Vinyl decals "flair mod!"

[Goose17]

In this video, I apply some Bemaro Films vinyl "flair" to my 2020 Shelby GT500 CFTP. I show my process and we get a good look at the results!

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[AngelDeath]

Look great.

FYI for anyone else, I just did this myself of the front splitter and the bumper, instead of using sausage fingers, get tweezers to hold it as you put it into the channel makes it so much easier. Also get yourself a felt squeegee for pressing down the sticker and help with the edges to press down. Going to see if they make the vinyls for the center of the hood in red, I think if the center was red it would match spacing of the black strips and give the illusion of it being spaced.

 

[Goose17]

Going to see if they make the vinyls for the center of the hood in red, I think if the center was red it would match spacing of the black strips and give the illusion of it being spaced.

I was thinking the same thing when working on my hood vent, but I plan to replace the vent with carbon fiber whenever it becomes available.

 

[SEERED]

Thanks Goose, after seeing your instructional, I am going to attempt the snakes and triangles. I was on the fence with those but did do the letters and numbers. Angel Mike mentioned sausage fingers and I suffer from the same debilitation but with both y'alls's tips, I may be able to get my wife to do the work for me.

 

[AngelDeath]

Thanks Goose, after seeing your instructional, I am going to attempt the snakes and triangles. I was on the fence with those but did do the letters and numbers. Angel Mike mentioned sausage fingers and I suffer from the same debilitation but with both y'alls's tips, I may be able to get my wife to do the work for me.

The wife in my situation.

 

[Goose17]

Thanks Goose, after seeing your instructional, I am going to attempt the snakes and triangles. I was on the fence with those but did do the letters and numbers. Angel Mike mentioned sausage fingers and I suffer from the same debilitation but with both y'alls's tips, I may be able to get my wife to do the work for me.

Thanks Curtis!

Someone commented on my YouTube channel that Q-tips work well for pressing the edges down while absorbing the water. I thought that was a good tip!

 

[AngelDeath]

I know this is after the fact considering I and Tim are done, but they tell you to use soapy water to put tint on so it can be adjustable easily, couldn't we have done the same thing with the decals? Or does the soap have a reaction to the adhesive?

 

[Tomster]

I bought the snake kit, but don't like it. Its incomplete. The sides of the snake are still silver and the belly segments were left undone.

Quite frankly, it looks cheap and half ass. I bought an extra snake emblem to paint, but that project is not going well. Plan B would be to cut inlays for the belly segment of the snake.

I communicated with bemaro about fixing the shortcomings, but obviously it isn't going to happen.

Edited to add:
The rest of the vinyl looks good. A thought.... the snakes on the side of the car probably add too much red.

The only thing I would change would be the side snakes, but add the belly segments to the front and rear snakes.

Overall, looks nice. You've done a great job with the car!

 

[SEERED]

A tip I found helpful is to add some baby shampoo to the water to help with smoothing and adjusting.

"The rest of the vinyl looks good. A thought.... the snakes on the side of the car probably add too much red."

I agree with you on the side snakes Tom, I am thinking a contrast color perhaps blue or orange?
When the body color lands on the black field it looks great but no separation on the sides.

 

[AngelDeath]

A tip I found helpful is to add some baby shampoo to the water to help with smoothing and adjusting.

Did I just not ask that?

 

[Tomster]

A tip I found helpful is to add some baby shampoo to the water to help with smoothing and adjusting.

"The rest of the vinyl looks good. A thought.... the snakes on the side of the car probably add too much red."

I agree with you on the side snakes Tom, I am thinking a contrast color perhaps blue or orange?
When the body color lands on the black field it looks great but no separation on the sides.

I was considering all this a while back with KB. He suggested that I not move forward with the side snake red accent.

But you know what? It doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks. As long as the owner of the car is happy every time he walks out to the garage...... that is all that matters.

 

[kilobravo]

FWIW, I'm with Tom's "too much red." I think the splitter letters and perhaps the bumper lettering is enough.

As for vinyl application, except for really tiny decals, you should always use a "lubricant." Soap will not affect the vinyl adhesive. You only need a thin layer of liquid to position the decal. Dedicated vinyl film lubricant, Windex, or very mild dishwashing solution in a spray bottle.

Peel the paper backing, spray the adhesive side and its intended location lightly. Position it and then set a corner. Work the liquid and air out from that point slowly with a squeege designed for vinyl applications. I like the conical rubber type as depicted in the image below the best. Have a couple paper towels in your other hand to sop up with liquid as you squeegee.

In most cases, the "transfer tape" that holds the decal has channels in it to help remove liquid and air and if your decal has them, they will be visible. Look for those and push in the same direction as the channels. If the transfer tape does not have them, go slowly and only work in one direction.

 

[Goose17]

I have used a little dish soap in the water when applying vinyl in the past, but with this project, I opted for straight water. Since I wasn’t using adhesion promoter, I wanted the best chance for the small decals sticking. I’m thinking any soap sheen left behind would worsen the adhesion.

As for the snakes... I dig the outline vinyl only. I also like the body color... it’s s subtle look that works on my car. If you had a wild color like orange or green, you might want something more “in your face.”

 

[kilobravo]

Straight water might be alright for small decals like the snakes, Goose, but you need the solution to be slippery and that's where the the detergent comes into play. I've applied dozens and dozens of fairly large decals and the odds of you needing to "lift" it to reposition are high. So, with just water, you might find that the decal is much more difficult to apply than with a lightly soapy solution.

And, FWIW, I never use adhesive promoter as it just gets diluted or washed away while eliminating the air and liquid.

As an example, the rain tray snakes I made are a foot high and it would be totally impossible to apply such a large decal without lubricating solution.

 

[Tomster]

As for the snakes... I dig the outline vinyl only.

And thats all that matters.

The differences between the GT350 and GT350R brought about the red badging colors. If you think of it, those very same differences apply to the base and CFTP. Your car is the carbon fiber race oriented version. Red badging is appropriate.

I'm just not crazy about the vinyl. Its a shame Ford didn't carry the red badging over from the R

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