Installing oem stripes

[Jobsi]

I am replacing my oem trunk stripes in the next few days. I have been looking at videos for tips on the install but I cannot find anyone installing oem. The videos I watched differ some use soap water and than heat on the stripes , other guys do it dry and just use a felt tip squeegee.
So which way is the best way to install oem stripes ? Any tips are appreciated

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[svassh]

Anxious to see what replies you get. I ripped a little bit out of the middle of my lower front bumper stripe yesterday in the driveway with my little pressure washer trying to clean off some dead bugs. Just ordered replacement today.

 

[proeagles]

Every stripe I have ever installed on any car involved some kind of soap solution so that the stripe could be positioned and squeegeed out. It's virtually impossible to line one up and lay it down first time and get the bubbles out dry.

 

[xXANCHORMONXx]

Use water and some soap in a spray bottle

Do not apply dry

 

[johnny1]

Type of soap probably makes no difference but for car window tint a lot of installers recommend baby shampoo for the soap in the water. Makes it pretty slippery so you can move it around easier to get positioned. About 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per quart of water.

 

[Tonymustang302]

Use water and some soap in a spray bottle

Do not apply dry

just like in sex ed we were taught.....never go in dry

 

[galaxy]

Man, I woulda never thought to apply these with soap/water. Glad this topic came up. I had to replace the stripes just on the rear bumper section. It’s two very small sections. I did those dry (didn’t know any better) and got them on perfect. But now realizing it was probably luck since they’re soo small sections. I also have to replace my trunk stripes next week, so great timing on this thread.

Question though...if soap/water is OK, would a detailing spray not be as well? Maybe it has waxes .org other chemicals in it that might mess with adhesion?

 

[ManyfordsnoMustang]

just like in sex ed we were taught.....never go in dry

wow, sex ed. My school didn't even mention the sex word - though the priests sure did smile at us a lot.

Definitely use water at least. I did not use any soap mixed in but that may have helped to remove the bubbles. Just a misting of water helped to adjust the stripe in the right place. I also noticed that my heat gun in on low setting worked much better than a hair dryer. Also once in place you can heat the sticker up a bit to smooth out any wrinkles, the wrinkles seemed to come out best with finger pressure as the squeegee really didn't work on those. biggest challenge for me were the small curves on the bumpers where the stripes curve over and down the bumper.

 

[sox3]

Type of soap probably makes no difference but for car window tint a lot of installers recommend baby shampoo for the soap in the water. Makes it pretty slippery so you can move it around easier to get positioned. About 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per quart of water.

Have to agree with the above, I have always used small amount baby shampoo in a spray bottle.

 

[svassh]

These are the instructions I got with my replacement stripes for lower front bumper.

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