To wrap or not to wrap

[Gaximus]

Agree, wrap it. I was so excited to get a truck that could park next to other cars and not worry about door dings, but after seeing how horrible it looks, if it isn't 100% cleaned, I had to wrap it. Also I get a lot of "Cybertrucks are ugly, but yours actually looks good.

Also: I grew up being taught that the condition of your value is a direct reflection of the person driving it. I strongly believe this, not the value, but the condition of the vehicle. I now live in an area, where the majority of people around don't believe that, I get neighbors always joking about how I wash my vehicles 1-2 times a week.

Sponsored

 

[Jabman]

I don’t think you can go wrong either way. I’ve had my truck since May and the stainless was a breeze to clean as others have stated. Sprayway is my new favorite product because it literally cleans the whole truck (not just the windows) in under 20 minutes with microfiber cloths. It’s also way better on glass than Windex.
I did end up wrapping the truck after 4 months naked (stainless). I feel like it needed a change and I love the way it came out. Best part is if I change my mind, I can always remove the wrap and go naked once again ?

 

[abrader]

I don’t think you can go wrong either way. I’ve had my truck since May and the stainless was a breeze to clean as others have stated. Sprayway is my new favorite product because it literally cleans the whole truck (not just the windows) in under 20 minutes with microfiber cloths. It’s also way better on glass than Windex.
I did end up wrapping the truck after 4 months naked (stainless). I feel like it needed a change and I love the way it came out. Best part is if I change my mind, I can always remove the wrap and go naked once again ?

That looks pretty good. How much did you pay for that?

 

[Jabman]

That looks pretty good. How much did you pay for that?

$3750 for wrap
$700 for ceramic tints 5% all around, including roof glass, excluding windshield

 

[Balthezor]

I really dig how the stainless steel looks. But may wrap it in a year. Matte black.

 

[CyberGus]

DRIVE NAKED

 

[tingmo13]

Did you wrap or keep it nude? What were your considerations?
how'd you know it was/is nude?

 

[A172302]

I just got my invitation to buy my non FS CT. Among my many reasons for buying the CT is that I live in the country so my vehicles are constantly covered with road dust and bug splats. Reading the CT manual about how you had to clean off bug splats immediately or risk permanent damage to the stainless steel surface worried me. I would literally have to clean it after every drive. This has caused me to consider a wrap but would rather not. Have any of the non-wrapped CT owners had this problem? What have you seen as the long term effects of bug splat?

 

[WhTsup]

If you ask me, not a big deal.

 

[HaulingAss]

Keep it stainless camp for me.

it’s ridiculously easy to keep clean.

Mine is taking on a patina after 6,000 miles and seems to show less finger prints and other stuff than I’d imagined.

Wraps can get damaged more easily and gloss anything shows far more dirt dust and road grime

Exactly! The people who have trouble keeping it clean don't know how to leave it alone. They continually strip it with harsh chemicals which makes it very susceptible to fingerprints and stains.

The metal will self-passivate if it's just washed with soap and water and become ridiculously easy to keep looking nice with almost no elbow grease. Sprayway is a solvent based glass gleaner that removes fingerprints and surface contaminates without disturbing the passivation layer. Soap and water washes remove oils and waxes that can prevent the passivation layer from forming. So keep oil and wax away from the metal, just wash it with plain soap and water when it gets dirty. Some car wash soaps leave a protective film on the surface which will slow or prevent the passivation layer from foming, so a basic soap is best.

Barkeepers Friend, the spray foam, not the abrasive cream, is a last resort for stains that have made it through the passivation layer, because it strips the protective passivation layer and makes the stainless "sensitive" to new stains until the passivation layer can re-establish itself.

Don't do this with your Cybertruck if you have a plastic wrap:



I'm loving the durability of the hard frickin' steel and knowing that I can always bring it back to new again whenever I want. In my F-150 bushwhacking was always a butt-puckering affair, it took all the fun out of it knowing that I was damaging the thin clearcoat. Now bushwacking is fun again! I couldn't say that if I had a wrap.

