Ordering too little film is the most expensive mistake in a wrap job, because the second roll rarely matches the first perfectly and you have paid shipping twice. Ordering too much is money sitting on a shelf. Here is how we size a job at the counter, with the numbers we actually use.
The quick answer
Wrap film comes on 60-inch (five foot) wide rolls and is sold by the linear foot. For a full exterior wrap of a typical vehicle, plan on:
| Vehicle | Linear feet of 60-inch film |
|---|---|
| Compact car or small coupe | 50 to 55 ft |
| Mid-size sedan | 55 to 60 ft |
| Full-size sedan or sports coupe | 60 to 65 ft |
| Small or mid-size SUV or crossover | 60 to 70 ft |
| Full-size SUV or pickup | 70 to 80 ft |
| Cargo van | 75 to 90 ft |
Those figures already include a normal waste allowance for an experienced installer. If this is your first wrap, add another ten to fifteen percent. You will misjudge a stretch, contaminate a panel, or need to redo a bumper, and having the film on hand is cheaper than stopping the job.
How the math works
The rule of thumb is to take the length of the vehicle in feet, multiply by three, and add five to ten feet for bumpers and mirrors. A sixteen foot sedan works out to 48 feet plus bumpers, which is why the sedan row above lands at 55 to 60. The three-times rule covers both sides plus the hood, roof and trunk laid out along the roll.
The reason it is not simply surface area divided by film width is panel layout. Every panel has to come out of a five foot wide strip, and pieces cannot always nest tightly. A hood on a full-size truck may be wider than 60 inches at the base, which forces a seam or a different orientation and adds waste.
Partial wraps
| Job | Linear feet |
|---|---|
| Hood only | 5 to 7 ft |
| Roof only | 5 to 8 ft |
| Hood, roof and trunk | 15 to 20 ft |
| Front bumper | 5 to 6 ft |
| Mirrors and door handles | 2 to 3 ft |
| Chrome delete, trim and window surrounds | Sold in narrow widths, see chrome delete films |
| Racing stripes | Length of car plus 2 ft, in the stripe width |
Things that add film
- Metallic, color shift and textured finishes. Panels must be cut from the roll in the same direction so the flake or weave matches, which limits how tightly pieces nest. Add five to ten percent.
- Deep recesses and body kits. Aggressive bumpers, diffusers and vents need bigger pieces and more relief cuts.
- Inlays. Wrapping door jambs, inside the fuel door or under the hood edge adds a few feet each.
- Two colors. If the roof is a different color, size each color separately rather than splitting one total.
Buy it all from one roll
Cast film is made in batches, and two rolls of the same color from different lots can differ slightly in shade or gloss. It is rarely visible on a sample and often visible on adjacent panels. When we cut a full wrap we pull it from a single roll, and if you order by the foot from us, your order comes off one roll as well. When a job is near the top of a standard roll length, buy the full roll; it is priced lower per foot and you keep the remainder for repairs.
Film is cut to order
One last thing that matters for sizing: wrap film is cut from the roll when you order, so it cannot be returned or exchanged once it ships. Measure twice, use the tables above, and if you are between two numbers, take the larger one. If you send us your year, make and model, we will tell you exactly what we would cut for it.
Talk it through with the bay
Email filmsourceusa@gmail.com with the car and what you want done, and we will come back with the film, the footage and the price.