Since I got this thing working reasonably well now (thanks again for the driving thread tip BadMouth!) I figured it would be time finally to give it this dose of awesome sideart I have been antsy to put on.
Conveniently, when I lived in RHode Island I had a friend who decided he would get into (what was then the new business of) large format vinyl prints.
He was doing window dressings a lot and I went on a few installs with him and learned a few handy tips that maybe others don't know.
If you are already good at side art application then you can ignore the rest of this post!
So the Scotchcal film my art was stuck to is one (as I imagine nearly all are these days) with adhesive that is meant to be 'floated' into position so that you can get alignment proper and get rid of bubbles, creases and the like.
The proper arsenal for this chore would be:
I found that a lighter grit foam sanding block (like my drywaller buddies use- 220) to get rid of dust bumps in my paint was a good choice.
REALLY light rub, just enough to take out the grains that would telegraph through the vinyl.
Next is a quick wipe with denatured alcohol with a lint free towel.
This stuff leaves no residue that will mess with the glue and won't start attacking the paint either.
A really watered down soap mixture (probably like 50:1 water to soap) using some mild hand soap is perfect.
Companies sell stuff referred to as "application fluid" but it is only lightly soapy water
A cheap thin plastic squeegee. Doesn't take a lot to work bubbles out and you don't want to press too hard anyway.
Even really well soaked, rubber ones can tend to grab and stick so plastic all the way.
Next, get yourself a nice flat table (or clean floor) to carry all of your art.
If you don't have a big enough table you may crease your sticker when you are peeling it and the world will end.
Next, crease a top corner of your art- right to the edge of where the cut line is- again so you don't crease your artwork trying to peel it up.
I did this myself, but if you are trying to apply a 5 ft tall sticker and you haven't done it before you may want an assistant!
Next- soak the panel. I did this vertically (and I suggest you do too) since if you start at the top with applying the art then gravity is your friend with soapy water and it is WAY easier to peel things up from the bottom and adjust if you need to.
If done lying flat you either need to be working with a small art piece or you will need help to hold it off the cab while you get the macro situation with alignment in hand.
Once you have the panel good and wet then slowly, gently, carefully peel your art off the backing and see about getting it lined up.
If you have used enough soapy water you really can peel it up a good number of times and it won't hurt anything but it will still cling to the panel so you can see where you are with alignment.
Once you think you have it pretty good and BEFORE you touch it with the squeegee, soak the outside with soapy water too!
It will lube stuff up so that your squeegee can slide nicely and won't scratch up your artwork.
The key is getting it set so that you can get a good swipe down the middle with the squeegee and then work your way out toward the edges to squeeze out bubbles and lay down creases.
You WILL have bubbles and creases when you first lay the art on- but if you have used enough soapy water underneath do not fear because you can work them all out.
If you think you don't have enough water underneath to move the art around without creasing it then peel it up and spray some more underneath and keep going.
It is REALLY hard to use too much soapy water in doing this if you spend less than 10 minutes on one side and if you think about it, as you squeegee things flat all that water is coming out anyway.
You will have much greater success if you work in quandrants or at least halves in working from the middle to the edges and use the spray liberally to make sure your squeegee flows nicely.
With a little practice you can get things really nice and flat. It takes a few hours at least for the glue to really take set after all this so don't mess with it after you get it all sexy.
Sit back and admire how cool it looks and thank whoever printed this stuff for you.
I was feeling spunky so I did the other side tonight too.
I'm really liking this cab!
Going to have to find a place for it that you can see one side at least.
Can't wait for the marquee and CP stuff now.