You get what you pay for… when it comes to wrap, not everything that shines its gold and in the vinyl world we can use this same example. In the long run a low-price wrap could cost you far more than you anticipated, in dollars and frustration. We will break down the hidden cost of cheap vinyl and under cost labor and help you recognize it.
Understanding why car wraps are so popular nowadays.
Car wraps are a way to transform and customize your vehicle. Top quality brands with an overlaminate could last up to 5 years protecting and preserving the paint of your vehicle. Not all vinyl wraps are created with the same characteristics then for there are several different brands and levels of quality.
You could get a very cheap job on a full wrap job for your car but is this what really matters at the long run? May discount wrap shops will use off brands and low graded vinyl that will not withstand moisture, UV rays, water and daily wear. These types of materials tend to fade in a blink of an eye. This means that you will need to get some panels re-wrapped all the time. Most low-cost shops will offer you a lifetime warranty because they know you will need to come to them very often to redo panels of your wrap.
On top of the low-grade vinyl, you will experience a very low labor where short cuts are very noticeable all around. Most low cost wrappers will not wrap each panel individually but will use a big sheet of vinyl to cover most panels at once so that they can save as much material as possible. This means they will not wrap around edges of your panels and you will see a lot of overlays around the vehicle where they just simply patched and hide a mistake rather than re wrapping it.
A low-grade vinyl and poor labor quality will create paint damage.
Cheap material will stick to your vehicle’s paint so much that when time comes to remove it it will peel the paint off of the panels. Cheap vinyl manufacturers will use more glue on their products so that they make sure it sticks to the surfaces. Most cheap discounted vinyl shops will use blades on your vehicle’s paint, skip vehicle preparation and overstretch the vinyl leaving very noticeable stretch marks all around.
Uncertified and unskilled labor = Inconsistent wrap results.
Wrapping a vehicle isn’t different from other trades where there is a set of skills involved to provide optimal quality and results. With very low prices, chances are that shops are cutting corners and rushing installations to compensate and balance their losses. Quantity vs quality is what these cheap shops stick with unfortunately.
Most lifetime warranty shops want you to think that since you are covered for life, but in reality, what they want to do is take advantage and make you lose time by coming very often to get this fixed over and over and over. Most good quality wrap shops won’t offer more than a year warranty since they are very sure that the material quality and labor is 100% there, period.
How to identify a professional and good quality wrap shop.
Ask what brands they use and as many questions about them. Top manufacturers are 3M, Avery Dennison, Oracal. Professional shops will not skimp on material.
Reviews and proper portfolio
Most reputable shops will have a gallery and samples of their done products. Also, reviews are very important since this is a clear experience from other customers. Do your research, read and call before making a decision. Most good shops will not have low prices but also not over price themselves.
It’s very tempting to sometimes get the cheapest or what it’s called “a deal” but think twice and do your research. Think if you really want to just spend the lease dollar amount vs a good quality product that will not just make your vehicle look great but also will give you peace of mind. A few hundred dollars up front will save you more than that in the future if not thousands.
David Ramirez.