Stripes For Your Car

[architectfadi]

How easy is it to stick these on a car (The stripes)? Will it affect/damage the paint when removed?

[tarquin]

I am no vinyl expert by any means. I have done some but there must be a technique

Firstly, if they are the Toyota ones your enquiring about then they have to pit them where they are meant to go exactly, when you take the backing off they become a magnet to every dust particle and are very " tacky" and difficult to work with. You have to apply them whilst pushing the air bubbles out and of course having the clean the area first. As for taking them off it depends how long they have been on and how much the uncovered paint is faded or you with have a permanent outline where you took them off

I'm sure others on here can help with your question better

David

[surfcitylocal]

How easy is it to stick these on a car (The stripes)? Will it affect/damage the paint when removed?

As David says above, the application can be a bit tricky.

The surface must be clean and free of debris. Application will work best on a warm day when the vinyl can be pliable.

I have found that spraying the area to be covered with a solution of soapy water will help make arrangement easier. You will be able to move the vinyl into position and then use a squeegee to remove the air bubbles. This method takes longer due to drying time but is far more adjustable than using the vinyl in it's sticky form.

Removal can be simple if the vinyl has not been on the car too long or has not been subjected to too much sunlight.

Try to remove the vinyl on a warm day, the use of a heat gun or blow dryer will make the job much easier. Using plastic razor blades will help quite a bit.

I've done many vinyl applications and removals over the years, if you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

[Xophe]

Thanks to the marvelous weather, I could visit my mother-in-law and take those pics of my cars.

As you can see, the stripes contribute to make a longer look to the grey car.

[craggle]

That's a nice pair you have, Cars that is.... :)

iQ stripes on the side look great, Will look forward to getting mine sorted out soon. New tyres have been ordered today for my new 17" wheels. :)

Craig.

[Guest]

They do look good Christophe, and I like the black iQ with the darkened windows. The stripes on your car suit it very well and do something to emphasise the bottom of the doors. Did you put them on, or was it a dealer or other garage?

Take a look at the official Mr. T. Stickers

[craggle]

I'll take some pictures and do a quick write up of the application when I do mine if you like.

Craig.

[Xophe]

Thank you Bob.

I put them on by myself. Not difficult, thanks to the small heigth of the stripe.

I even did not use soapy water.

I first installed standard pieces of tape as a guid above the stripe location,

And I proceed slowly, pushing air out carefully.

Finally I obtained a bubble-free result, I was happy !

May be tomorrow I'll try to install the floral stickers on my wife's black IQ.

It is almost summer right now, so I don't have any valid argument to refuse any longer..

Christophe

[Xophe]

Please do, Craig.

Always good to share ideas with others !

Thanks

Christophe

[Guest]

Thank you Bob.

I put them on by myself. Not difficult, thanks to the small heigth of the stripe.

I even did not use soapy water.

I first installed standard pieces of tape as a guid above the stripe location,

And I proceed slowly, pushing air out carefully.

Finally I obtained a bubble-free result, I was happy !

May be tomorrow I'll try to install the floral stickers on my wife's black IQ.

It is almost summer right now, so I don't have any valid argument to refuse any longer..

Christophe

More applause then for doing it on your own - As for fitting the other stickers, this is what happens when we feel guilty about something. Was there any cursing when you fitted your 'stickers?' Bet your knees were sore?

Craig, if it's anything like the other write ups you have done, even I will be able to do it afterwards.

[Xophe]

Hello,

Spring is here !

With the bright sun and the car body so hot, these are perfect conditions to install the flowers !

Here is the result. My wife is so happy that I am happy too

Christophe

[Guest]

Hello,

Spring is here !

With the bright sun and the car body so hot, these are perfect conditions to install the flowers !

Here is the result. My wife is so happy that I am happy too

Christophe

Great job, looks very professional Christophe. I think some individuality is good on any car. Can I ask, did you fit the chrome strip on the tailgate yourself too? And... were those wheels on your good wife's car originally that colour? They look like Anthracite Grey, they are how I want my wheels painted when I get them refurbished. Our car colour is Amethyst, Purple.

[craggle]

Twas a nice day down here in Sussex too so had a go at my stripes.

First thing to do was clean the car. I don't mean just wash it either, clean it properly. My car being silver shows every little mark and tar spot which is a bit irritating but makes it easy to see when things are clean.

Here is a picture of the door after just a wash.

Clearly not clean enough to apply stickers over so out came the clay kit. If you have never heard of clay or seen it action do a quick Google search for "car clay bar" and watch the videos. It really is the only way to get all contaminates, tar spots, dirt Etc. off the paint job and the results are fantastic. Makes you realise just how dirty a car is even when you think it's been cleaned.

Here is the door with the front half clayed and the rear half waiting to be done. See the difference.

Next job was to de-grease the surface. Panel wipe, would be good but I used methylated spirits. Don't try using white spirit as that is quite oily. Once the surface is clean I taped the stripes into place using masking tape. This is the time to measure the position, adjust and get it exactly where you want them. I positioned the front end of the iQ logo at the front end of the panel gap under the door and placed the lower stripe 30mm up from the bottom of the door.

