly.
By following these steps, you should then be able to manage wrinkles easily. Picking the panel back up should no longer be a nightmare for you.
