Workin' on the wife's car
#1
So this weekend was working on her car (2015 Camaro RS) - she's a gamer (World of Warcraft) and wanted to make her car a little more 'her car.'  

Started late Saturday, but finished up yesterday afternoon installing the black carbon fiber hood spears, side & mirror stripes, and WoW decals on her car.  She also found a set of stainless WoW plate frames, which I put on yesterday.

[Image: carmen1.jpg]

[Image: carmen2.jpg]

[Image: carmen3.jpg]

[Image: carmen4.jpg]

[Image: carmen5.jpg]

[Image: carmen6.jpg]

[Image: carmen7.jpg]

I like these stripes on this car a lot better than the same ones in burgundy on her gray one (which got totaled last August when some jerk crashed into us on the freeway).

[Image: stripes1.jpg]
Reply
#2
You did a good job.

What's the secret to applying decals and keeping them straight without wrinkles or air bubbles?

Anything needing decals always ends up going the the body shop down the street.

Yeah, they know me by name.   Laughing
Reply
#3
Well, there's a couple of things going on here.

1. I used a strip of blue painter's tape to set-up the bottom edge, to avoid sagging or drooping along the length.  The stripe's carrier was pretty rigid, so I only put the blue tape at the seams and door gaps this time.

2. Figure out which stripes go where ahead of time, and mark them accordingly (position, which side is up, which side goes on which side of the car, etc.).

3. Draw a pilot line along the bottom edge of the stripes to the edge of the carrier, which will help make things easier to line-up with the blue tape when putting the stripe on (the edges of the stripes and blue tape will get lost behind the opaque carrier when placing them on the car).

4. Get some sticker application gel - I bought some Slide-On from NPD when I did my Mach 1 stickers.  I still have some leftover after doing the Mustang, and 2 sets of Camaro stripes.  Squirt some onto the surface, smooth it out so it's fairly even, the place the sticker.  You'll be able to slide the sticker around until you get it where you want it. https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/m...4-516.html

5. Gently squeegee the entire stripe/decal to get most of the sticker application gel out from under the sticker.  The gel takes the potential air bubbles with it.

6. Carefully peel back the sticker carrier, making sure the stickers stay stuck to the car. I find that folding the carrier back and gently pulling it away from exposed stripe while keeping the carrier close to the car surface helps keep the sticker stuck better than pulling it at a 45 degree angle from the surface (for instance).

7. Carefully re-squeegee the stickers to get the last of any air/gel bubbles that might be left (don't hit it so hard it moves the stripes around, though).

8. Wait a couple of days before cleaning, wiping, or otherwise anything around the stickers... check after an hour or so to make sure nothing's lifting up.  A quick swipe of the squeegee should stick 'em down for good at that point.
Reply
#4
Nice Job with the stripes Eric!  The theme really makes the car stand out!  Thanks for the how-to write up too!
Reply
#5
My pleasure, and thanks for the kind words (especially, since it's a Camaro  Wink )

I've done probably around 50 cars worth of window tint and decal/stripe work - which uses a very similar technique to smooth it all out (no-ammonia glass cleaner or a drop of dish washing liquid in a spray-bottle of distilled water instead of application gel).

It's weird, but my plan for the Mach 1 was to throw on some hockey stripes, mostly since the factory rocker trim was mangled with pieces missing when I got it.  But after seeing just about every '71-'73 Mustang out there having the hockey stripes, and seeing so many of them not installed very well (saggy, wavy, not properly trimmed at the wheel well flares - even on the high-end restorations), I decided to keep mine as an original no-stripe, no spoiler car.  

Now I just need to come up with the courage to drill into the shiny sheet metal and mount the new rocker trim pieces I've been collecting the last year or so.  I'm thinking that might take me a little bit of time to work it out.  Confused
Reply
#6
It's always difficult taking a drill to new shiny paint.  I have been searching for good rocker panel pieces for my car.  Most of the pieces that came with the car have dings and scratches in them so I don't think they will be very appealing to the eye.

Like you I am not in a rush.
Reply
#7
Aw come on! Jump in, and take the "Plunge"  ERRRR, I mean drill, and have at it ! I worked in a lot of truck shops, and took a drill to hundreds of brand new Feightliners, Pete's, and Kenworth's, to mount bug shields, wind deflectors, and all kinds of lights. So drilling holes in new sheetmetal, or fiberglass, is no big deal.  LOL!  Just be sure to measure 2 or 3 times then have at it. By the time I put the scoop on the My 08 Mustang. I didn't even flinch.
Just be sure to put some masking tape down where you have to drill through. To keep from tearing the paint. Also be careful when you pull the tape off, as it's still possible to lift the paint. Have Fun!

JTS
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  The Wife Says My 04 Mach 1 Is A Man Magnet Rare Pony 9 27,666 08-22-2012, 10:18 AM
Last Post: Victor.Gorea

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
[-]
Latest Threads
What's One More Iron In The Fire!
Last Post: fram lee666
03-18-2024 06:21 PM
» Replies: 125
» Views: 238055
"Jacobra"
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
06-30-2023 11:13 PM
» Replies: 86
» Views: 150857
My old Queensland Ambulance
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
06-30-2023 11:08 PM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 1686
New member from San Jose, CA
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
05-09-2023 08:39 AM
» Replies: 12
» Views: 3957
Saving Seatbelts
Last Post: Jim
02-19-2023 10:23 PM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 9109
Sourcing new wheels
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
01-25-2023 02:34 PM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 1995
Shaker Air Filter
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
01-08-2023 02:24 AM
» Replies: 3
» Views: 1466
1971 Mach 1 parting out interior parts -...
Last Post: ylwhrse
12-22-2022 01:38 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 640
Painting
Last Post: Rare Pony
12-14-2022 06:24 PM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 1964
WELCOME ALL NEW MEMBERS INTRODUCE YOURSE...
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
08-31-2022 01:36 PM
» Replies: 82
» Views: 157028
1970 mach 1 matching numbers
Last Post: Kstweeter
08-31-2022 10:31 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 1086
Brake booster/servo hose length
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
08-23-2022 09:40 AM
» Replies: 7
» Views: 2995
New Member
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
08-20-2022 11:18 AM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 1498
smooth window operation on 70 Mach
Last Post: CUSTOMMISER
08-15-2022 12:10 PM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 1473
Blinkers on solid
Last Post: busted21
08-09-2022 03:58 AM
» Replies: 14
» Views: 8717
Blinkers on solid when lights on.
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
08-08-2022 12:06 PM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 1719
351 cj running hot
Last Post: busted21
08-08-2022 12:13 AM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 3403
Major Winter projects
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
07-09-2022 05:12 AM
» Replies: 49
» Views: 21264
Happy Fathers Day!!!
Last Post: JTS71 Mach1
06-20-2022 02:34 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 1685
1969 Raven Black 390 Looking For
Last Post: mason1958
06-11-2022 09:48 AM
» Replies: 10
» Views: 15079

>