ShrinkDoc

For those that have wrapped their car, a couple of questions: what has been your long term experience with either wrap (Vinyl vs film)-- does the wrap hold up for at least 7 years? What warranty was offered? Any issues long term?

46750

I've recently had my car wrapped using a high quality film (Oracal/Orafol 970RA), but I was given a 2-3 year estimated window on longevity directly from my installer. I'm in AZ so heat and sunlight will play a factor, in your case if you will be driving on winter roads then salt/road chemicals are something to consider. Technically I believe the company says it should have a minimum lifespan of 5 years (4 for watercraft applications), but at this point I'm only 3 months in (so far, so good) but we'll see. I garage the car and am pretty OCD about keeping it clean, so I think I can get closer to the manufacturer's suggestion...although I think 7 years is unlikely for a vinyl wrap.

I also have a layer of PPF on the front end of the car (over the vinyl for additional protection from stone chips, etc). I've used quality PPF on this car (SunTek Ultra and Hexxis Bodyfence) and the SunTek on my STI in the past as well, which offers a 10 year warranty. After a year in Colorado my PPF was still like new on the STI and it saw some pretty harsh winter driving, but again, long term durability is something I couldn't address for you as far as 7+ years. That said, if you took good care of it, I think you'd probably be able to get 7-10 out of a quality PPF. I wanted to mention that PPF is definitely thicker and more durable for sure, and does offer SOME self-healing properties. If you take a rock to a vinyl wrap it offers only minimal protection at best in comparison, and will likely leave a mark or small tear.

ShrinkDoc

Thanks so much. After some research I discovered that the the wrap lasts longer on the sides where water runs off and the sun/heat can do less damage. So there is variability from side to top placement of the wrap or film. Overall, it looks like the material last 5-8 years on average on the side, and 4-6 on top. Factory film seems to do better though.

Again, thanks for your response.

46750

No worries! Keep in mind that the quality, longevity, and thickness of the vinyl wrap will vary from manufacturer and type of film, too. There's really no general rule of thumb because on top of those factors, you also have climate, weather, indoor/outdoor storage, and other things that play in to it as well. I will say that I used GTechniq Halo to ceramic coat my wrap and PPF, which will also hopefully extend the life expectancy of it and provide some UV protection against color fading, and so far I think it's a solid product and was easy to apply.