Just bought a new car

black2002ls- You planning to DIY the install or have it done? I lack confidence in my ability to do a decent job applying it, even though I generally don`t shy away from challenges ;)
 
Accumulator said:
black2002ls- You planning to DIY the install or have it done? I lack confidence in my ability to do a decent job applying it, even though I generally don`t shy away from challenges ;)
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I get that last statement completely. I`m not sure I`m up to applying film to an entire vehicle, I don`t know that I have the patience. I`ve posted this pic before but being completely honest, I had little beads of sweat on my forehead for the majority of this install. This hasn`t changed for me over the years. I remember putting the stock racing stripes on the hood of a 70 Mach 1 years ago and found it to be very stressful even though things couldn`t have turned out better. Big decals aren`t a simple task. I think vinyl has improved quite a bit as years have passed. This truck had two tiny bubbles on one of the stripes when I was finished and I didn`t dare "work" them out for fear of tearing the stripe. Oddly it was the last stripe that I put on. A week later that stripe was perfect, they make the vinyl so it can breathe, small air bubbles simply disappear. You`d be hard pressed to find anything wrong with this set of decals and it certainly isn`t because I`m a Master installer. I have to imagine wrapping an entire vehicle would be more than I could get my head around. :)


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I wouldn`t attempt a full body wrap. If I do it, it would be local to the top and leading edge of the rear bumper cover.

I`ve worked with vinyl quite a bit, and if i get in a bind or have trouble, I`ve got a couple of buddies who have sign and wrap experience! If that goes OK, I may get crazy and try a bra on the hood.

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Sorry, I`m not sure why I shifted gears here. I knew you were only talking about wrapping the bumper area but somewhere I spaced out and started thinking about a complete wrap. My appologies.
 
No worries!

I had the front windows tinted this morning to match the rears. Made a huge difference in the way it looks! It will get a bath in the morning.
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GearHead_1- Oh man, those stripes look like a challenge! No [freakin`] way would I trust myself to do that, very impressed that you not only took it on, but were happy with your results.

I want a few areas of the Crown Vic done *so* badly, but just know I`d nitpick it to death.

black2002ls- Looks nice, but do you like it in the functional sense? My Crown Vic has oh-so-cool-looking tint from its time in service, that I love looking *at* but don`t always love looking *through* at night. If a LEO cites me for too-dark fronts, I won`t be heartbroken about having them redone to a legal tint.

Ya know...thinking about it...I just *might* try DIYing that rear bumpercover with PPF. I bet you could do it fine if its contours are as simple as I`d guess.
 
The tint is just fine from a functional stand point. It is only 25%, it has the same clarity and visibilty of all of the back glass. We have already noticed a discernable difference in cabin temperatures after having the fronts tinted. It looks 100 times better, yes, but the primary reason was helping to control cabin temps.

I had that exact conversation with my tint guy, an old friend of mine. We used to run around with limo on the back glass and as dark as we could get away with on the front. As we have gotten older, we realize how totally rediculous it was! Had to roll the windows down after dark (hand crank not power!) Couldn`t see a dang thing out of the back glass, but dangit we looked cool!

I`ll be picking up a small roll of the 3m PPF soon and attempting the bumper cover. I`ll post some pics and a review of the process.

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Accumulator said:
GearHead_1- Oh man, those stripes look like a challenge! No [freakin`] way would I trust myself to do that, very impressed that you not only took it on, but were happy with your results...
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For what it`s worth, the stripes only cost $158, that means making a mistake won`t put you in the poorhouse and is probably the real reason I`d dare try it. These stripes are 3M`s premium product and I suspect that makes them not only easier to apply but the end result is top notch. Seriously I`d challenge you to find a boo boo, they are as smooth as glass. As I said, I ended up with 2 small bubbles that I was disappointed with once finished, 1 week later those bubbles cannont be found, I mean not at all.

Oddly the company that sells these kits actually supplied the stripes for the Quake and the Tremor Ford models. These stripes are similar to those though not quite like either. The downside is they offer virtually zero support. You can`t talk to them on the phone (they will exchange emails and I did several times before I started). Once the product is unrolled it is considered used and you can`t return it. You can`t buy just a portion of the stripe kit, it`s all or nothing. They offer a fairly detailed set of printed instructions that tell you how to mix your lubricating fluid and the types of squeegee to use. They tell you how to set up. These were all taped in place prior to actually peeling the backing paper off and soaping up the decal.

It`s pretty easy to tape these where you want them while they`re dry and if you`re careful they`ll stay right where you put them as you do a partial section at a time. By the way you don`t want to get the backing paper on this particular 3M product wet and I just about learned this the hard way. I`m told that 3M mates all of their vinyls to both dry and wet papers. Must save them money because I can`t see a good reason not to use a paper than you could get wet. Especially where an armature is involved.

They have a ton of colors available but the 3M premium stripes are limited to more what you`d see as an OE product. Some of their other choices use products other than 3M`s vinyl. So in the end good product at a good price but you gotta know it`s entirely on you if you decide to go this route. I`m still letting them grow on me, I never thought I`d be the guy that actually added stripes, I`ve always been a de-badger.

One last item of note, they actually encourage you to use waxes and sealants on their products.
 
GearHead_1- Ah, interesting...thanks for schooling me on it as, yeah..I`m 100% a debadger and thus know nothing about adding tape/stripes. Getting those on there right seemed a *lot* trickier than applying (clear) PPF and with the horizontals any mistake would`ve really been obvious!

I guess it`s not surprising that they OK using LSPs on them, but it`s good that they come right out and say so. Now abrasives, OTOH...
 
Well, everything showed up this week. I got started at 8 AM, finished by 10.

All I can say is WOW. I may never wax a car again.

I started with turtle wax bug and tar remover and then washed using the two bucket method (grit guard in the bottom of both) rinsed and then sprayed it with IronX. I let the IronX dwell, light agitation with a sponge and dwell, then rinse. After that I followed with Mother`s clay bar. Rinse after they clay, dried with a waffle weave towel and I went after it with the wolfgang deep gloss liquid sealant. I did everything, paint, trim, glass, and wheels.

Holy cow the pearl in the paint pops now!
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