Basic Vehicle Graphics Info
Advancements in plastics have led to new types of vinyl designed specifically for wrap advertising, including vinyl sheets that feature bubble-preventing air channels. Microscopic glass beads are used to prevent an adhesive from functioning until the user is ready (the beads allow the material to be repeatedly lifted and reapplied during the wrapping process, without compromising the longevity of the wrap). The vinyl is heated with a heat gun or torch for the purpose of molding the material around objects.[5]
Decals can be made to cover side and rear windows on a vehicle, but for safety reasons, the front windows used by the driver are not covered. The decals on side windows are typically perforated, so that it is still possible for passengers to look outside. This See-through graphic technology originated in the 1980s, with the first dominant patent registered by a British company called Contra Vision.[6]
Cast Vinyl
The term “cast” refers to the manufacturing process of this type of vinyl. Cast films are considered the industry premium. These films start in a liquid state with the ingredients blended together and then poured onto a casting sheet. The casting process produces a thin gauge film—usually 1- to 2-mil thick. By casting film on a sheet, the film stays in a more relaxed state, resulting in a durable, flexible, conformable and dimensionally stable film that retains color well. These films are ideal for complex surfaces such as vehicles and where a smooth finished look is expected.
Calendered Vinyl
Calendered vinyl film or Calendered vinyl sheeting, is manufactured by mixing powdered PVC, liquid softener and coloring agent into a molten dough-like mixture. The mixture is then extruded through a die, and pressed into an increasingly thin sheet using a series of hard pressure rollers, called calendering rolls. When the material reaches the calendaring rolls, it passes through a series of decreasing gaps, which, in turn, increases the temperature and uniformity of the mixture. After each pass, the film becomes thinner and wider until the material is formed into a thin sheet of vinyl. The vinyl is then cooled, wound, and later coated with adhesive.[7]
Issues
While vinyl wrapping can temporarily protect a car’s paint job from superficial damages, like sun fading and scratching, it does not provide any additional protection against physical impacts (dings or dents) that can cause the paint to chip. Damages can occur to the underlying paint, particularly if it is not properly cured before adhesives and/or vinyl wrap is applied. If a vehicle is repainted prior to installing a vinyl wrap, the paint must cure to manufactures specifications before a vinyl wrap can be applied safely. Failure to wait for the paint manufacturer’s cure time may result in paint or clear coat damage when the vinyl wrap is removed from the vehicle’s surface.[8]
Legality
A number of municipalities have introduced strict laws in order to mandate against mobile advertisements; this has partially been due to the fact that wrap advertisements are purposefully circulated throughout high-density areas. New York City is a notable example, where any sort of motorized advertisement is outlawed. Mobile billboards have been identified as a contributing factor in the city’s already-problematic traffic congestion.[9]
Other Kinds of Vinyl Wrap
Color Change Wraps
These wraps are similar in that a vinyl (although a cast vinyl sheet) is used to cover parts or whole vehicles in a new color or in a protective form of a color matching vinyl that matches an oem paint color.
Paint Protection Films
Paint Protection Films or PPF are clear and oem paint color match vinyl films designed to protect paint. Clear PPF allows the oem paint color to show through the protective vinyl and color matching vinyl films replicate the OEM color with a protective vinyl. This Wikipedia article describes PPF in more detail.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrap_advertising which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).