Reforma – The De-Wrap Process
Having your vinyl wrapped vehicle de-wrapped is no small feat and we’re going to explore all the processes and procedures that go into it!
We’ll be following the process of this lovely Porsche Panamera that came to us as a new, second hand purchase. It’s previous owner had the car wrapped in a metallic grey which looks great but the new owner wanted to revert the car back to it’s original colour, plus the wrap currently on the vehicle ideally needs to be removed to keep inline with recommended wrap lifespans.
Here at Reforma we undergo a thorough 12 step process with every single vehicle that passes our doors regardless of the work that it’s having done to it!
Vehicle Check-In / Inspection
The vehicle undergoes a thorough inspection with the client present, assessing it’s current sitting situation including and we explain what is going to happen during the de-wrap and any potential hidden surprises we may encounter and finally discuss what the client would like the end result to be.
In this case, the client knew the cars original colour was green but they were not sure on the exact colour. Reverting back to green is the clients end goal with this vehicle so it’s definitely going to be a surprise to everyone once the wrap starts to come off!
Cleaning
The Porsche gets a thorough clean before work commences, including iron decontamination, snow foam and drying, after which it’s brought inside to one of our workshop bays.
Vehicle Stripping
Our skilled technicians then begin the process by removing wheels, body panels, lights and all the trim necessary to safely and effectively remove all the existing vinyl wrap. All trims and parts removed from the vehicle are sorted and stored safely out of the working area.
Pre-Clean / Masking
Once all the parts are stripped from the vehicle it’s then cleaned again to ensure no dirt hiding behind trims, fixtures is able to damage the paintwork during works being carried out. The edges of trims are also masked over so nothing is damaged from excess heat or tools that may be used to complete the job.
Bay Cleaning
Cleaned, masked up and ready to go but there’s one final job that need to be done before we commence. The work bay that the vehicle is situated within needs cleaning down and making sure it’s free from trip hazards, rubbish and is a safe environment for both employees and potential visitors to our site. This bay clean also ensures that any parts removed from the vehicle are stored correctly, won’t get misplaced and most importantly have zero chance of being damaged by the moving of vehicles and equipment around the workshop.
De-Wrap
Using heat-guns, steam tools and their expert knowledge, the team set about removing the existing vinyl one panel at a time. Depending on the age of the wrap and how well it had been applied there’s potential for the paint/clearcoat underneath to be damaged if this isn’t done correctly, with precision and skill. The green slowly begins to shine through and reveal what lies underneath.
With this vehicle, after our team had de-wrapped the front and rear bumpers they’d found that it had previously had replacement ones fitted which were left as they’d come from the factory. Black.
As the client wanted to keep the beautiful original green colour of this Porsche Panamera we had to notify them of our discovery to see how they wanted to proceed. In most cases, a de-wrapped vehicle will be as standard underneath the old wrap, potentially only requiring a quick buff and polish to bring it back to it’s former glory.
We do however sometimes find some nightmares underneath old wraps! From bodged body repairs and flaking paint to missing trims even vehicles needing completely re-painting should the customer not want their vehicle re-wrapping.
Quality Check
The technicians working on the vehicle will then go over every section making sure the we’re upholding our quality standards, everything is in place as it should be.
Re-Assembly
After finding the miscoloured bumpers and informing the client they opted to continue with the revert back to the original green colour requiring them to be sent off to our approved bodywork specialist for a colour match paint job. Once the body panels were returned to ourselves we began re-assembling the vehicle, making sure everything lines up correctly and every bolt/washer/screw is accounted for and torqued to the proper specifications as it would have been from new.
Check Function of Parts
This Porsche’s journey is almost complete but we’ve got a few more steps on our 12 step list to cover just yet! As we’ve had to remove multiple components of this vehicle for this job, they’ve all now been refitted but have yet to be tested to make sure they function as intended. Lights have been removed meaning they’ve been disconnected, so after reinstalling them our technicians have to check they work on all modes.
This process needs to be carried out on all parts of the vehicle, removed or not so we know the customer is going to receive their vehicle back in perfect working order.
Final Inspection
We do a final check of the vehicle to make sure nothing has been missed, parts have been refitted correctly, customer spec has been met or exceeded and everything on the vehicle is in perfect working order.
Detail & Clean
Up next is a proper detail and polish session with our in-house detailer, the vehicle is washed, dried and given every little bit of attention it deserves with cutting compounds, polish and a plethora of different buffing tools, pads and cloths to make sure the colour pops and the car is absolutely gleaming for when the customers comes to collect.
Customer Handover
Now it’s time to hand this Porsche back over to it’s owner! Once they arrive for their vehicle one of our senior technicians once again goes over the vehicle, this time with the customer, to explain everything that has been done, and ensure the customer is completely satisfied with the workmanship that has taken place on their pride and joy.
As you can see from the pictures below, this Porsche Panamera De-Wrap was definitely a worthwhile job! The factory colour is beautiful and the customer was thrilled to have it back looking how it does!
