CivicCanuck
Well-Known Member
First off, my hat is off to Webby, I had an idea for a color matched decal placed on my tinted windows, as I think white would look a bit out of place, as well as I wanted a bit more subtle look.
I asked if he could make a decal, but not apply the masking to the front, as all decals you get are pre-masked so that you can simply peel and apply. He said that was no problem, and he cut a sheet of decals just for me.
They arrived at the speed of light, along with my lanyard.
Woot.
Now, you have to handle these carefully because there is no masking to hold the decal together, since the backing does not adhere well to the vinyl.
The only type of paint I recommend is a basecoat, simply because it has an aggressive solvent package, no sticky resins, and is flexible. Almost any automotive paint store that mixes paint can mix you up a spraybomb of basecoat in your color. You will need the color code of your car to do so.
Don't try to wipe the decal off or scuff it in any way before painting, it will stick quite fine.
Tape the decal backing down to a cardboard box, and give it 3 medium wet coats, allowing the basecoat to flash off ( become dull and dry to the touch ) for 5-10 minutes between coats. Don't worry about the paint on the backing, this will sort itself out later on when you go to apply the decal.
They should look similar to this:
Now, wait for approximately 1/2 hour before the next step: Applying a masking to the decal. I used 3M tape, because that's what I had, although it is very sticky, you can 'kill' the stickiness some by sticking it to your T-shirt or pant leg first before applying it to the decal.
I had 3/4 wide, most vinyl places buy wide masking tape. One thing is in order to get the decal square, line up your first piece with the bottom of the letters or in this case, the bars. Cover the surface, making sure to get all the details in the sticker.
Next: clean the surface of the vehicle, and peel the backing off carefully. Make sure none of the letters are tearing, it may require some pressure to get them to stick to the masking tape. Now you should have masking tape ready to apply.
Apply the tape, press firmly with a plastic squeegee, and then peel the masking tape. Don't worry about small bits of basecoat stuck to the surface around the edge of the decal. A new piece of masking tape applied, and pulled off will bring that right off. If there are any stubborn bits, it helps to apply the tape and use your nail to run along the edge of the letter or bar.
When done, it should look like this:
I asked if he could make a decal, but not apply the masking to the front, as all decals you get are pre-masked so that you can simply peel and apply. He said that was no problem, and he cut a sheet of decals just for me.
They arrived at the speed of light, along with my lanyard.
Woot.Now, you have to handle these carefully because there is no masking to hold the decal together, since the backing does not adhere well to the vinyl.
The only type of paint I recommend is a basecoat, simply because it has an aggressive solvent package, no sticky resins, and is flexible. Almost any automotive paint store that mixes paint can mix you up a spraybomb of basecoat in your color. You will need the color code of your car to do so.
Don't try to wipe the decal off or scuff it in any way before painting, it will stick quite fine.
Tape the decal backing down to a cardboard box, and give it 3 medium wet coats, allowing the basecoat to flash off ( become dull and dry to the touch ) for 5-10 minutes between coats. Don't worry about the paint on the backing, this will sort itself out later on when you go to apply the decal.
They should look similar to this:
Now, wait for approximately 1/2 hour before the next step: Applying a masking to the decal. I used 3M tape, because that's what I had, although it is very sticky, you can 'kill' the stickiness some by sticking it to your T-shirt or pant leg first before applying it to the decal.
I had 3/4 wide, most vinyl places buy wide masking tape. One thing is in order to get the decal square, line up your first piece with the bottom of the letters or in this case, the bars. Cover the surface, making sure to get all the details in the sticker.
Next: clean the surface of the vehicle, and peel the backing off carefully. Make sure none of the letters are tearing, it may require some pressure to get them to stick to the masking tape. Now you should have masking tape ready to apply.
Apply the tape, press firmly with a plastic squeegee, and then peel the masking tape. Don't worry about small bits of basecoat stuck to the surface around the edge of the decal. A new piece of masking tape applied, and pulled off will bring that right off. If there are any stubborn bits, it helps to apply the tape and use your nail to run along the edge of the letter or bar.
When done, it should look like this:
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