Blackbird process
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From: Texas....thank God.
Blackbird process Ok. Putting on my Blackbird stripes today. Kinda worried about bubbles or screwing it up. How have yall layed stickers like these, to insure accuracy and smoothness. I read somewhere about soapy water??? Surely, I read that wrong. Thanks for your help. 
When I used to paint, we always used ammonia spray. But I don't see why a light soapy water mixture wouldn't work. I think rubbing alcohol might too...only problem would be that it evaporates too quick. You want a medium that will allow you to move the sticker around while on the car, but not one so thin that the sticker just falls off, and not one so thick that it doesn't evaporate from underneath the sticker. So I would have to say that, yes, soapy water would probably do the trick.
who did you get them from? Didn't they send instructions? I got my hockey stripes and Manta from Thirdgen decals and they gave instructions with what to mix up for the solution and they came with a plastic "card" tool to smooth the decals out with. I can't remember exact mixture ratios right now but it was a mix of water, 90% Isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of dish soap in a quart sprayer. It worked great for me. take your time and plan where the need to go before hand and just do one side at a time. Make sure you measure the first side so you can match the 2nd side exactly. that was the most time consuming part of doing the passenger side hockey stripe on my car was matching the driver side position exactly. It turned out good.
the soapy water will be your friend on this project. all its going to do is make the decals movable ie you can but them in the genral area that you want and then fine tune the position. with out the water you have to be dead on accurate the first time which is a bitch...or at least it was w/ my 30th anniversary stripes.
yes they will still stick. once the water dries the adhesive will grab ahold of the hood and youll be good to go. just make sure to squeege everything flat real good one time before it dries to get all the air out from underneath.
and the whole idea of the soapy water is the soap not the water, so dont skimp on it too much...just make sure there is enough to be "sudsy" and youll be good.
and the whole idea of the soapy water is the soap not the water, so dont skimp on it too much...just make sure there is enough to be "sudsy" and youll be good.
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The soapy water will Def work and it will still stick just fine. A mistake I made putting on my Blackbird stripes was trying to put them on when the hood was cold and not spraying enough soapy water on the surface. This made the stripes basically freeze to the hood faster then I wanted to and caused them to be slightly crooked. So, make sure the area is warm and use lotsa soapy water! and youll be OK.
ya I did a mixture with a GOOD amount of soap 1/4 water, and 1/4 Windex. And cleanit with 100 % windex. Remeber the more soap you use in the mixture the more time its gonna tke to freeze the decals, and be careful you might think its dry....its not! So watch out and be patient, I used a hair dryer as well
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2005
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I'm about to be doing this as well. So I'm wondering...
What did ya'll use as a squeegee to get the air out? Should I look for a small squeegee, use a plastic card like my license (softer than a credit card), or what?
Thanks for the help!
What did ya'll use as a squeegee to get the air out? Should I look for a small squeegee, use a plastic card like my license (softer than a credit card), or what?
Thanks for the help!
like the above guy said, don't worry so much. its a 30 buck mod, screw up, so what? i used a whole container of water with about 3 or 4 drops of dishwashing liquid, then shake it up, CLEAN THE HOOD FIRST, if not you will see bumps in the stripes, . . use a claybar. then spray a good amount on the hood. peel of the stripes and soak the stripes too. . . apply them on the car, if its crooked you can move it around still, with your finger gently squeeze out the liquid and air a few times. . . don't use a squeegee, . . i like to use an ol' credit card because its more flexible. . . smooth it out a few times and there ya go
Clean the area you're putting the stripes on with some alcohol, then spray some soapy water on that area (I soaked it really good), take the backing off the stripe, lay the stripe down, position it where you want it, and proceed to use a credit card to get rid of the bubbles.
Don't forget to trim the backing material of the stripes, so you can place them accurately by the nostril
Good luck, and if you screw up it's not a big deal, get another set
Don't forget to trim the backing material of the stripes, so you can place them accurately by the nostril
Good luck, and if you screw up it's not a big deal, get another set
You want to spray the car AND the back of the stripe after you peel off the backing so you can slide it around. 3rdgen decals sent a squeege with the decals I ordered. It's about 4" wide and is large enough to fit in your hand nicely, unlike a credit card.
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From: Texas....thank God.
Well, I put em on. Look great. Dont worry, Im gonna post pics later this week. Yall were right(naturally) it was very easy with soapy water and a hair dryer. And use a real squeege, Autozone $4.