Is it necessary to change the color at the traffic police office if a film has been applied to the car?

Each car owner has a good idea of what his iron friend suffers during operation from the influence of the environment. When driving on roads, the body and its paintwork are especially vulnerable. Over time, chips of paint form, scratches on the body, and corrosion develops. How to protect your car or the most vulnerable body parts?

There has been armored film on cars on the market for many years now, it is also called protective or anti-gravel. It protects the entire car body or separately those places and elements that are most exposed.

Many car repair shops perform body wrapping work. Due to the simplicity of the gluing process and the relatively low cost of the material, you can carry out this operation yourself.

What kind of protective film is used and for what purposes?

Protective film is an artificial coating that protects the car body and its elements from damage. This is its main function. Additional – body styling*.

There are two types of films:

Vinyl.
Polyurethane.

Vinyl film was the first to be used for protection. In its physical and chemical composition, it most closely resembles plastic. It stretches when heated and when cooled turns into a hard plastic. Initially used to protect street advertising boards and billboards.

Polyurethane film has a different structure - it is soft, stretches at any temperature and returns to its original size. A synthetic polymer has properties similar to rubber. Acts as a damper*. It was developed in the USA for the needs of the Air Force, in particular, to protect helicopter blades from sand.

Essentially, both perform the same function - protecting the car body. The only difference is that vinyl protects due to its thickness, and polyurethane due to its physical properties, similar to rubber.

*styling - changing the appearance of a car... *damper - something that has a calming, softening effect...

How to register a color change with the traffic police in 2021

Conventionally, the whole process can be divided into several main stages:

You need to start with repainting. Only after completing this procedure the car must be driven to the traffic police department. Fill out the appropriate form here. Its essence is that the driver asks to register a color change.
Owners of new cars need to be especially careful. If a car purchased at a dealership less than three years ago is being repainted, you must contact the Vehicle Tracing Department. Here you will receive documentary evidence that the car is not listed as stolen. With such a document, you can continue the registration procedure.
Before presenting the car for inspection, you must pay a state fee.
Having the receipt in hand, you can go to the traffic police department. Here you will be asked to place the vehicle on a special site, where it will be inspected. Naturally, the car must be clean. All areas of the body that are subject to inspection must be clearly visible. After the inspection, the inspector makes a decision that there are no violations. The corresponding mark is entered.
The car owner must submit all collected documents to the department responsible for registration. The re-registration procedure can last from one hour to one day. This is influenced by the workload of a particular traffic police department.
After receiving new documents, we can say that the re-registration procedure is over. In this case, all necessary changes will be made to the PTS.

Advantages and disadvantages

When there are two or more materials for any type of work, it is always difficult to give preference to one of them. To make it easier to make a decision in our case, we can compare the positive and negative properties of both types.

Vinyl film

Advantages:

the coating protects the car body from damage caused by dirt, fine gravel, branches and sand;
practically invisible on the body;
minor defects are not visible on the body;
protects the paintwork from ultraviolet radiation;
variety of color;
affordable price.

Flaws:

short service life, instead of the stated 3-5 years, only 2-3 years;
with strong impacts with large gravel, chips and cracks appear;
Difficulties in dismantling when the coating has been used for more than two years, the glue and film harden, removing it can lead to peeling of the paint;
fades under the influence of the sun, reacts negatively to reagents;
a shagreen effect is possible.

It is 100 microns (0.1 mm) thick and transparent in appearance.

Polyurethane film

Advantages:

durable, resistant to large chips and deep scratches;
protects the paintwork from damage caused by gravel and pebbles;
does not undergo deformation at high and low temperatures;
does not tear, is resistant to damage even in minor accidents;
service life from 5 to 10 years;
can be polished;
protection from reagents;
There are no difficulties during dismantling; after removal it leaves no traces.

Flaws:

high price, five times more expensive than vinyl;
after gluing to the body, long-term drying;
no protection against ultraviolet radiation.

Film thickness ranges from 150 to 300 microns. There is a positive side to the fact that polyurethane allows ultraviolet light to pass through. The partially coated car body will burn out evenly, and after removing it the color will be the same.

You can remove the polyurethane coating yourself, but it is better to remove the vinyl coating in a specialized workshop, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the surface of the body.

