How to detail vinyl stripes/graphics?

BadgerRivFan

BadgerRivFan

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I have a friend who just purchased a new (to him) '09 C6 Corvette. He's asked me to help polish and put a coating on the car for protection and gloss.

This car has what I believe is an after market vinyl stripe package on the hood, removable roof panel, and trunk lid. Here is a photo:

fd1467cf3654bc2ab42ff8a50c2326fa.jpg


I've never detailed a car with a graphics package on it before, and had some trouble searching for tips on how to do it. Can you give me some advice on what and what not to do to make this car look as good as it deserves?

Thanks!!
 
72 views and nobody's detailed a car with vinyl hood stripes who can give some guidance? Wow.
 
I generally use m205 on a soft finishing pad. No pressure so as to minimize heat. The coating we use doesn't increase gloss on matte stripes and works great for uv protection.
 
Assuming the graphics are vinyl then here is what I did (not much success). I used green LC pads and Optimum Finish II polish. The vinyl tends to heat up so I went speed 4 on my DA. Put a coat of Opti-Seal and called it a day. The vinyl doesn't correct like paint, so your results may vary. If the are paint then same as you would polish paint (No compound's just polish and lower cut pads).
 
I've never bothered taking any particular care over graphics. I treat them the same as the paint, except in some instances I've had compound dry up on them and not very easy to get off. Ended up having to use detail spray and lots of repeated wiping. The only precaution would be around edges that are starting to peel up, but I've still never had an issue. Any coating is not going to stick the same, but it's a vinyl sticker and no one expects it to be as shiny as the paint.
 
One other thing I did notice when detailing a truck with vinyl carbon fiber look wrap on the fender flares, my exterior trim dressing made them look awesome. I have no idea how long it will last, but they were already yellowing a little and has some whitish stains on them. Looked good as new with the dressing.

View attachment 49475
 
Thanks so much for the comments guys!

Anyone else want to give their two cents?
 
BadgerRivFan said:
Anyone else want to give their two cents?
Click to expand...
From the picture, the vinyl appears
to be "shiny" (vs. being matte).
___________________________________

If they are shiny, I'll suggest:

For the cleaning step:
Mothers Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner removes stains from automotive carpet and seats without drying out the material.

For the (follow-up) protection step:
Mothers Protectant for Rubber, Vinyl & Plastic: Protect your vehicle's exterior and interior rubber, vinyl and plastic with Mothers durable


Note:
If matte...I suggest to stick with
matte-specific products.


My 2¢

Bob
 
I would never put vinyl dressing or products like that on exterior stripes, you're just creating a mess
 
A WOWA product like Black Fire Crystal Seal is what I would cover vinyl with, or Ultima PGP+.
 
Mike lambert said:
I would never put vinyl dressing or products like that on exterior stripes, you're just creating a mess
Click to expand...

I don't know what kind of dressing you use, but I rub all my dressing into the surface and wipe off any excess. Is not any different than applying it to any other trim on a vehicle adjacent to paint. You must not ever condition weather seals or rubber around windows or black door handles like a thorough detailer should.
 
I won't take offense to that comment, any water or solvent based dressing on exterior surfaces will run when it gets wet. I do consider myself an above average detailer sir!
 
I don't mean offense at all. I actually don't use any water based or solvent based dressing. I use Blue Guard II which is oil based. I've never actually applied it specifically to vinyl stripes in the middle of a painted surface, and probably wouldn't even bother if I'm putting a coating on the paint, but my observation has been that it conditions any plastic or vinyl that has changed color due to dryness. I let it sit so the surface can soak up what it needs, then wipe it all off and rub it out to a matte finish. In heavy rain you could get a little bleeding of it if you don't rub it out good, but it's no different than wiping it off the paint or glass when you first apply it and go a little wide with the brush or applicator and it wipes right off.
 
why would you bother using and product that runs down the paint when it rains? I've never "conditioned" or "dressed" any of the rubber or vinyl trim on the outside or inside of my car. Now days we have products like Optimum Car Wax, opti-seal, poli-seal, Meguiars ultimate liquid wax, and D156 (ultimate quick wax) that can be used to preserve and protect all surfaces on our cars. I thought everyone had already thrown away all the dressings/conditioners?
 
Do you use those products on your tires too??? If you wouldn't use them on rubber tires, why would you use them on rubber trim? You might use them on all surfaces, but that's not what they are intended for. I don't even use wax on my vehicles for one. Putting wax on rubber and porous textured plastic is not treating the material. That's just a temporary cover up. It's still going to be dry underneath. And if you've detailed as many cars as I have, you'll see why an interior UV protectant is pretty important.
 
AuroraDetailing said:
Do you use those products on your tires too??? If you wouldn't use them on rubber tires, why would you use them on rubber trim? You might use them on all surfaces, but that's not what they are intended for. I don't even use wax on my vehicles for one. Putting wax on rubber and porous textured plastic is not treating the material. That's just a temporary cover up. It's still going to be dry underneath. And if you've detailed as many cars as I have, you'll see why an interior UV protectant is pretty important.
Click to expand...

As someone who couldn't possibly have detailed as many cars and doesn't have the experience to truly grasp the importance of a "UV protectant" on rubber, vinyl, and textured plastic, please help me understand the difference in the superior "UV Inhibitors" you use to "treat" these types of materials versus the UV inhibitors in Optimum's Car Wax? I genuinely excited to talk to someone with a thorough understanding of the UV inhibitors in interior protectants because I am clearly in need of a better understanding of how a product that was developed to provide UV protection to every surface on a car could be viewed as such a "temporary cover up" when traditional water based protectants generally wash away after a heavy rainstorm?

(Directly from Autogeek and Optimumcarcare.com)

What should I do if I spray Optimum Car Wax on my black trim?
"No problem. Since Optimum Car Wax has no abrasives, it will not cause damage to moldings or trims. In fact applying Optimum Car Wax on these surfaces will protect them as well"

"Optimum Car Wax even protects vinyl trim and moldings without staining it. You don’t have to buy a separate vinyl protectant or struggle with white wax residue. Just spray and wipe! It only takes 15 minutes to wax your whole vehicle and it lasts for up to 5 months"

"Optimum is the first and only wax that contains UVA and UVB absorbers"
 
So you're saying you put spray wax on your interior? I mentioned UV protection on the interior because you said you don't use any dressings inside or out. There are plenty of products that have UV protection that can be used on the exterior. "Protecting" something doesn't mean treating or restoring it. You can spray a turd and "protect" it from UV exposure. You can protect swirls and contaminants on your paint too. Just because you put a product on top of something doesn't mean you correctly treated the surface underneath.

A spray wax is the economical way to finish off your paint surface, and not even close to using a high end product. I don't even use that for my cheapest detail packages. When I put the LSP on the paint, I don't spray anything that's going to change the surface characteristics anywhere near the painted surfaces.
 
yes, i use it to protect all interior and exterior surfaces except for obviously carpet and upholstery. When rubber, plastic, or vinyl surfaces need "conditioned" or "treated" I use d156 for it's trade secret conditioners.

I'm not sure why you started talking about surface characteristics of your lsp and I'm really confused as how you came to the conclusion that all spray waxes/sealants are purely economical and are never considered high-end products to be used as LSP. It seems to me that Autogeek carries a ton of WOWA products and spray waxes and sealants that you would most likely consider a high-end product. For instance, Carpro reload would be a spray on type sealant that can also be used to protect numerous plastic and rubber surfaces while being more than acceptable as a last step protection product of choice?
 
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