Vinyl wrap tips: Avoiding dots and adhesive lines

   There are times when you are working on material onto an area, but every time you pause, adhesive line occurs. This often happens when you work into a recessed area, or if you are working on a rear subject.

   Even though you clean the surface good, and you pull the material on, you create 100% glass, you end up noticing that there are something look like little dots right on the ridge (mainly on a horizontal surface like hood and roof). It seems like there are tons of specks and dirt got onto the vinyl.

   This is getting people frustrated whenever they wrap a roof and get that, especially on a hood. The peak creates a problem. And you get those dots, as well as adhesive line. For those installers who want to create that beautiful and perfect finish, it is frustrating. You do everything correct, but the adhesive gets those dots.

   The main reason for this is soft adhesive, so it floats into the paint. But because the adhesive is more elastic, sometimes it flakes off, especially when you pull on a horizontal surface, as basically what it is doing there is creating tension points. And then it shifts the adhesive off, which does not go back to itself.

   If you pull the film low and flat to the surface and getting it very tight, the adhesive is dragged across the area and shifted as you pull. This would lead to those little dots on the ridges, as well as on the flat area. And as I squeegee it, they would jump out. And sometimes they look like dirt.

   The right way to do in this case is to pick the material high and loose, instead of pulling 100% hard, pull 80% hard. The trick is, instead of pulling low and flat across the surface, pull the material high and loose so it can float with you.

   Once it is loose, you pick it up and kind of flop it down, and hook the corner. Once the corner is locked, run your finger on the ridge rather than squeegee it, so the material is not going to shift off the ridge and then the adhesive would be flaking off. It is really important to lock the ridge before you go to the middle corner. Pull just enough tension. And the material will really even out.

Remember: pick it up high, and hook. Don’t drag, pick it up quick and hook. The final step is to lock it on edge, spread the tension out nice and even, pulling in triangles.

   One thing you have to bear in mind is that, when it comes to recessed area, instead of squeegeeing it, put your glove on, and use your palm to go through it. Only use your squeegee on the flat area. This will help you avoid those frustrating little specks and give you a perfect finish as you expected.

Vinyl wrap tips: Avoiding dots and adhesive lines