How to care for your wrapor your PPF.
Everything we would otherwise tell you by text, on one page: the first days, washing, what never to use, scratches, matte finishes, and what to do if something lifts. Bookmark it; the answers do not change.
The question, and the answer for your film.
| Color-change vinyl | Colored PPF (PrismaPro or 3M Protection Wrap Film) | |
|---|---|---|
| The first days | Give the adhesive time. Leave the car unwashed for the first few days after collection, keep it out of a pressure washer, and if you can, park it inside for the first night or two. | No washing for the first 72 hours. Give the adhesive time. Leave the car unwashed for the first few days after collection, keep it out of a pressure washer, and if you can, park it inside for the first night or two. |
| Washing it | Best: wash it yourself, at home. A hose with a spray nozzle, a clean mitt and two buckets. Rinse the loose grit off first so you are not dragging it across the film, wash top down, and rinse again. Keep a pressure washer well back and off the edges — a jet aimed straight at a seam is one of the few things that will lift film that was installed correctly. | Hand wash with a pH-neutral soap; no automatic brush washes. 3M specify a wet, non-abrasive cleaner without solvents at a neutral pH. No waxes containing dyes, no abrasive polishes, no rubbing compounds. |
| Never | pressure washers held close, or aimed at an edge or a seam; automatic washes with brushes or contact arms; abrasive polishes, cutting compounds and anything marketed as a scratch remover; fuel, solvents and bug remover left sitting on the film — rinse spills off promptly; scraping ice or bird mess off dry. | pressure washers held close, or aimed at an edge or a seam; automatic washes with brushes or contact arms; abrasive polishes, cutting compounds and anything marketed as a scratch remover; fuel, solvents and bug remover left sitting on the film — rinse spills off promptly; scraping ice or bird mess off dry. No waxes, polishes or coatings with petroleum distillates or solvents — they void the warranty. |
| Automatic car washes | We would rather tell you the truth than give you a rule: touchless washes are a judgment call our own owner makes on his own car. It is a risk rather than a certainty, and it is your car and your call. | We would rather tell you the truth than give you a rule: touchless washes are a judgment call our own owner makes on his own car. It is a risk rather than a certainty, and it is your car and your call. Why brushes are the problem → |
| Light scratches and swirl marks | Vinyl does not heal. Do not polish or compound it — that is the fastest way to burn through the color. Send us a photo and we will tell you whether it is a panel or a wipe. | Light scratches self-heal; warm water speeds it up. Self-healing polymer — 3M states minor scratches disappear when heat is applied. |
| Matte and satin finishes | Matte and satin finishes need a little more care than gloss: no wax, no polish, and no product that promises shine, because shine is the one thing you do not want on them. We go through all of this with you at handover, for your specific film. | Matte and satin finishes need a little more care than gloss: no wax, no polish, and no product that promises shine, because shine is the one thing you do not want on them. We go through all of this with you at handover, for your specific film. |
| An edge lifting, a bubble, a seam opening | Text us a photo. Our workmanship warranty is six months from the day you collect the car, and an edge that lifts on its own inside that is ours to fix. | Text us a photo. Our workmanship warranty is six months from the day you collect the car; the film itself carries its maker’s warranty on top, which we file for you. What the warranty covers, and what it does not → |
| When you want it off | It comes off with heat, by a professional, and the paint underneath is as it was. $650 in Northern Virginia for a wrap we installed. | It comes off with heat and a professional too. PPF removal is quoted against the car rather than priced flat. Wrap removal → |
Washing a wrapped Tesla, start to finish.
The first week
Give the adhesive time. Leave the car unwashed for the first few days after collection, keep it out of a pressure washer, and if you can, park it inside for the first night or two.
If something looks wrong in that first week, send us a photograph before you touch it. Most things we can identify from a picture, and a lifted edge caught early is a five-minute fix.
Washing it
Hand washing is best. Clean water, a mild wrap-safe automotive soap, and a clean soft microfiber mitt.
- Rinse the car before you touch it, so grit is not dragged across the film
- Work top down, panel by panel
- Rinse the mitt frequently — a dirty mitt is sandpaper
- Dry with clean microfiber, or a touch-free drying method
- Never let soap, chemicals or water dry on the film
Pressure washing
You can pressure wash a wrapped car, carefully. Keep the nozzle back and never concentrate high pressure on film edges, seams, or anywhere that might be starting to lift — a jet held on an edge will find it.
Automatic car washes, honestly
Avoid anything with brushes. Spinning brushes and aggressive contact equipment catch edges, and an edge that gets caught is an edge that lifts. It is the single most common way a good install gets damaged.
Touchless systems may be fine depending on the chemicals and the pressure, and they are a genuinely practical option. Follow the care recommendations for your specific film — they differ.
Worth knowing where that sits with the workmanship commitment: brush washes are a named exclusion from it. An edge caught by a spinning brush is not an installation fault, and we would rather tell you that now than at the point you are asking us to fix it. Touchless is not excluded.
Chemicals and contaminants
Avoid harsh chemicals, abrasive cleaners, solvents and aggressive degreasers unless they are specifically approved for the film.
Get bird droppings, tree sap and bugs off as soon as you reasonably can — they etch. What you should not do is scrape at them: soak, soften, and lift them off rather than attacking the film.
Edges and seams
Edges and seams take the extra care, because they are where a wrap starts to fail. Keep high-pressure water off them.
If you see an edge beginning to lift, stop touching it. Do not rub it, do not pull it, do not try to press it back. Send us a photo — an edge caught early is a small job and an edge that has been worried at is not.
Finish-specific, and parking
Matte and satin need the most care and the least product — no wax, no polish, nothing designed to add gloss to something deliberately not glossy. Gloss shows every fingerprint and forgives the most. Chrome marks more easily than anything else and hand washing is not really optional on it.
Where you can, park in a garage or in shade. Prolonged sun, heat and environmental exposure are what age a wrap, and a car that lives outside in direct sun will not last as long as one that does not.
Different films have different care requirements, and we give you guidance for the specific film on your car rather than a generic sheet.
What is ours and what is not
If an edge lifts or a seam opens because of how it was installed, that is ours — bring the car back and we put it right at no charge for labor or material, for 6 months from collection.
Damage, road debris, someone else working on the car, or a wash that took an edge off are jobs, and they are quoted like any other. We will tell you honestly which side of that line we think something falls on before you commit to anything. A manufacturing fault in the film itself is a claim on 3M or Avery Dennison, and we help make it rather than absorb it.
What the makers add.
Avery Dennison PrismaPro
- No washing for the first 72 hours.
- Hand wash with a pH-neutral soap; no automatic brush washes.
- No waxes, polishes or coatings with petroleum distillates or solvents — they void the warranty.
- Light scratches self-heal; warm water speeds it up.
Avery’s data sheet and application bulletin are on resources; the film page is here.
3M Protection Wrap Film
3M specify a wet, non-abrasive cleaner without solvents at a neutral pH. No waxes containing dyes, no abrasive polishes, no rubbing compounds.
3M’s bulletin and FAQ are on resources; the film page is here.
Text us a photo first.
Our workmanship warranty is six months from the day you collect the car. A photo by text is the fastest way to find out whether what you are looking at is ours to fix, the film maker’s, or a wash that took an edge — and we would rather look than guess.
Ready to change the lookof your Tesla?
Tell us the model and the finish you have in mind. We’ll come back with a price and a realistic completion window — no obligation.
Appointment only — we work on one vehicle at a time.