Thank you for Wrapping your car here at The Lab North America! Welcome to our Car Family! With this specific blog post we want to answer any questions you might have on how to properly wash and take care of your wrapped vehicle.

Vinyl Wrap isn’t meant to be installed and forgotten. Like the rest of your vehicle it requires regular cleaning and maintenance. For longer-lasting & vibrant color, wash your car on a regular basis and keep your vehicle away from automatic car washes if possible. This will help you keep the vehicle looking its best and protected.

Can I use a automatic car wash?

You can bring your wrapped vehicle to an automated brushless car wash like a touchless laser wash,hand washing is safer and more of a complete option. Any  Brush car washes may be too aggressive on the vinyl film, causing degradation and causing it to lift and peel preamaturely. If the car wash uses water and no brushes it should be a safe option. Always be careful just incase.

How do I properly hand was my wrapped car?

We recommend a 3 bucket wash method for hand washing.

WASHING

Before we start cleaning the vehicle we start by preparing the 3 buckets before even before any water touches the car. This is done to avoid any water drying on the wrap/paint.  We start with a pre-rinse of the vehicle. Before it dries take a mitt and start at the top and work your way down.  Starting at the roof and working your way down and around the top portion of the doors including windows.  Leave the front bumper, lower rockers, and trunk as the very last areas to clean since they are normally more dirty than the top parts of the car. As you are washing the car please dont scrub or use heavy downward pressure. Keep in mind if your is protected with ceramic coating or some coating the washing process will be easier. For heavy areas that have a bit more agitation, be sure to use the an active flow of hose-water if you feel adding pressure with multiple wipes are needed for certain areas.  After that quickly rinse off the sopa off of the paint. DO NOT LET it dry on the paint, if you need to get it out of direct sunlight and you have a garage or car port move it in there for a few minutes as it might be a good idea to have shade.