Turbospeed

iTrader: (1)

UUUUggghhh, I bought my car in Miami and it had a little bit of salt spray corrosion on the hood. Nothing major, but it was obvious on a black car. I used rubbing compound and buffed it out but the damage was done and a repaint was out. I've always liked silver stripes on a black car so my plan was clear, almost.

Let me interject that I have striped cars before. I've numbered cars, lettered them and even done a couple of sport bikes. No trouble, ever.

I bought a "custom fit" stripe kit from Auto Trim Design. It was expensive (>$200) but it was one of the very few I could find for a NB with the bump in the hood. Generic kits just wouldn't line up.

I started the install on Monday and by Monday evening I was ready to set my car on fire. The damn stripes bubbled like nothing I have ever seen. Started at front bumper. I de-siliconed it twice, used application fluid and squeeged it thoroughly. It looked perfect. When I peeled the backing off I saw it start to lift, so I waited a while. Tried again 20 minutes later and still lifting. 20 minutes later and it peeled off fairly well but still pulled up a little. I smoothed the spots and went away for a while. Came back and it looked like a bubble bath. Freakin bubbles everywhere. Did my best to get rid of them and tried another panel. Used less fluid and the damn thing stuck and couldn't be lined up. Pulled it up and wetted it, same results.

Switched to hood, scrubbed it again with Dawn. Wiped it down, wet it and same damn results, even though when I was done squeeging it I swear it was absolutely dead ***** perfect. After removing the backing 30 minutes later bubbles pop up everywhere.

Wrote the company and told them I had trashed several of the pieces but had followed their instructions to the letter and they told me they would replace the pieces for $150. They offered no help.

So now I have my hood and front bumper striped. I have pierced and bled 4,354,765 bubbles. It looks like **** and I hate to go any farther. I will probably pull these off, but I'd still like to stripe my car and I damn sure hate to throw a $200 stripe kit in the trash. I would hate it even more if I bought another kit from somebody else and had the same results.

Any ideas?

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Yeah. next time have a good paint shop paint them on

like this
Attachment 196401

hustler

iTrader: (6)

tl;dr

levnubhin

iTrader: (30)

Take it to a professional.
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Gotpsi?

iTrader: (5)

Become a professional.

Dlaitini

What mixture is your "application fluid"?

For stuff I do at work, i use 25% Isopropyl alcohol, 75% water, with a couple drops of Joy dishwashing detergent... anything non-ionic will work though

I go through this stuff fast though, the part is so wet, it would probobly be dryer if i submerged it... it never has a chance to dry until I'm done squeezing out everything, and to go very slowly, as soon as it is pressed down in the middle, work 1/4 of an inch at a time, and keep it wet so it does not have a chance to stick untill you want it to.

Edit: Also, where are you doing this? in an A/C or no A/C garage or outside? The surface temp of the part makes a big difference to how well it applies. A/C is out in my building now and we cannot work on any thing with the stencles or stickers till it gets fixed as well

jonny Black

ya..I tried the same thing....then I took it to a professional.

AFMM03.jpg?t=1277900725

Jb

Slider

^looks awesome