Vinyl film

Vinyl film (PVC) was once invented for advertising on cars. Under no circumstances should it be taken as a protective agent. This is not its purpose, although the thickness of high-quality types of vinyl reaches 90 microns. True, when wrapping a car, it inevitably stretches and in difficult places it can become thinner by about 40%. At best, it will protect the body from sandblasting, road reagents and, for example, light scratches from branches, but no more. On the other hand, such a film has a huge range of colors and textures, giving absolute freedom of action to car styling enthusiasts. In addition, during the life of the vinyl, you can forget about caring for the paintwork of the car, which means considerable expenses - for example, on polishing the body. The average price tag for high-quality vinyl wrapping of an entire body in Moscow is 80–100 thousand rubles.

The market offers a huge range of manufacturers, colors and textures of vinyl films. Basically, the lifespan of a wrapper depends on its quality. Therefore, it’s worth paying extra for a well-known brand so that the appearance of your wrapped car will please you not for one year, but for at least three.

The plastic nature of PVC imposes a major limitation on the service life of such a film (on average 3–5 years). Over time, due to prolonged exposure to the sun, this material will heat shrink. In this case, in some places the film can warp, crack, peel off and rise on the edges of the body panels. PVC also does not tolerate temperature changes well. If you go to the car wash in severe frost, the film may crack during bath procedures. In addition, the plastic cover gets scratched quite quickly. This film does not absorb impacts from stones and breaks through.

Even high-quality vinyl film noticeably loses its presentation after three years of normal use. The beautiful wrapper is covered with scratches and other noticeable damage. True, for some owners this is only to their advantage: this is exactly the effect they are trying to achieve. For example, in the photo there is a freshly applied film that imitates the look of a harsh racing car that often participated in contact wrestling.

What areas are usually protected with film?

It is best to cover the entire surface of the body. But, based on the cost, especially of polyurethane film, you can paste over the part of the body and its elements that are most exposed to sand, stones, branches, etc.

The optimal installation of protection is the front of the car:

bumper;
the leading edge of the hood or the entire hood;
front wings;
exterior mirror housings;
leading edge of roof;
thresholds, doors in the lower part;
around door handles.

To this you can add the wrapping of the rear bumper, which is at risk when reversing or in heavy traffic.

An approximate partial body wrap of a Toyota Land Cruiser is shown in the photo:

Is it possible to cover headlights with film?

Headlight armoring is an effective means of keeping your vehicle's lighting glass in excellent condition longer. Everything is very simple: sand and pebbles flying towards the car while driving will scratch the coating, not the glass. The film can always be replaced.

From the point of view of the legislation of the Russian Federation, there was a debate - whether it is possible to paste it over or not. The dispute arose due to a discrepancy in the interpretation of Article 12.4, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the Technical Regulations on the Safety of Wheeled Vehicles, a number of GOSTs and the List of faults and conditions under which the operation of vehicles is prohibited.

Fortunately, lawyers, through judicial practice, have sorted out this issue and proved that sticking a protective film on the headlights does not change the operating mode of the device. Therefore, protecting headlights is not prohibited by Russian legislation, but the lighting devices must shine white light.

Which is better, painting the body or wrapping it?

There is no clear answer to this question. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at some of them.

Car body wrapping

In terms of time, pasting is faster than painting.
The cost of pasting is less than painting.
The emission of harmful substances during pasting is less than during painting.
The film preserves the paintwork.
It is impossible to cover everything; some body shapes are easier to paint.

Car body painting

Painting is more expensive.
It takes more time to paint.
High-quality painting requires specialists; it’s difficult to do it yourself.
The paint weighs more than the film.
Possibility of repeated polishing.
Any part of the body can be painted.

You can accept one of the options, but if the car is new, it is better to cover it with film. If the car is used, treat its body and paint it. The decision is up to the owner.

Price issue

Before going to a car repair shop, it is advisable to ask in advance how much it costs to cover a car with film. Anti-gravel coating will cost at least 12,000 rubles, and for vinyl printing the price starts at 27,000 rubles. The amount depends on the size and class of the car, as well as the type of vinyl.

You can also paste over not the entire body, but only some parts. How much it costs to cover a car with film in this case also depends on the type of coating and the characteristics of the car. For example, applying film only to mirrors will cost approximately 1,500 rubles. How much does a film for a car cost if you order it yourself from China, as especially thrifty people do?

For a linear meter with a width of 1.5 m you will have to pay from 3 to 15 dollars. Delivery is paid separately. Often its cost exceeds the price of the product. This only happens if the vinyl is thicker (160-200 microns), and therefore better in quality. Therefore, many sellers buy thin (60 micron) film in China, which is much cheaper by weight, and pass it off as quality material to inexperienced buyers. To avoid disappointment from such a purchase, it is better to consult with professionals.