Understanding Vinyl Wraps – Before Installation

As its name suggests, vinyl wraps are made of a flexible plastic known as poly-vinyl chloride, or more commonly, PVC. However, not all films use a PVC formulation – paint protection film, for example, is constructed with a poly-urethane formulation.

What both PVC and Poly-urethane formulations provide is a microns-thin film that can be used to restyle or protect the OEM surface of a vehicle.

Automotive restyling films are manufactured at thicknesses between 80-120 microns. Paint Protection Films on the other hand, needing to be more robust, can be upwards of 200 microns thick. These values are similar to the thickness of OEM automotive paintwork that might sit between 60-120 micron thickness out of factory. 

Here is a table of each element and relative thickness for reference:

Whilst levels of thickness might be the same, it’s important to consider that they perform very differently as surface coatings: paint cures to be very hard, whilst vinyl will always be a more porous and pliable material.

Because of this, expansion and contraction is normal throughout the service life of the vinyl, meaning that, at a microscopic level, its pores will open and close it reacts to the environment around it. This material characteristic is why it is important for vinyl to be maintained on a consistent cleaning schedule: when it is hot, it becomes much easier for contaminants to seep into the face film, accelerating the rate at which it breaks down. 

Vinyl, then, is a semi-permanent solution that can be used to restyle, brand, or protect a vehicle for a set amount of time, and can then be removed after its service life has expired, revealing the OEM surface at the quality as when it was wrapped. 

Depending on the type of vinyl chosen and the place of application, wraps are rated to last between 6 months upwards of 5 years.