Having a commercial vehicle wrap is a powerful investment for your business. Theyโre incredibly cost-effective, they lend your company vehicle an eye-catching flair, and theyโre durable. Particularly when compared to high-end paint jobs across multiple vehicles, commercial fleet wraps are a much more budget- and business-friendly option.ย
The one major risk to be aware of with personal or commercial vinyl wraps is bubbling beneath the vinyl cover. While bubbles may not sound like the most imposing threat to your business livelihood, they are nonetheless a very real and present hazard to your wrapโs appearance and longevity.
Who We Are
Weโre RoadRunner Wraps, and weโre kind of the experts when it comes to commercial vehicle wraps. When we say โexperts,โ we mean that weโve been doing it for over 20 years, and in that amount of time, weโve done over 70,000 wraps. As you can imagine, weโve seen and wrapped every kind of commercial vehicle wrap, from cars and trucks to SUVs, boats, and trailers. Weโve done personal vanity wraps, entire commercial fleet wraps, and more. Weโve installed, weโve repaired, replaced, and retouched literally thousands of personal and commercial vinyl wraps, even on windows and wall murals.ย
So when you go with RoadRunner Wraps, you know youโre getting the best in the business. No one else even comes close to our level of experience or our knowledge and instinct for designing, creating, and installing the best commercial vehicle wraps in the country. While we primarily serve the Maryland, DC, and Virginia markets, we also proudly ship our products nationwide, because we know how important it is for businesses to have that edge.ย
With such a vast wealth of experience, however, you can also bet weโve seen our fair share of bubbles and other snags pop up. The bad news is that itโs impossible to avoid all complications all the time when installing commercial vehicle wraps, just as it is with everything else in life. The good news is that weโve seen it, dealt with it, and figured out how to move past it. While our techs are the best around, it may be that youโve tried installing a wrap yourself or had it done at another location, and you encountered some problems.ย
No worries! Weโre here to help!
This article discusses some of the factors that lead to getting those unsightly and damaging bubbles in your wraps. Weโll also discuss how you can prevent them, and what you can do to fix it, as well as how to maintain your bubble-free commercial vehicle wraps so that they last your fleet for many years to come.
Every vinyl vehicle wrap is an investment in your business. It only makes sense that you would want to make the most of it, and thatโs what RoadRunner Wraps is here to do. After all, weโre just bringing your branding to life. Itโs up to you to deliver the best company service in your businessโthe same way we always deliver the best in ours.
Benefits of a Commercial Vehicle Wrap
Advertising is everything to a business. Itโs the most basic principle, really: if you canโt get people interested in your product or service, youโre not going to sell any of it. The best thing you can do is attract customers via effective advertising and brand messaging, and then keep them interested with continued quality. We know, itโs easier said than done, but weโve been doing it for two decades, and we know you can do it, too. A shiny new commercial vinyl wrap for your company car or fleet is the best way to get that done.ย
When it comes to advertising power, cost is the real killer. Ads arenโt cheap. Just ask anyone who wants to run an ad for even just 30 seconds during the Super Bowl! While most ad purchases arenโt quite so expensive, itโs still a costly investment, and it does carry with it the risk of losing all that youโve invested by failing to capitalize on leads (or even generate any). Every dollar spent on an advertising campaign that fails to yield conversions is wasted money, and those wasted dollars all add up pretty quickly!
Commercial vehicle wraps are a great solution to this issue. Theyโre more cost-effective than everything but online advertising. They generate, on average, more than 2.5 times the amount of attention as static billboards. This is because mobile billboard advertising, which vehicle wraps and other graphics are considered to be, creates thousands of impressions per day on average, and also has a much higher recall rate than stationary billboards.
The results are hard to argue with. Commercial fleet wraps turn your company vehicles into mobile advertising platforms. Once youโve paid for the wrap, thatโs it! You donโt have to keep shelling out for spendy print ads, and you donโt have to fight for front page space. Every single time you drive one of your vehicles around, even if itโs during off hours, youโre generating attention, interest, and leads. Itโs passive, but the results are very real; you can be sitting at a red light and getting leads, or parked at a fast food joint and giving someone the inspiration to call your business.
You can get all this for less cost per lead than it would be to run traditional publications, and with more guaranteed attention than a static billboard. Whatโs not to love? Wellโฆ the bubbles come to mind.
Bubble, Bubbleโฆ.
Vinyl wraps are amazing. Bubble wrap is great for preserving something through transport. The combination of the two? Not so great!
Bubbles in your wrap are unsightly, but are more than just ugly lumps in your vehicleโs vinyl skin. Theyโre harmful to the wrap, and can deform your wrap, requiring replacement or repair, which can be costly. Naturally, you wouldnโt have to worry about this if you had the wrap professionally installed at one of RoadRunnerโs service locations, but sometimes people get into a habit of trying to do it themselves, or see what looks to be a reputable vinyl wrap manufacturer and donโt realize that theyโre going to be paying an additional price on top of the cost of the wrapsโin this, as so many other things, you get what you pay for!
