How To Maintain Commercial Wraps & Graphics

Today’s post runs down some best practices for commercial wrap and graphic maintenance to help you get more out of your investment and avoid some common and costly beginner mistakes.

Wash Commercial Wraps And Graphics Regularly (And Manually)

It’s a good idea to wash your vehicle commercial wraps and graphics whenever they appear dirty. The longer you leave any potential contaminants–dirt, grit, salt, bird droppings, tar, you name it–on your vehicle, the tougher they’ll be to remove during cleaning.

For safe cleaning, start by rinsing off as much of the contaminant as possible using a spray of water. Next, wash the entire vehicle or problem areas using a soft, clean cloth or sponge and a mix of water and non-abrasive detergent. There are plenty of quality detergents on the market that our team can recommend. Rinse thoroughly with clean water, then dry immediately using a silicone squeegee and clean microfiber cloth to reduce water spotting.

When dealing with difficult contaminants, such as caked-on bug splatter or tree sap, we recommend softening them before your cleaning attempt. This is done by soaking each area in hot, soapy water for several minutes. If the aforementioned cleaning method was unsuccessful even after “softening,” 3M recommends the following products:

• Meguiar’s Gold Class Bug and Tar Remover
• 3M Citrus Base Cleaner
• Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) with a 2:1 ratio of ISP to water

Use any of these products to spot clean difficult contaminants, but as always, avoid rough scrubbing or the use of abrasive tools.

Do Not Wax Commercial Wraps And Graphics

We all want our company vehicles to look their best, but polishing or waxing wrapped vehicles is not recommended. Though some waxes claim to be wrap-friendly, the vast majority of paste waxes contain petroleum distillates or abrasive components that can harm commercial wraps and graphics.

You may apply wax on exposed paint around your vehicle graphics, but be careful to keep it away from the graphics themselves. If any wax builds up around the edges of your graphics, remove it by carefully washing using soap, water, and a nonabrasive cloth. Go easy–too much elbow grease here could cause the edges of your graphics to lift.

• Keep the water pressure below 2000 psi (14 MPa) at all times
• Keep the water temperature under 180 °F (80 °C)
• Use a spray nozzle with a 40-degree wide angle spray pattern
• Keep the nozzle at least 12” away from the graphic at all times
• Keep the nozzle at a perpendicular (90 degree) angle to the graphic at all times

Get Commercial Wraps And Graphic Maintenance Support In Rosedale, MD

Email sales@baltimoresignsandgraphics.com or call 410-877-6011 to schedule a free consultation with our commercial wrap and graphic experts in Rosedale, Maryland.