How to Prepare Your Vehicle for a Wrap: Sacramento Owner Checklist

The quality of your wrap install is set in the 7 days before you drop the vehicle off. Here's the exact pre-install checklist we send to every Sacramento customer.

Seven days before your appointment

• No fresh wax, sealant, or ceramic coating. These prevent vinyl from adhering. If you just had a coating applied, tell us — we may need to decontaminate first.
• No auto-wash tunnels. Hot wax residue is a wrap-killer.
• Document any existing damage with photos. Dents, deep scratches, peeling clear coat. We'll talk through whether they need to be fixed first.
• Final color/finish decision. Bring samples, screenshots, or color codes. Adding a swatch review on install day costs time.

Two days before

• Hand-wash the vehicle with a pH-neutral car soap. No silicone-heavy spray waxes.
• Remove personal items from exterior trays, roof racks, hitch carriers, etc.
• Empty the trunk and frunk. We may need to wrap into door jambs and the rear hatch lip.
• Top up fuel to roughly half a tank. Wrapping the fuel door is easier on a balanced vehicle.

The day before drop-off

• One more thorough hand-wash + dry. Pay attention to the cracks around emblems, mirrors and door handles. Loose dirt under the vinyl shows up as bumps.
• Confirm the appointment. Reply to our SMS or call (916) 336-7865 if anything changed.
• Arrange transportation. Full color-change wraps take 3–5 business days. Lyft from Del Paso Blvd is straightforward; Uber pickup is reliable.
• Pack your charger. If your vehicle is EV, please drop off with at least 50% battery.

Drop-off day

• Don't fill up with gas on the way in. Splashes around the filler door are a hassle.
• Bring a key — and tell us about any aftermarket alarms that arm on door open / door unlock cycles.
• Walk the vehicle with us. 10 minutes of joint inspection saves a lot of confusion later.
• Sign the work order. It locks in the film brand, color, scope (full / partial / door jambs / emblem removal) and the warranty terms.

What NOT to do

• Don't try to clay-bar the car yourself the day before. If it needs decontamination, we'll do it correctly with iron remover and a wrap-safe process.
• Don't apply a sealant or “quick wax” to “help us out.” It does the opposite.
• Don't try to fix dings with touch-up paint less than two weeks out. Wet paint and vinyl don't mix.
• Don't park under sap-heavy trees overnight. Sap residue can take real labor to remove.

Will my paint condition affect the wrap?

Yes — wraps stick to clear coat, not bondo, primer, or peeling paint. Here's how common issues affect the install:

• Light swirl marks: Fine — the wrap will hide them. Consider correction if you'd be disappointed years later.
• Stone chips: Fine for daily drivers. We can fill major ones first for $50–$150.
• Peeling clear coat or sun-baked paint: Not a wrap candidate without paint repair. We'll be honest about this on inspection.
• Recent paint work (less than 30 days old): Has to fully off-gas. Wait at least 4 weeks before wrapping.

Pickup expectations

On pickup we'll walk the wrap with you under sun-gun lighting, demonstrate the warranty seam locations, and hand you a printed care guide. From there we recommend keeping the car garaged for the first 48 hours so the adhesive fully cures.