Good
stickers usually come with release paper over the front
of them! (Do not peel this off until sticker is in final
position and well adhered.)
Make
sure everything is clean, removing any dust; dust will show
under a sticker!
What
You’ll need:
A
bottle of window cleaner (the squirty stuff is best.)
A
hairdryer.
A
tile adhesive applicator with a flat edge (not serrated,
must also be flexible.)
Soft
cloth - old t-shirts are good.
Scalpel
or sharp point (a needle is good.)
What
to do.
Mark
out where you want the sticker to go, a sharpened kids
crayon is good for this as you can wipe it off afterwards.
Wet the surface to be applied with the window cleaner,
make sure the surface is wet but not soaking. This’ll
help the sticker to slide about and aid positioning.
Place
the sticker where you want it to go, using your crayon
marks, try to avoid touching the adhesive with your
fingers.
Take
the applicator and rub down the sticker work from the
middle out.
Make sure its totally flat and there are no bubbles
or creases try and avoid creases, as these are nearly
impossible to get out.
Gently
wipe off excess window cleaner with a soft cloth.
Once
your happy gently start to blow on the sticker with
the hairdryer. This helps dry everything out. (Don’t
have the dryer too hot or the sticker will distort!)
Once
everything’s dry, peel off the release paper.
(It looks like masking tape)
Wipe
off the crayon.
Voila
done.
Helmets
and curved surfaces are a little trickier but the principals
are basically the same.
Anything
cut for curved surfaces should have slits cut in them (the
tank protectors are a good example) this helps the sticker
to curve with the surface you are applying it to.
Long
complex graphics should have cuts at key points in them
to aid positioning.
Apply
in sections and wait for each to dry before moving on to
the next.
Multiple
colours should be either built up onto one sheet of release paper
(in the case of tight registration or little gaps between colours)
or applied separately (where registration isn’t as tight
or has large gaps between colours) giving the appearance of an
outline.