Once happy with the position I then applied tape top and bottom in the centre of the door.

Next step was to lift the front of the sticker away from the car and remove the backing from the sticker. Don't move the bit in the middle that was taped top and bottom though, just remove the backing to that point.

Cut the backing paper away using scissors or a knife, don't tear it otherwise the torn edge will stick to the sticker.

Now you can hold the end of the exposed sticker away from the car and using an applicator, credit card will work, slowly press the sticker down working from the centre forwards pushing any air bubbles forwards. carry on until you reach the end of the sticker and go over the panel gaps.

Now with the front half of the sticker applied you can remove the rear half from the car and remove the backing paper. Working from the centre again use your applicator to press the sticker down until you reach the other end of the car.

Press the entire sticker down with the applicator again and a soft cloth if you like. Now it's time to remove the carrier tape so very carefully peel it away revealing the vinyl below. The trick to this is peel the tape back at a very sharp angle to itself. I pulled it back so it was touching the car, pulling it at 90 degrees to the car will lift the vinyl off the surface.

Go slow over any features to make sure the carrier tape does not lift the vinyl. Sharp features like the end of the Q in the logo could be an issue but this one was fine.

The next step is to trim the vinyl around the panel edges. You may be tempted to fold the vinyl around the corners and stick it to the back of the door but because of the angle of the door it will fold around at a funny angle. Better option is to simple trim the vinyl a few millimetres short of the panel edge. If you use a very sharp knife you can cut the surface of the vinyl without cutting through to the paint below.

Once you've done that you can remove the excess vinyl leaving a neat and tidy door shut again.

Now you can gently press the stripe down with a polishing cloth. If you notice any air bubbles make a tiny pin hole in the centre of them with your knife and press the vinyl down working around the pin hole. Re-fit the front mud flaps if you have them, polish the rest of the car. Crack open a beer and admire your handy work. Oh, Don't forget to do the other side! :)

[craggle]

Love the flowers Christophe. Very well applied. :)

Craig.

[craggle]

I made a chrome strip for my tailgate too Bob.

This is standard chrome strip from eBay that I bought to replace some missing chrome strip on the Range Rover I had before the iQ I simply applied it along the lower edge then trimmed each end with a sharp knife. Looks okay, I do like the genuine Toyota one but as this one was made with an offcut and effectively cost me nothing, I think it does the job quite well.

This strip is only about 6mm wide but you can get wider strips but remember the wider the strip the more of the cut end you will see.

Craig.

[Xophe]

Great job, looks very professional Christophe. I think some individuality is good on any car. Can I ask, did you fit the chrome strip on the tailgate yourself too? And... were those wheels on your good wife's car originally that colour? They look like Anthracite Grey, they are how I want my wheels painted when I get them refurbished. Our car colour is Amethyst, Purple.

Thank you, Bob.

I found the chrome strip on eBay. Actually for a different car, and too long, but I recut it...

.

If you choose a plastic strip, you can easily cut nice radius with scissors, to fit the tailgate geometry. Also, the plastic can slightly be curved all along the tailgate that is not perfectly straight.

The installation is extremely quick. Few minutes only.

On dark cars, a chrome touch looks good...

My wheels have the orignal alu color. May be on the photo they look darker... sorry !

But you are right, Anthracite Grey would look good on your dark car.

Christophe

[Xophe]

Hi Craig,

Good job ! Your car looks real good.

and thanks for the useful tuto...

Christophe

[Guest]

Nice description of how you applied yourself today Craig, and the iQ stickers. Very nice job and you make it seem so easy. I'd like to do the same, but by knees wreck from having cleaned the car today. Bought some new wheel cleaner -Wonder Wheels, came with an agitator brush too- as the other one -purple coloured stuff in plastic spray bottle- was crap. Wheels now look a lot cleaner and sadly very tired looking also. They really do need a refreshing refurb, but that is going to have to wait. I do get inspired by other's 'improvement's' and adjustments to their iQ's, especially on a sunny day.

Christophe, I have to admit I never thought about the chrome plastic trim at the back looking good on our car, and yet... it just might.

As it was such a nice day, after cleaning the car, I added something I have wanted for a while, to blast away the cobwebs, and idiots up the road. :lol2:

[surfcitylocal]

Hello,

Spring is here !

With the bright sun and the car body so hot, these are perfect conditions to install the flowers !

Here is the result. My wife is so happy that I am happy too

Christophe

Very nice job on the graphics. I used a similar theme with the hibiscus on my 2006 Scion xB. Do you remember which vehicle the chrome strip was intended for? It looks very clean on your iQ.

[Xophe]

Thank you !

The chrome strip was inially shaped for a small Ford Fiesta.

However I recut both ends, so any larger strip would be good too...

Just look at eBay and wait for a good deal... :-)

[tarquin]

Pucker Bob

I needed one this morning big time.

I will help you with all the bits when i come ip later in the year matey

David

[Guest]

Pucker Bob

I needed one this morning big time.

I will help you with all the bits when i come ip later in the year matey

David

That will be great, sorry, wasn't dropping hints or anyfink. When your ready, let us know.