How to Care for and Protect Your Vehicle Wrap in the Summer

It’s important to protect your vehicle wrap in the summer. When people ask us about protecting their car or truck wrap from the weather, they’re usually talking about the winter, 4 Steps to Protect Your Vehicle Graphics this Winter, but summer protection is important too. Glaring sun, UV rays, and high temperatures can adversely affect your vehicle graphics. That’s why it’s important to know what summer can do to your wrap and how to prevent the damage. By following this advice your vehicle wrap will look good as new for years to come.

How to Care for and Protect Your Vehicle Wrap in the Summer 

• Avoid Parking Your Vehicle in Direct Sunlight

It’s not always possible to avoid the sun, but the more you can, the safer your wrap will be. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause fading. Park your car or truck in the shade, under a carport, in a garage, or in a shady spot whenever possible.

Tip: Avoid parking under trees. Even if a tree-shaded parking spot blocks the sun, it’s still not a good idea. Parking under a tree can lead to tree sap, bird droppings, and debris such as twigs landing on and sticking to your vinyl wrap.

• Keep it Clean

Another key to protect your vehicle wrap in the summer is regular washing. A weekly washing can go a long way to protecting it and keeping it looking good as new for years to come.

Caution: Avoid car washes with brushes and power sprays; both can loosen the edges of your wrap and cause peeling and bubbling. It’s best to use soap and water, a soft cloth, and a hose to wash your vehicle wrap. Can I Take My Wrapped Vehicle Through a Car Wash?

Here’s what vinyl manufacturer 3M has to say about washing your wrap.

• Wash Regularly

• Wash whenever the car appears dirty. Contaminants allowed to remain on the graphic may be more difficult to remove.
• Rinse off as much dirt and grit as possible with a soft spray of water.
• Use a wet, non-abrasive detergent such as 3M™ Car Wash Soap 39000 or Meguiar’s NXT Generation® Car Wash or Deep Crystal® Car.
• Wash using a soft, clean cloth or sponge.
• Rinse thoroughly with clean water. To reduce water spotting, immediately use a silicone squeegee to remove water and finish with a clean microfiber cloth.

• Check the Surface Daily

To help protect your vehicle wrap in the summer, it’s a good idea to double-check the vehicle surface at the end of the day. Walk around your car or truck with a soft cloth and a spray bottle of soapy water, looking for debris. When you find insect splatter, bird droppings, fuel spills, or other contaminants, take a minute and wipe them off.

But Wait…There’s More about How to Protect Your Vehicle Wrap in the Summer

You can take these precautions when deciding to wrap your car or truck.

• Don’t Go Cheap

If you want to protect your vehicle wrap in the summer don’t go cheap. Cheaper materials fade faster, rip easier, and bubble more frequently than higher-end material. The good stuff lasts longer and holds up better to the sun and heat. When a price is too good to be true, it probably is. Using short-term cheap material or inexperienced installers will not save you money in the long run. Do it right the first time.

• Consider Your Climate 

Climate can affect your wrap. If you live near the desert in southern Texas and 100 degree days in the summer are normal, then you need to understand how that heat and sun can work against your wrap. You must be vigilant in protecting your car or truck wrap from the severe summer climate.

• Color Matters 

Some colors, such as red, absorb more UV light and heat than other colors. So, if you live in a tropical summer climate, whenever possible, avoid wrapping the horizontal areas of your vehicle, like the roof and hood, with heat absorbing colors; when these colors take in the heat, whether paint or vinyl, they can begin to fade.

• Overlaminate 

Vehicle graphic overlaminate is a flexible transparent material usually about 1.2 mils thick used to cover and protect adhesive vinyl graphics.

Vinyl overlaminates have been specifically designed to provide UV, weathering, and abrasion protection. See our article, What is Vehicle Graphic Overlaminate — and 5 Reasons You Need It to learn more about why overlaminate is so important to your wrap.

• What about Wax? Does it Protect a Wrap? 

Adding a protective wax finish to paint may protect it from exposure, but it doesn’t always help vinyl — it may even damage it. In this PDF, Caring For Your Vehicle Graphics and Wraps, 3M shares this. “3M does not recommend using wax or other similar coatings on vehicle graphics.”

However, recent advances in spray waxes have made some safe to use on a wrap but be careful.

“Before using any new product on any wrap, be sure to test them in an inconspicuous area of the wrapped vehicle before using on the entire wrap. Using a spray wax to care for the wrap film is great for protecting the vinyl wrap from being damaged by environmental pollutants or seasonal airborne pollutants. Make sure the wax used does not contain petroleum distillates or abrasive components. Always test the wax in an inconspicuous area prior to waxing the whole wrap. Any waxy residue can be removed with an all-purpose cleaner.” — Avery Dennison Cleaning and Maintenance of Vehicle Wraps.

• Caring for Your Wrap this Summer

Yes, it’s important to protect your vehicle wrap in the summer. Caring for your wrap in the summer isn’t as difficult as this post might lead you to believe. Start by using the best material, experienced installers, and adding overlaminate to your wrap. Then if you keep it out of direct sunlight when possible and keep it clean, you’ll have a wrap that will shine for years to come.

How Can We Help You? 

If you’d like fleet graphics designed to capture attention, printed on state-of-the-art equipment, and installed by expert certified installers, we’re here to help. We can help you protect your vehicle wrap in the summer by doing it the right way from the start.

If you’d like further information or advice, be sure to Contact Us. 

Would you like a free estimate for your fleet or vehicle graphics? If so, you can Request A Quote.

TKO Graphix is a national fleet graphics and vehicle wraps company. Since 1985, we’ve been helping businesses, large and small, brand their fleet of tractor-trailers, service trucks and company vehicles with our full-service solutions including print production, design, graphics installation, removal, project management, and inventory fulfillment. We employ the largest 3M™ Certified installation crew in the country. Our graphics installers, along with our established national UASG network of professional installers, allows us to brand any size fleet, anywhere! 

As a result of our high standards in quality products and production, we are proud to be certified by 3M as being able to offer the 3M™ MCS™ Warranty, the gold standard in graphics warranties. This Certificate demonstrates our commitment to excellence and helps give customers a greater peace of mind.

Whether you have a fleet of a few or thousands of vehicles, we are here to lead you through the process. To get started, contact us today for a free quote.