Tesla Cybertruck Owners With a Vinyl Wrap Are Finding the Stainless Steel Becomes Permanently Blemished After Removing the Wrap

I think you should have gone with, “Cybertruck owners don’t know how to clean their trucks”. This would have been a more accurate description of what’s going on. The truck is not permanently blemished.
I also suggest checking out the guy who used SS-50 on their cybertruck, now that story will be a permanent blemish because it removed the chromium oxide layer.
Good job getting your story into my news feed, but you need to step up your journalism skills, and not just repost bogus stories like this.

There's a reason manufacturers coat cars in this miracle thing called "paint." And why no one else has made a SS car body since DeLorean.

You will probably find the culprit isn't the wrap or the stainless steel, it's that the vinyl wrap people use soapy water to install the wrap...after the water is squeezed out there is a soap residue left which will tarnish the stainless steel...wraps using just clean filtered water should not be an issue

As a mechanic, welder, and fabricator just let me say, "Wraps destroy regular trucks. This one is Stainless steel. Polish it and that's it.

Try some white diamond polish in it that stuff is like magic it probably to do with the brushed finish not being smooth and the fact that it's low grade stainless probably 304 which can rust

Now I'm curious about the effects of skinning on different conventionally painted cars

Say you don’t know how to clean your Cybertruck without saying you don’t know how to clean your Cybertruck!

Get some 3000 grit auto sandpaper on a 6inch orbital polisher and lightly wet sand the area. Gone in seconds.

What do you mean it's to soon to say it's damaging the vehicle? That's literally the entire article. Way to back out at the last moment.

You should ceramic coat it first let it cure. Then the vinyl wrap can be applied and when removed it should be fine.

I have a solution to this problem, merely using light.

My business, Laserverse, uses Netalux lasers to clean steel. We do stainless steel clean up all the time. It's fair to say we have a specialty in thin film & residue removal.

Keep the wrap on it. Or replace it with another. This isn't a new problem. Painted cars that have had wraps and or decals on them for any period of time usually show signs of it later down the road. Stainless isn't any different. As for this particular vehicle. It looks like a trash can on wheels anyway, so just about anything could be considered an improvement.

Maybe try blasting the areas or the whole truck with walnut shells. It works for removing paint and won't damage the stainless steel. Works great on regular steel bodies.

The stainless steel used on this vehicle is of low quality. That is the cause of this and other finish issues.

Did not use distilled water,the chlorine in the water well etch stainless steel

There are three types of stainless steels and different grades within. Most people are familiar with food grade which is low T300, high T300 is more aerospace grade. There is also fake stainless from China they call T200. This is easy to tell the difference, as fake stainless is magnetic and food grade is not. Most kitchen appliances today are made with fake stainless. Give it a try “real or fake “.

This is not an unknown condition. It first gained notoriety with the widespread use of vinyl bumper stickers. Upon removal the nickel or chrome bumper material was discolored, stained. That was 50 years ago, at least. The wrap people should be aware and explained this as a warning to bare metal application customers.

There's a reason other manufacturers use this new thing to protect the metal. It's called...... "paint."

I designed and installed stainless steel transport truck accessories for the largest manufacturer in North America for 10 years. CAT came out with a truck with a stainless grille surround and left the plastic on till they were delivered. Every truck was left with residue that wouldn't come off without a proper buff. Not a simple solution, but the only true solution is to bring it to a polisher and pay the money to have them buff it. Heavy truck guys do this all the time and there's lots of shops around that do this.

From my observation this was not a vinyl wrap but was vinyl lettering only. I am a signmaker and do installation and removal of vinyl lettering on boats, trucks, trailers and various other vehicles. What has probably happened is that the area covered by the vinyl has been protected while the uncovered area is exposed to the elements of rain, sun, dirt etc. which usually leaves a shadow effect. Sometimes with boats and factory original painted vehicles compounding may help removing the ghosted shadow effect.

I operate a mobile sign shop that is in a custom built trailer that has a polished stainless steel skin. I have removed some of the lettering from the stainless steel and the results have been the same. I have also encountered discoloration and acid rain oxidation on the stainless steel. My trailer was built in 2006 so I don't expect it to maintain the original appearance but I have used a product called "Whink - Rust & Stain Remover" that has helped remove some of the oxidation. It is recommended to test a small area first to be sure it does not damage the surface.

Please feel free to reach out to me through my email on my website:

www.RIWraps.com

Timothy Tibbetts

It's stainless steel. Buff it out. There's no way that the wrap adhesive has penetrated the steel.

Did anybody check with 3M about blemishes leftover from the wrap? Normally 3M warrants their premium finals for a number of years when installed properly.

I would think Tesla would not be responsible for aftermarket alterations. Also regu I ar pait does this as well.