What is Avery Dennison SW900 wrap film?
SW900 is Avery Dennison’s Supreme Wrapping Film for colour change: a cast vinyl in gloss, satin and matte, plus metallic, pearl, colour-flow and textured lines, made to go on a car’s factory paint and come off again later. Avery’s product data sheet calls it a film for use “where high quality film finish and cost-effective full color wrapping is required.”
The adhesive is the part Avery leads with. Its patented Easy Apply RS feature, the sheet says, “allows for faster positioning, bubble free application, and long term removability.” SW900 is applied dry only; Avery’s sheet says never to use a wet method. The textured films, carbon fibre, brushed metallic and Rugged, are sold as SW900X Extreme Textures.
What does Avery’s data sheet say about SW900?
The sheet gives measured values for thickness, stretch, sheen and temperature. These are the rows that matter on a car.
| Property | Avery’s figure |
|---|---|
| Face thickness | 3.2 mil (80 µm) to 4.7 mil (119 µm), by colour |
| Adhesive thickness | 1.2 mil (30 µm) |
| Elongation at break | 150% (120% for metallics) |
| Gloss at 60° | Gloss above 85 GU; satin 20–30 GU; matte below 15 GU |
| Lowest application temperature | 10 °C on flat and simple curves; 16 °C on complex curves |
| Service temperature | −45 °C to 82 °C |
| Chemical resistance | “Resistant to most mild acids, alkalis, and salt solutions” |
| Shelf life | 2 years from manufacture |
Thickness changes how a colour behaves. Avery warns that faces of 4 mil and above “may have reduced conformability”, and its list includes several reds and greens and the white pearls at 4.2 mil, the Rugged line at 4.5 mil and the Diamond line at 5.4 to 5.7 mil. Those colours take more care on mirrors and deep bumper recesses.
How long does SW900 last on a car?
Avery ties the life of SW900 to the colour type and to how the panel faces the sun. Its warranty term equals that durability, and abrasion and loss of gloss count as normal wear, not defects.
| SW900 colour type | Zone 1, vertical / horizontal | Zone 2, vertical / horizontal |
|---|---|---|
| Black and white | 12 years / 3 years | 9.6 years / 6 months |
| Other solid colours | 10 years / 2 years | 8 years / 6 months |
| Metallic and pearlescent, including Rugged | 5 years / 2 years | 4 years / 6 months |
| SW900X textured films | 4 years / 1 year | 3 years / 6 months |
| ColorFlow | 4 years / 1 year | 3 years / 6 months |
| Metallics with gold flake | 3 years / 1 year | 2.4 years / 6 months |
| Diamond line | 3 years / 1 year | 2.4 years / 6 months |
“Vertical” on Avery’s sheet means a face within 10° of upright, like a door. Anything leaning more than 10°, such as a sloping hood or a flat roof, is rated at the horizontal figure. Avery assigns zones by location in a separate bulletin (IB 1.30), so ask which zone covers a BC car. On top of Avery’s figures, Brookswood Tint publishes a 5-year warranty of its own on any vinyl it installs.
Which SW900 colours need extra care?
A few groups behave differently on the car, and it helps to know before you pick. Avery names each one on its data sheet.
- Less than fully opaque colours. Mostly yellows, oranges and reds, plus a green and a pearl blue, among them Yellow (SW900-225-O), Orange (SW900-370-O) and Green Apple (SW900-745-M), “may demonstrate color shift when applied, or allow show through of paint lines of dissimilar colors.” Going light over dark paint is where it shows.
- Matte finishes. Avery warns they “are subject to extreme color and gloss shift” from cleaners, wax and polish, and asks you to test any product somewhere hidden first.
- Metallic, pearl and ColorFlow. These can look different depending on the direction the film runs, so every panel should be laid the way it came off the roll, ideally from one roll per car.
- Gold-flake metallics. A dozen named colours, Gloss Metallic Spark (SW900-419) and Gloss Sand Sparkle (SW900-255) among them, carry the shortest durability rows.
Matte Metallic Gunmetal: the SW900 colour in the shop’s photos
The Mercedes GLS on this page is wrapped in Avery Matte Metallic Gunmetal, which Avery’s North American product overview lists as SW900-840-M. As a metallic, it sits in the metallic and pearlescent row: 5 years vertical and 2 horizontal in Zone 1.
It is also a matte, so the cleaning warning for matte films applies to it. The job itself is written up on the GLS Matte Metallic Gunmetal project, and the colour on its own on Matte Metallic Gunmetal.
How do you look after an SW900 wrap?
Use mild, pH-balanced products and no abrasives. Avery’s rule for cleaners is pH 5 to 9, nothing abrasive, and none of these: non-isopropyl alcohol, acids, ammonia, chlorine, glycol ethers, harmful detergents, petroleum distillates or phosphates. Soaps, waxes or coatings that carry solvents or petroleum distillates “void any warranty”, in Avery’s words.
On removal, Avery counts SW900 as removable for its durability period, meaning it comes off with heat and chemical methods leaving less than 20% adhesive residue. It doesn’t warrant removal from paint more than five years old or from paint that is oxidized or poorly bonded. Washing day to day is covered on how to wash a wrapped car, and taking a wrap off on vinyl wrap removal.
Should you choose SW900 or 3M 2080?
Choose the film that makes the exact colour you want. Brookswood Tint installs both brands, and the two films are close enough on paper that colour and finish usually decide it. The details, adhesive against adhesive and warranty against warranty, are laid side by side on 3M 2080 vs Avery SW900, and 3M’s film has its own page at 3M 2080 wrap film.
Getting an SW900 wrap quoted in Langley
Wraps are priced per vehicle, so send the year, make and model, the SW900 colour name or code if you have it, and the panels you want covered through the vinyl wrap quote form. Plan on three to five days without the car for a full colour change; a roof, mirrors or other partial jobs are quicker. The finishes the shop works with are on the vinyl wrap page.
