Topic: Vinyl wrap issue....

[Kagem]

Hello everybody! As many of you may know, the first mod i ever did to the car was to change the colour with vinyl wrapping. Yes a very worhty mod regarding the cost and the result. Now, after one & a half year and thanks to the neighborhood cats, the car has many many scratshes on every side. My question is how can i remove those scratches from the vinyl. If they were made upon the natural colour of the car i would take it to a specialist and have him remove the scratches the traditional way many of you might already have done. But how can scratches be removed from a vinyl wrapped car? Any opinions or suggestions are welcomed, feel free to ask anything, help needed, thank you in advance....

[Go-N Def]

Do you have pictures of the damage?

[Sly Bob]

Are they light scratches or deep gouges?

[Kagem]

Most of them are shallow scratches, which means that above the colour vinyl there is a protective transparent membrane, this membrane is mostly destroyed from the scratches, here are some pics i just took....
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/5702/dsci0292z.jpg
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4459/dsci0294.jpg
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/1271/dsci0296w.jpg
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5404/dsci0298d.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1106/dsci0299.jpg
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/7137/dsci0300.jpg
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2807/dsci0301j.jpg

[NormSky]

Interesting.  Have you tried a liquid wax?

[tazzman]

Have you tried killing the beasties.

[1LILNDN]

Kagem I would say ASAP Graphic Design (Tony and Thersa) from Bull Run  . But not in our Venders anymore.
 try Jessica   Beach Party Products - Custom Fuse Box Covers for the Kappa community     

they also do Vinyl work

[Kagem]

Interesting.  Have you tried a liquid wax?

No i haven't, that's the problem, wax won't do any good i suppose....

Have you tried killing the beasties.

Due to my being an animal lover i try not to harm a living creature because of a car, they just don't understand the damage they cause....

Kagem I would say ASAP Graphic Design (Tony and Thersa) from Bull Run  . But not in our Venders anymore.
 try Jessica   Beach Party Products - Custom Fuse Box Covers for the Kappa community
they also do Vinyl work

I am from really far away and distance does not help. I hope to find a repair kit as to make these scratches invinsible, or something like that, and avoid changing the whole wrapping parts of the car, it would be like doing it from the start. You think i can communicate ''Beach Party Products'' through e-mail? If so it would help a lot....

[Arabas]

Hey Kagem, what did the guys that did the work tell you?
do they have a solution or not?

[Kagem]

They told me i have to go there so they can see themselves, but it's likely they change the part that is damaged, if that's the only way then i have to remake the whole car, it's no worth it....

[DickW]

Kagem, go to "personal messages" above the bar that says hom. forum,new post etc. click on messages. when that page comes up on the left side under messages you will see "new Message" Click on that and in the to box type beachparty. Then send her a message with your problem.

[Kagem]

I'll try that, thank you very much!

[old goat]

I have vinyl stripes on my car, I was told to just wax them like the rest of the car. It's the best way to get them clean, just don't use any king of polish as it will scratch the vinyl.

Stir fried cat is very tasty!

[sunfun]

I have the Ventureshield wrap on the bumpers and lower panels on my car and the person who put it on recommended Plexus.  It is easy to use and seemed to help clean it up.  Do an online search and there is plenty of info on it.  Good luck.

[Kagem]

Thanks for the info, i shall take a good look at this product, never heard of it so far....

[BeachParty]

The Plexus is a good idea too. It won't get rid of the scratches, but it may fill them enough to make it less noticeable.

[ChopTop]

Interesting question because I never thought to ask if vinyl wrap was colored throughout or if it’s just top coated in color.  If the vinyl is colored throughout you may be able to polish the appearance of light scratches (much like you can paint) out.
wrap. http://www.corbingraphics.com/accessories_wrapproducts.htm

I remember seeing one automotive show several years ago where they vinyl wrapped a car in an American flag wrap.  But when they were applying it the back side of the vinyl was totally white which means the colors were just printed on the top.

If the vinly is only top coated and you polish too much or use the wrong type of abrasive it may reveal the original base color of the vinyl.  Basically the same principal as polishing lacquer cars of old.  Then the automotive industry moved to a tri-color system; primer, color coat, and a clear coat to give depth and shine (and protect) the color coat.  But I haven't kept up with paint technology so I'm not sure if the new water based systems still use that tri-color process anymore.

Regardless, I’d try and find out if wrap was colored throughout or if it’s just top coated in color.  The worst thing that can happen is you go through the color and have a new piece of vinyl wrap applied to the area.  Then you have to worry about how much the sun has faded the old color wrap from the new color wrap.

Recently our 14 year old daily driver was dented and scraped by someone who failed to check their side mirror before pulling into our lane.  They damaged the front fender, front door, and rear door, but not the rear quarter.  I made sure to tell the body shop that the dings in the rear quarter was a result of the accident to ensure that they'd paint the entire side of the car.  Otherwise, the old paint never would have matched the new paint due to its age and fading over the years.

[old goat]

You can NOT polish vinyl, the color is not all the way through, it would just scratch worse and make a mess if you tried. I was never much impressed with Nexus, I have a bottle at home I just use a premium cleaner/wax with no polish in it. The wax actually makes the vinyl more resistant to scratching. 303 has some good vinyl cleaners that add UV protection.

Vinyl wrap is not as thick as a clear bra either, got one of them too it is about 10 times as thick as the vinyl.

[1LILNDN]

Kagem ; Check this out see if theres anything that may Help you         

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Plexus+auto+finish+protector&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=+Vinyl+wrap+protectant&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

[Kagem]

The second link should definitely give me a hand, thanks Bobby! You guys are being very helpful, you make me proud!  

[Brad Kenny]

Funny... My ASAP stripes package is throughout colored... I do polish, glaze, and wax my stripes. It works just fine for getting out the tiny nicks and such. I guess it all depends on the quality of your vynyl. More money, better quality, you always get what you are willing to pay for.