Reflective Windshield Banner Install tips?
Reflective Windshield Banner Install tips? I have a new reflective (Brent Franker) vinyl windshield banner to put on my car, the maker only supplies directions for the regular version banner which uses dish soap and water. Seems the reflective film is a little fickle and it appears you do a dry install. That being said I am sure some of you have done these, if so any tips to make this go smooth, no pun intended.
Nothing better than experience. I used to work at a vinyl sign shop, I'll try and explain steps on here that we took installing windshield banners.
Get a friend to help.
Measure the windshield and see where the center is. Use a white/blue grease pencil and mark center (unless youre confident you can find it 'visually' with a 3rd person, whatever)
Clean the windshield with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel. Windex leaves a film and the vinyl won't adhere as well. Clean the windshield off until theres nothing on the paper towel.
Is there application tape on the front side of the vinyl? If there's not, you may be able to get it on successfully without it, the tape just helps keep the vinyl rigid and it won't tear as easily if you pull it tight to tension it.
Get a white/blue grease/colored pencil and take each end of the vinyl in your hands and fold it like a taco. This will show you a center mark of the decal. Use the pen and mark center on the bottom and top of the strip.
Turn the vinyl face down, pull the backing from the vinyl (pulls off easier this way instead of right side up).
Once the backing is off and the windshield's clean, use a spray bottle set on a mist setting and spray a light mist of the soapy water solution all over the adhesive side.
Once you get it sprayed down, get a friend to hold one side, you the other and go dummy it up on the car. With the soapy water on one side this allows you to pull it up without it adhering to the windshield at all. DO NOT attempt to install it on a warm windshield or in direct sunlight. This will cause the vinyl to stick regardless if theres solution on the adhesive side. Do it in mild dry weather/garage preferably.
Line up your marks and set it down, step back and take a look. See if it's even and centered like you want. Hopefully franker oversized it so you can have some room to spare. If it's not where you want it, have your friend and yourself stand on each side and 'pop' it off quickly, with a quick snappy motion. If you try and pull it slow it will stretch the vinyl.
If it's where you want it, use a credit card, cd case, or a squeegee if you have one. Start in the middle, with an upward motion pressing pretty hard to get the bubbles out, but not as hard to rip anything. Overlap your stroke and go back down over the middle of the spot you started (above the middle). Do the same thing from center out laying the vinyl down, trying to get all the bubbles out. Since it's a reflective film, it should be pretty rigid and easy to lay down. Once you get it down let it sit for a few minutes, go back over it with the squeegee a couple times, make sure it's down.
Once it's down, you have two options. Either pull the tape, or trim it out if theres overhang on the edges. Either way works, just be patient if it tries to pull the vinyl back up. Squeegee it back down and let it sit a bit longer.
Once you get the tape edge up, pull it off at a 90* angle (flat to the windshield) this will pull the tape better and the vinyl won't be as prone to stretching if it comes up when the tape is being pulled.
There will be some small bubbles, that's pretty much inevitable unless the vinyl lays down real easy...which it may. Use a small needle or the tip of a new x-acto blade to pop them and press the air out. If theres really small ones, let it sit a few days in the sun and they'll evaporate out.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any Q's...good luck!
Get a friend to help.
Measure the windshield and see where the center is. Use a white/blue grease pencil and mark center (unless youre confident you can find it 'visually' with a 3rd person, whatever)
Clean the windshield with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel. Windex leaves a film and the vinyl won't adhere as well. Clean the windshield off until theres nothing on the paper towel.
Is there application tape on the front side of the vinyl? If there's not, you may be able to get it on successfully without it, the tape just helps keep the vinyl rigid and it won't tear as easily if you pull it tight to tension it.
Get a white/blue grease/colored pencil and take each end of the vinyl in your hands and fold it like a taco. This will show you a center mark of the decal. Use the pen and mark center on the bottom and top of the strip.
Turn the vinyl face down, pull the backing from the vinyl (pulls off easier this way instead of right side up).
Once the backing is off and the windshield's clean, use a spray bottle set on a mist setting and spray a light mist of the soapy water solution all over the adhesive side.
Once you get it sprayed down, get a friend to hold one side, you the other and go dummy it up on the car. With the soapy water on one side this allows you to pull it up without it adhering to the windshield at all. DO NOT attempt to install it on a warm windshield or in direct sunlight. This will cause the vinyl to stick regardless if theres solution on the adhesive side. Do it in mild dry weather/garage preferably.
Line up your marks and set it down, step back and take a look. See if it's even and centered like you want. Hopefully franker oversized it so you can have some room to spare. If it's not where you want it, have your friend and yourself stand on each side and 'pop' it off quickly, with a quick snappy motion. If you try and pull it slow it will stretch the vinyl.
If it's where you want it, use a credit card, cd case, or a squeegee if you have one. Start in the middle, with an upward motion pressing pretty hard to get the bubbles out, but not as hard to rip anything. Overlap your stroke and go back down over the middle of the spot you started (above the middle). Do the same thing from center out laying the vinyl down, trying to get all the bubbles out. Since it's a reflective film, it should be pretty rigid and easy to lay down. Once you get it down let it sit for a few minutes, go back over it with the squeegee a couple times, make sure it's down.
Once it's down, you have two options. Either pull the tape, or trim it out if theres overhang on the edges. Either way works, just be patient if it tries to pull the vinyl back up. Squeegee it back down and let it sit a bit longer.
Once you get the tape edge up, pull it off at a 90* angle (flat to the windshield) this will pull the tape better and the vinyl won't be as prone to stretching if it comes up when the tape is being pulled.
There will be some small bubbles, that's pretty much inevitable unless the vinyl lays down real easy...which it may. Use a small needle or the tip of a new x-acto blade to pop them and press the air out. If theres really small ones, let it sit a few days in the sun and they'll evaporate out.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any Q's...good luck!
Once the backing is off and the windshield's clean, use a spray bottle set on a mist setting and spray a light mist of the soapy water solution all over the adhesive side.
Try it dry, just make sure you get it right!
I honestly don't remember ever applying reflective wet now that you mention it...but I never did a banner out of it either. It won't stretch because its thicker and has more metallic content in it...so it may be kinda tough to get it to lay straight without wrinkles.
I guess you could try and do it the same way dry, but pull only half of the backing off, lay half down then do the other side maybe. I'm not so sure that it'll lay without issues doing the entire piece on a curved surface like that all at once dry...
I honestly don't remember ever applying reflective wet now that you mention it...but I never did a banner out of it either. It won't stretch because its thicker and has more metallic content in it...so it may be kinda tough to get it to lay straight without wrinkles.
I guess you could try and do it the same way dry, but pull only half of the backing off, lay half down then do the other side maybe. I'm not so sure that it'll lay without issues doing the entire piece on a curved surface like that all at once dry...
