Can vinyl wrapped cars be waxed/sealed?

**JPDetail** · 05-26-2007, 08:24 PM

Hey fellow autopians, I`m hoping someone has done this before..

I`ve been approached by a company who has a fleet of 8 vehicles that have been wrapped in vinyl. The owner isn`t satisfied with the "glossy" vinyl that was used and wanted me see if I could bring a more reflective shine to it.

I told the owner I would get back to him to buy me some time. I tried calling car wrapping places and they weren`t too helpful. Most of the replies I got were "why would you wax a wrapped car?"

Looking at the vehicle, I can understand why he`s not happy but I`m in doubt of anything on the market that could possibly work to add a layer of shine to it. The cars are mostly black and basically look like a typical company car - nothing exotic about it. If I was dealing with paint I`d be ecstatic for an opportunity like this, but since this is vinyl I`m a little :nixweiss .

I didn`t have my arsenal of supplies with me at the time and couldn`t try anything. I`m wondering if a coat of OOS would do anything.

Any ideas? If it helps, I have the full JW, Zaino, CG, PW, CK and Optimum at my disposal.

**mikebai1990** · 05-26-2007, 08:27 PM

Can you explain what this "glossy vinyl" is? Do you mean that this company has vinyl logos, pictures, etc. on the entire car?

**joshtpa** · 05-26-2007, 08:28 PM

Why not use old fashioned Armor All...It will certainly add a shine to Vinyl.

**JPDetail** · 05-26-2007, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by mikebai1990

Can you explain what this "glossy vinyl" is? Do you mean that this company has vinyl logos, pictures, etc. on the entire car?

That would be it. From what the owner told me, there were 2 types of finishes - matte and glossy. To be honest, there was nothing glossy about it.

I was hoping that the vinyl parts were just logos stuck to the car, but yeah - these cars are completely wrapped top to bottom.

Originally Posted by joshtpa

Why not use old fashioned Armor All...It will certainly add a shine to Vinyl.

I thought about it, but wouldn`t that go away after a few washes?

**joshtpa** · 05-26-2007, 08:34 PM

Now that I understand what you are speaking about, I can answer this for you. Kleraudio and I did a van like this 3 weeks ago. It was covered in vinyl pictures as an advertisement. I can tell you that we used a ton of products and they all seemed to work. I would think since they are all vinyl, I would try either OptiSeal or JW AJT.

**JPDetail** · 05-26-2007, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by joshtpa

Now that I understand what you are speaking about, I can answer this for you. Kleraudio and I did a van like this 3 weeks ago. It was covered in vinyl pictures as an advertisement. I can tell you that we used a ton of products and they all seemed to work. I would think since they are all vinyl, I would try either OptiSeal or JW AJT.

Thanks for the info - greatly appreciated! I wasn`t sure if our detailing stuff would stick.

**wannafbody** · 05-26-2007, 08:56 PM

make sure whatever you use is abrasive free

**TrueDetailer** · 05-26-2007, 09:40 PM

As long as you use a wax or a sealant and not a cleaner wax or 1 step polish/sealant you should be fine. Always do a test spot as some companies don`t always apply the uv coating after printing as they should. Which "could" cause some problem depending on whats all in the product.

My family is in the printing and graphics business and we got a scion xb with a printed wrap and i`ve waxed it before without any problems.

**imported_themightytimmah** · 05-27-2007, 12:09 AM

I would put my money on Opti-Seal or Zaino CS... try VM under OS for a test spot.

**JPDetail** · 05-27-2007, 09:48 AM

Thanks everyone for your help! I`m probably going to go with Opti-Seal, I haven`t been disappointed at all with it so far.

**joshtpa** · 05-27-2007, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by themightytimmah

I would put my money on Opti-Seal or Zaino CS... try VM under OS for a test spot.

As much as I love VM, I think you might want to be a little leery of it here...If I remember correctly, it has quite a few cleaners.

**kleraudio** · 05-27-2007, 10:31 AM

Joshtpa and I used Opti Seal on that graphic covered Van and it worked out great! Give it a shot.

Any wax w/out cleaners will do just fine.

Like wannafbody and joshtpa said, make sure there are no abrasives or cleaners in whatever product you choose.

Jim

**JPDetail** · 05-27-2007, 12:51 PM

Just spoke with the owner and all he wants is basically an exterior wash, basic interior vac n` dress and make the vinyl shine. Sounds easy enough.. Opti Seal it is..

Thanks guys