Five Tips for Successful Color Shift Wrapping

Color shift wrap has been one of the outstanding head-turners among the whole variety of vinyl wrap films. However, sometimes beauty does not come easy. There is some extra attention the wrapper would need to pay when wrapping with color shift vinyl wrap.

Directional

Color shift vinyl is a multi-layered film, which is slightly thicker than a standard vinyl wrap film, as it needs an extra layer to create the color-shifting effect. And because of this effect, a color shift wrap film is strictly directional. All panels you apply must be in a uniformed direction. In order to do it right, you can check up the logo on the liner before applying and make sure the panels are on the same direction (If there is no logo on the liner, you can mark your panels with arrows beforehand).

Choose Squeegee and Buffer Accordingly

The proper type of squeegee for color shift vinyl is either medium-hard squeegee or the soft one. It is ok to use standard squeegeeing technique, as long as you keep the angle of the squeegee low.

As for buffer, you should make your choice accordingly. A color shift vinyl is usually either gloss or satin. When you have a gloss finish, choose a dry buffer. But if it is satin, use a wet one instead.

Apply Heat Accordingly

How you apply heat also depends on what type of color shift wrap you have. If it is a gloss finish, you can use either propane torch or heat gun. But if you have a satin color shift wrap, heat gun should be your only option.

No 100% Self-Heal

The fact that color shift vinyl is a multi-layered film determines that it would very possibly not 100% self-heal, especially when wrinkles occur during the install. This is because the wrinkles will separate the layers. And if you overstretched the film, the same will happen too, as overstretching can separate the layers as well.

This means you would need to take extra care when wrapping with color shift wrap. Make sure you do it thoroughly and evenly when heating or stretching. Otherwise, the color and finish of the vinyl will be changed.

When you pick back up a panel and trigger the memory effect with heat, there is also a chance that it cannot self-heal. If this is the case, you will have to apply a new panel, which will cost. So bear in mind that you should always keep the panel under 10% stretch.

More Heat for Post-Heat

For post-heat, a color shift vinyl needs more heat than standard wrap films because it is multi-layered. Do not forget to post-heat on all the edges and anywhere the film is stretched.

If you can bear these five tips in mind, wrapping with color shift vinyl should be a piece of cake for you. And you get to enjoy a stunning finish when it is done. Happy wrapping!