Some pointers for adding vehicle 3m Striping to SUV

CTARES

I know alot of you guys who do full installs also do exterior striping from 3m. I've got a roll of 4\" non-refl striping I would like to apply to the Ford Expy. Do you guys have any suggestions to keep me and my install partner out of trouble when we do this? Specifically, when you make a turn, for us a 45 degree turn, what's your suggestion on how to do this? How about going over curved areas (fenders, etc.)

Any pointers would be great for a novice....

Thanks

Redsquirrel

I'm not a pro, and have only done it a few times, but as a beginner, masking tape is my friend. Here'a pic of a truck I striped, and lettered the front bumper. The letters were cut out of a sheet of gold reflective tape we had (we couldn't afford to buy the letters.) To keep the line straight, I measured everything out in advance, and laid it out with masking tape. Once the tape was in place, I took the reflective white tape and just followed the edge of the masking tape. That's how I got the curve on either side of the seal too. I measured 2\" from the edge of the seal, and curved pieces of masking tape to match. I ran the striping up to the tape, then VERY carefully, used an exacto knife to cut the curve - following the masking tape I already laid out.

http://www.firenews.org/mass/GeorgetownB1.jpg

Also, if I need just a little give to help follow a contour, I use a hair dryer. Be very careful, because if you pull the striping too hard, it will deform, and if it's reflective, the reflective part will seperate and you'll have to start over.

Shawn L

here are a few things i do :

use a solution of water rubbing alcohol and dish soap, I make a 1 galon jug with about a cup of alchol and a few drops of dish soap. this solution is great for several things, 1 you can use it to clean and prep the area where the decals will go, and 2 you lightly mist in on just before you apply the decals, then you can use the hard squeegee to remove bubbles , the solution will help the air buble be pushed to the edges of the tape. this soultion is a copy of a product called rapid tac, the alcohol helps the solution evaporate and the soap helps with positioning.

I also use grease pensils, find some small ones and put a sharp tip on them there great for measuring and marking, straight lines are easy, make a few marks to line the tape up to.

corners are tough, most of the time a 45 will have the be cut its hard to streach the tape and keep it uniform, when it streaches it will shrink in height, not to mention 4 inch is going to be hard to make conform...

if you need sweeping lines its best to have them cut out look at the pics of my avatar, or chack my install pics my stripes and letting are 100% reflective, they were cut out and applied in sections .

after you get as many air bubles out take a sharp pin and pop the rest, then use a hair dryer,

hope this helps.

memphise34a

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