 

[HaulingAss]

I just got my invitation to buy my non FS CT. Among my many reasons for buying the CT is that I live in the country so my vehicles are constantly covered with road dust and bug splats. Reading the CT manual about how you had to clean off bug splats immediately or risk permanent damage to the stainless steel surface worried me. I would literally have to clean it after every drive. This has caused me to consider a wrap but would rather not. Have any of the non-wrapped CT owners had this problem? What have you seen as the long term effects of bug splat?

I haven't seen any long-term effects from bug splats, and my Cybertruck has been covered in them numerous times for up to two weeks at a time. I just wash them off with soap and water when I want a clean truck.

I think Tesla just copied the care instructions from their painted vehicles to be safe (clearcoats are notoriously easy to damage). There is no way a bug splat is going to cause permanent damage to stainless steel, at worst it could stain the surface if it ate through the thin passivation layer, which would be easily removed with Barkeepers Friend Spray Foam.

 

[HaulingAss]

Can anyone share experiences with wrap durability? I'd hate to have to rewrap every 1-2 years. Ideally I'd want to have it last 5 years. How does it hold up with highway driving and gravel roads?

Compared to the bare, uncoated stainless steel, plastic wrap is not durable at all. Even UV rays from the sun will hasten it's demise. The uncoated stainless steel is impervious to solar heat and UV rays, it cant get that old, washed-out look.

 

[Gundo]

Exactly! The people who have trouble keeping it clean don't know how to leave it alone. They continually strip it with harsh chemicals which makes it very susceptible to fingerprints and stains.

The metal will self-passivate if it's just washed with soap and water and become ridiculously easy to keep looking nice with almost no elbow grease. Sprayway is a solvent based glass gleaner that removes fingerprints and surface contaminates without disturbing the passivation layer. Soap and water washes remove oils and waxes that can prevent the passivation layer from forming. So keep oil and wax away from the metal, just wash it with plain soap and water when it gets dirty. Some car wash soaps leave a protective film on the surface which will slow or prevent the passivation layer from foming, so a basic soap is best.

Barkeepers Friend, the spray foam, not the abrasive cream, is a last resort for stains that have made it through the passivation layer, because it strips the protective passivation layer and makes the stainless "sensitive" to new stains until the passivation layer can re-establish itself.

Don't do this with your Cybertruck if you have a plastic wrap:



I'm loving the durability of the hard frickin' steel and knowing that I can always bring it back to new again whenever I want. In my F-150 bushwhacking was always a butt-puckering affair, it took all the fun out of it knowing that I was damaging the thin clearcoat. Now bushwacking is fun again! I couldn't say that if I had a wrap.

Truth.

 

[Trekboy]

Exactly! The people who have trouble keeping it clean don't know how to leave it alone. They continually strip it with harsh chemicals which makes it very susceptible to fingerprints and stains.

The metal will self-passivate if it's just washed with soap and water and become ridiculously easy to keep looking nice with almost no elbow grease. Sprayway is a solvent based glass gleaner that removes fingerprints and surface contaminates without disturbing the passivation layer. Soap and water washes remove oils and waxes that can prevent the passivation layer from forming. So keep oil and wax away from the metal, just wash it with plain soap and water when it gets dirty. Some car wash soaps leave a protective film on the surface which will slow or prevent the passivation layer from foming, so a basic soap is best.

Barkeepers Friend, the spray foam, not the abrasive cream, is a last resort for stains that have made it through the passivation layer, because it strips the protective passivation layer and makes the stainless "sensitive" to new stains until the passivation layer can re-establish itself.

Don't do this with your Cybertruck if you have a plastic wrap:



I'm loving the durability of the hard frickin' steel and knowing that I can always bring it back to new again whenever I want. In my F-150 bushwhacking was always a butt-puckering affair, it took all the fun out of it knowing that I was damaging the thin clearcoat. Now bushwacking is fun again! I couldn't say that if I had a wrap.

OMG, I'm loving everything you said about "bushwhackin' again", and not worrying. Also, I was chatting with a CT owner at a supercharger recently, and he had a no frills, non-wrapped Beast that had a beautiful patina to it. You know what the say..."Age does have it's benefits".

 

[abrader]

I’ve driven mine for about a month now about 1700 miles and I’m honestly happy with just the base stainless steel and will not wrap mine

Sponsored