If you're in the middle of converting your van or you’ve been waiting for some time off work to fit some products to your van, then over Christmas is the perfect time. However, you might find that fitting in cold temperatures may be more difficult and this because the cold will affect some of our products and their adhesion or flexibility.   

Here we have put together a winter fitting tips guide to ensure you can fit all your products perfectly…

Prepping your vehicle

Before you go ahead and fit your new products it is important to make sure your van is prepped. You will need to clean and dry any area that you are fitting products to, especially if you are using adhesive tape. Using any Autoglym or Auto Finesse products and applicators will be perfect for ensuring your vehicle is clean ahead of fitting! If you are trying to fit chrome accessories, wind deflectors, bonnet bras, bonnet guards or windows, make sure the surface is dry and preferably warm. If the surface or product is too cold, it may not stick properly or the product could snap when you are fitting it. An easy way to warm up the product or surface area on the van is to use a hairdryer or heat gun.

Chrome Styling Products

Before you try and fit your chrome styling accessories to your vehicle, you need to clean the area you are working on with a degreasing product like washing up liquid. You then need to ensure the area is completely dry before application and if you are working in temperatures below 15°c (which over winter you will be), you will need to use a hairdryer or heat gun to warm the bodywork. This is because the primer and adhesive work best above this temperature, anything below can result in fitment failure!

Once you have fitted your chrome styling product, it is essential you leave it to sit for at least 2 hours before driving, and for the first 24 hours don’t exceed 40mph because the total cure time is 72hours.

Wind Deflectors

Our DGA wind deflectors are fitted to the window channel using a 3M adhesive tape, so to help aid secure adhesion in low temperatures you will need to warm the window frame with a hairdryer or heat gun. If you try to fit your wind deflectors in the cold without warming your window, your wind deflectors may not fit properly, and the adhesive tape won’t provide a strong bond to keep them in place.

We would also recommend that if the temperature is below freezing then it may be best to wait until the temperature rises to fit your wind deflectors. If the temperature is still below 15°c, you may want to warm up your wind deflectors as well, because when fitting you will need to bend the deflectors in order to fit them into the window channel and the cold temperature may cause them to snap or shatter!

Similar with the chrome styling accessories, you will need to let your wind deflectors settle for at least 12 hours before driving.

Here is our Wind Deflector fitting video: 

Windows

If you have decided to fit your windows yourself then we would advise you to do it inside and in slightly warmer temperatures to make fitting easier. When fitting our windows, you will be using a primer and adhesive during the fitting process and these work best above 15°c. You can warm up your work area using a heater or use a hairdryer to warm up your window opening.

Follow these winter fitting tips to ensure you get the best possible fitment!