Home Looking after it
The whole routine fits on a postcard.
Film needs less looking after than paint does. No polishing, no sealant, no annual anything. What it does need is one week of patience and a pressure washer kept at arm's length. Here is all of it.
7 days before the first wash 18″ minimum pressure-washer distance 0 products you need to buy
Leave it alone, and do not panic.
Adhesive keeps flowing for a couple of weeks after it goes on. Almost everything people worry about in that window sorts itself out.
-
Days 1–7
No washing at all
Rain is fine. Driving is fine. What is not fine is water forced at an edge before the adhesive has set. That is the one thing that turns a perfect job into a warranty visit. If it gets filthy, rinse it with a hose at low pressure and leave it at that.
-
Days 1–14
A little haze or a few small bubbles is normal
You may see faint milkiness over a recess, or a scatter of pinhead bubbles on a large flat panel. Both are moisture and air still working their way out, and both clear on their own. Quicker in warm weather. Anything still there after a month is a fault and it is ours. Bring it back.
-
Whenever it suits
Ring us if something looks wrong
Send one photo. Nine times out of ten we can tell you it is normal and save you a trip. The tenth time we will want to see it, and that is exactly what the guarantee is for.
Washing it.
| Method | Notes | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Two-bucket hand wash | pH-neutral shampoo, grit guards, soft mitt | Fortnightly |
| Touchless automatic | no brushes, no cloth strips | Any time |
| Rinse-only | after salt, mud or a long motorway run | As needed |
| Vinyl-safe spray sealant | optional, adds gloss and slip | Every few months |
| Warm water on a stain | bird mess, sap, fuel splash | Same day |
Wash in the shade if you can. Water spots on film dry the same way they dry on paint, and on matte they are harder to remove.
| Avoid | Why | If it happens |
|---|---|---|
| Brush car washes | scuffs the top coat | Gloss may polish out. Matte will not. |
| Polish or compound | abrasive; burnishes matte | Ring us before you try to fix it |
| Pressure washer at an edge | lifts film. The single most common cause | Not covered. Stay 18″ back. |
| Wheel acid on the paint | stains and softens the film | Rinse immediately, then call |
| Petrol left to sit | softens the top coat | Wipe it straight away |
| Ice scrapers | cuts straight through | De-icer and patience instead |
If you take one thing from this page: keep the lance back and never aim it square-on at a wrapped edge.
Parking and weather
Film handles winter better than paint does. Salt is the reason paint under a wrap usually comes out looking better than the panels next to it. Rinse the arches and lower edges more often when the roads are gritted.
Strong sun is the thing that ages it. A car parked outside all summer will fade sooner than one in a garage, and bright reds and oranges move first because that is how pigment works. Nothing you can do about it beyond parking in shade when it is easy, and the ten-year film warranty covers actual yellowing and cracking rather than normal fade.
Self-healing film
If you have clear paint protection film, light swirls and fingernail scratches close back up as the top coat warms. Sunshine does it on its own over a few hours. Warm water speeds it up. A heat gun on a low setting, kept moving, does it in seconds, and yes, that is how it works, it is not a marketing line. It will not fix a deep gouge that has cut through the film.
If a panel gets damaged
This is one of the quiet advantages of film. A scuffed panel is a panel of film, from about $180, rather than a body shop trying to blend paint across two doors. Keep the colour name. It is on your paperwork and on the job filed against your registration, and we will match it from the same range.
When it is time to take it off
Four to six years for a wrap on a car parked outside; longer if it is garaged. Do not leave it past about eight. Beyond that the film hardens and comes off in pieces rather than sheets, which is a slow, expensive removal. We will tell you when yours is getting close.
Something not looking right?
Send a photo and your registration. Most of the time we can settle it in one message.