Summer never seems to last quite long enough here in Washington. As we head into fall, the sunny days start getting shorter, the rain returns, and our work trucks and fleet vehicles spend a lot more time dealing with wet roads, mud, leaves, and road grime.
If your company uses wrapped trucks, vans, trailers, or service vehicles, fall is a good time to take a closer look at your graphics.
The good news is that professionally installed vehicle wraps are made to handle everyday weather. Rain itself isn’t something you need to be afraid of. But keeping your graphics clean and catching small issues early can help your fleet continue looking professional throughout fall and winter.
Rain Isn’t the Biggest Problem
We get plenty of rain in the Seattle area and throughout Western Washington, but water alone generally isn’t what makes a quality vehicle wrap look bad.
The bigger issue is everything that comes along with wet weather.
Dirt, road spray, mud, oils, leaves, and other contaminants can build up on a vehicle surprisingly quickly. A white work truck that looked great Monday morning can look like it spent the weekend off-roading by Friday afternoon.
That’s simply part of operating a fleet in the Pacific Northwest.
Regular cleaning helps keep that buildup from sitting on the graphics for long periods of time and keeps your company vehicles looking like the rolling advertisements they were designed to be.
Keep Your Wrapped Vehicles Clean
One of the simplest things you can do for vehicle graphics is wash them regularly.
Hand washing is generally the safest approach. Use a mild automotive detergent, clean water, and a soft sponge or cloth. Avoid harsh chemicals and aggressive scrubbing.
Pressure washers also require some common sense around vehicle graphics. High pressure directed closely at an edge or seam can potentially cause problems. Give the graphics some distance and avoid blasting directly into exposed edges.
This is especially worth remembering around doors, wheel wells, bumpers, body seams, and other areas where vinyl edges may be present.
Fall Is a Good Time for a Fleet Walk-Around
You don’t need to be a graphics installer to spot something that deserves attention.
Take a few minutes and walk around your vehicles.
Look at the edges of the graphics. Check around door handles, wheel wells, bumpers, mirrors, seams, and other complicated areas.
You’re looking for things like lifting edges, damaged vinyl, deep scratches, impact damage, or sections that simply don’t look right.
A small damaged area doesn’t necessarily mean an entire vehicle needs to be rewrapped. Depending on the design and location, an individual panel or section may be repairable or replaceable.
Catching it early is usually better than ignoring it for another six months.
Your Fleet Still Represents Your Company on a Rainy Day
We talk a lot about fleet graphics as advertising, but there’s another side to it.
Your vehicles are also part of your company’s appearance.
Customers see them parked in driveways, at job sites, on the freeway, at supply houses, and outside your business. A clean, well-maintained fleet sends a very different message than vehicles with faded, damaged, peeling, or outdated graphics.
And in Washington, those vehicles are often being seen against gray skies and wet roads.
That makes good design, strong brand colors, readable information, and professional installation even more important.
Shorter Days Make Visibility More Important
Fall also means we’re losing daylight.
Service companies often have vehicles on the road early in the morning and late in the afternoon when lighting conditions aren’t ideal.
For certain fleets, reflective graphics can be worth considering. Reflective materials can help portions of a vehicle’s graphics become more noticeable when illuminated by headlights.
We’ve used materials such as 3M™ 780mC Printable Reflective Graphic Film for applications where visibility is an important part of the design.
Reflective doesn’t necessarily mean covering the entire vehicle. Sometimes incorporating reflective material strategically into logos, lettering, striping, or other portions of the design can create an effective result.
The right approach depends on the vehicle, the brand, and how the fleet is being used.
Thinking About New Fleet Graphics? Plan Before Winter
A Good Example: Tony’s Roofing Fleet Refresh
A fleet refresh doesn’t always mean starting over with a completely new design. Sometimes it’s about taking branding that has worked for years and giving it a more modern, noticeable look.
That’s what we recently did with Tony’s Roofing. Their vehicles had been using traditional plotter-cut black logos, and they were ready to give the fleet an updated appearance. We helped move the vehicles to a partial wrap design, adding more visual impact while keeping the branding clean, recognizable, and appropriate for a working roofing fleet.
Projects like this are a good reminder that you don’t necessarily need a full vehicle wrap to make a noticeable difference. A well-designed partial wrap can refresh an older fleet, create a more consistent appearance across multiple vehicles, and help your company stand out when those trucks are on the road or parked at a job site.
Take a look at the Tony’s Roofing fleet refresh to see how a relatively simple graphics update can give work vehicles a completely different appearance.
Fall is also a good time to start thinking ahead.
If your company expects to add vehicles, replace trucks, update branding, or refresh older fleet graphics before the end of the year, it’s better to begin the conversation before the vehicles are sitting in the parking lot waiting for graphics.
At Sir Graphic, a typical fleet graphics project may include gathering vehicle information and VINs, taking photos or surveying the vehicles, receiving artwork and logo files, developing or reviewing layouts, approving proofs, producing the graphics, and scheduling installation.
For multiple vehicles, good planning becomes even more important because we want to minimize the amount of time working vehicles are out of service.
Starting early gives everyone more room to coordinate the project properly.
Professional Installation Matters
Even the best graphic film still needs to be installed correctly.
Surface preparation, temperature, installation technique, vehicle condition, material selection, and attention to edges and complicated areas can all affect the finished product.
At Sir Graphic Inc., we’ve spent decades installing vehicle and fleet graphics for businesses throughout Washington and across the United States. Our focus isn’t simply getting vinyl onto a vehicle. It’s making sure the finished graphics look professional and properly represent the customer’s brand.
We’re proud to be a 3M Certified graphics installation company and part of the United Application Standards Group (UASG).
Whether you’re wrapping one work truck or coordinating graphics for an entire fleet, using an experienced Certified Installer can make a difference.
Get Your Fleet Ready for Fall
Washington weather is going to do what Washington weather does.
A little rain doesn’t mean your fleet graphics need to hide until spring.
Keep your vehicles clean, periodically inspect the graphics, address damage when you notice it, and start planning early if you’re considering a fleet refresh or adding new vehicles.
Your trucks are representing your company every day—rain or shine.
Your Brand Deserves the Best
At Sir Graphic, we believe your visuals should work as hard as you do. That’s why we work with certified professional graphics installers who bring skill, experience, and attention to detail to every job. The result is graphics that look great on day one and continue representing your company for years to come.
Ready to get your fleet ready for fall and winter? Contact Sir Graphic today and let’s talk about your next vehicle or fleet graphics project.
Check out the Blog Post on the updating odf Tonys Roofing vehicles