What causes bubbles? Typically, itโs moisture, built up underneath the wrap, in a preexisting bubble or other imperfection. Air pressure and moisture accumulate in the bubble as the air flows around the car during travel, and eventually this causes it to bubble up.
The worst thing about bubbles is that they arenโt the easy fix that most of us would think they are. Bubbles are just made to be popped, right? Unfortunately, it doesnโt work that way with vinyl wrap bubbles, which are difficult to pop as you would with a normal bubble, and can cause extensive tearing damage when they are snagged on something or popped incorrectly.
The end result is that bubbles, of all things, can absolutely wreak havoc on your commercial vehicle wrap, resulting in an unappealing look that can damage your professional credibility. While this may seem like a hopeless situation, there are some things you can do to prevent bubbles and mitigate the damage they cause.
An Ounce of Prevention
Preventive maintenance is one of the most important factors of car ownership in general. Waiting until something becomes a problem is a good way to cost yourself hundreds of dollars more than youโd have to pay. Of course, you donโt always know when something is a problem, but at least with the vinyl wraps, you can see bubbles forming or the conditions that lead to the formation of bubbles.
Before ever even putting on a vinyl wrap, make absolutely sure that your vehicle is clean and dry. This is very important. Bubbles often form around debris and gunk that accumulates on a carโs body simply due to traveling. Even something like a big bug was splatted on your hood can cause a bubble to form if the wrap is applied over it, so the best thing you can do is make sure to clean the car thoroughly.
As we discussed, moisture is the bringer of bubbles, so you want to dry the car completely before trying to put a vinyl wrap on it. Often, this may require time where you need to protect the car from the elements before itโs time to have your wrap installed. We recommend finding a span of time, if at all possible, to dedicate just to cleaning and then preserving the cleanliness of your vehicle before you go to have it wrapped.
Note that this includes chemicals, as well. You want to avoid anything on the body of the car, to be safe. It may be that soap, water, and elbow grease can get the bugs and dirt and dust of the road off of your vehicle, but sometimes you might need some kind of industrial solvents. RoadRunner knows which ones are safe to use with a vehicle wrap, before and after.
Fair-Weather Friend
Another thing to consider are the weather conditions before and after your vehicle wrapping. The experts at RoadRunner are trained to know what conditions are proper, and we have the equipment and the facilities at our service locations to properly protect your vehicle as we install the wrap youโve designed. Too much humidity or moisture in the air can make it hard or impossible to safely wrap the vehicle, so donโt try to force the issue. Sometimes, you just have to wait until the weather clears up a little, first!
All Things Consideredโฆ.
As you can see, there is a lot to consider when preparing and caring for a commercial vehicle wrap. Itโs not quite so simple as a DIY project, and if you mess it up, you could be wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars and many hours of your time. Rather than have to try to deal with that mess, the safest bet is to leave it to the experts, and no one knows this stuff better than RoadRunner. Weโve been there and weโve seen every type of condition, risk, and installation complication possible.
Trust us to be sure to get it done right, on time, and give you the best possible chance at a long-lasting and eye-catching vehicle wrap.
Care and Feeding of Your Commercial Vehicle Wrap
Now, youโve gone through all this trouble, youโve had the perfect commercial fleet wraps installedโฆwhat next? How do I maximize the lifespan of my investment and make the most out of it? Here are a few tips and tricks to help keep you going.
Donโt use harsh chemicals when cleaning your vinyl wrap, especially bleach. Youโll ruin the color and possibly damage the wrap in the processโand the precious vehicle underneath! Avoid abrasive cleaning materials, as well, because you can damage the integrity of the vinyl and allow it to wear away, form bubbles, or worse.
Warm water and soap and gentle cleaning are all you need for the most common grimes of daily use. Use nonabrasive rags or cloths to perform the cleaning.
There are also a variety of vinyl wrap-safe cleaning products meant to handle the tougher dirt and dust, sold at many hardware locations and vinyl wrap service locations. RoadRunner can help you with those, too, because itโs important to be able to maintain the integrity of your brand new wrap.
Donโt Let Us Burst Your Bubble
We hate to be the ones to burst your bubbleโweโd rather you didnโt have one in the first place! With these tips and tricks, you can keep your car free of the obstructions that create bubbles in your vinyl wraps. You can also clean the wrap after the fact, so that it stays looking sharp, professional, and really gives your company vehicles a sense of presence on the road.
Advertising is expensive, but it doesnโt have to be with a vinyl vehicle wrap. Your advertising dollars are precious, and thatโs why you should only trust your investments to the best. RoadRunner Wraps are the best in the business, with more experience and more knowledge than any other vinyl vehicle wrap company in the country.ย
Let us wrap your vehicle and weโll make sure that the bubbles stay where they belong: floating in your bathtub!
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