Vinyl wrap skills: How to Read Deep Recessed Areas

   It is common that deep recessed areas are pretty tricky for applying wrapping film on vehicles. It is bassically because there puts a lot of stress and tension on materials.

   Often times, if you install in a slightly wrong way or you pull the film incorrectly, the film is going to bound back over time. Other times, if you are applying in the wrong way, the material is going to whiten, or wrinkle, or coming up with lots of distortion, especially if you are working with printed film.

   In this article we will be taking a thorough overview of deep recessed areas, to give you an insight in terms of what to pay attention to and what would happen if you did not.

   Generally, there is a golden rule to follow for doing recessed areas, which is that you have to think about angle, depth, width and the material (e.g., specific material limitations).

   If we take a van as an example, and go through different recessed areas there to see how to approach a different kind of those – or sometimes we prefer to say “read the recessed areas.”

   First of all, we can take a look at the top section, where there are a few sections in a square shape. The angle there is probably 75 degrees, so it is deep. And the depth is about one inch (or two centimeters).

   Instead of stretching the material into the corner, we can bridge the material over the entire length of the recessed area and do the corners first.

   However, before we do anything, there are also other things to consider. For instance, bear in mind that when you do recessed areas, size does not matter. It is important to pay just as much attention as you would to a more critical spot.

   The reason why we say that is because sometimes people think this recessed area is big and the other is tiny, and they are less cautious about the “tiny” one. But the fact is, it is crucial for installers always to calculate the angle, depth, width.

   If you come down from the square a little bit, you would find this tiny small recessed area along the side, looking like it does not matter at all. But if you put it on a micro scale, blow it up on a wall, this is going to look just the same as for the square section. So do not get fooled with those “This is smaller than that” things.

   In fact, this angle here is too stiff and deep enough. And according to experience, if you work in a way where you bridge it and heat it in in a “standard” way, 95% with most films will have a very high chance of popping out.

   So in this case, it is best to feed it in. If it is not possible, choose over the right material, or approach differently (or with a different technique). But remember: do not get fooled by the size.

   When you carry on moving lower down, there are different types of recessed areas. One is about 3-4 inches wide, with a pretty mellow angle and not very deep, which means it is less critical. And the other is half the width but with a more severe angle. So you will have to go deeper, which means this recessed area is going to have much more tension than the former one.

   Here is another point to keep in mind: If there is any point of the vehicle where you have an open recessed area on both sides, we would always recommend you not to bridge the material and then heat it in. Otherwise, there is always a chance of popping out. And it takes time for you to go back and post-heat it. One better way is feeding the material in, and working it out. And then there would be no tension in the area.

These tips will help you speed up your installation process, while keeping it in good quality. So bear this information about recessed areas in mind, as they will save you from lots of troubles.