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| Finally applied bumble bee stripes https://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49375 |
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| Author: | Sam Powell [ Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | Finally applied bumble bee stripes |
I did order the '69 bumble bee stripes from Phoenix graphics, and put them on. It was not easy. It took me almost a week of planning and fussing. Plus, I ruined one side and had to buy a replacement section, which they were happy to sell for just $30 plus shipping. Since I was OCD at the time, I spent the extra money for 2 day shipping. They look pretty good, but the process was full of stress and doubt. They do not tell you in the instructions to apply the wetting agent to both the car AND the back of the decal. That tidbit was shared once I ruined a section and called back for a replacement. They also do not tell you that it takes about 4 days for all the moisture to escape from behind the sheet and for it to settle down and smooth out. It looks pretty bad until that happens. Time improves things considerably. They do tell you to go back and poke a hole any place air is trapped, which I spent hours doing with my best eyeballs on. In this case a visual aid called Optivisor. I have been using these for years on my model trains, but this is the first time I have used them on cars. I used a nice 9/16" socket as a roller to smooth down the sheet after poking the bubbles with a pin. That worked well. The mishap with the drivers side quarter panel was caused when I did not like the alignment,and then tried to pull it back up and reposition it. That is a no-no, as it stretched the material beyond usefulness. It seems getting the stripe to lay across the complex curve of the fender top is the toughest part to design, and execute. I made the top part of that section align perfectly with the trunk stripe, and then it went down the side at a slight angle, which bothered me. The second one went on with a slight compromise on both so neither is perfect, but the misalignments are slight and look OK. I think the decals are the same regardless of who sells them, but cannot swear to that. I bought from Phoenix because their web photo was the best, and gave me confidence to go ahead with the project. Would I do it again? Yep. If you have any thoughts of doing this yourself, and have not done it before, PM me and I can give you some pointers that will save you a bit of grief. The plan is to get an updated photo in the avatar below. I kind of need a nice day for a photo shoot. It has been raining for days here in Maryland. Sam |
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