[gaz]

Hi all

Been absent from these boards for many months now so sorry in advance if any questions have been answered before. I did a quick search anyway.

Just purchased a pair of bonnet stripes for my Indie Blue Cooper. Got then from www.coolnew.co.uk as advertised on this site.

White with black pinstripes.

Can anyone give some tips/advice for adding the stripes? What to do and what not to do? Anyone purchased these stripes from the above company? Are they the shorter or longer ones?

I've got a few pictures from various threads of the positioning of the stripes so here's hoping they will help me along.

Cheers and thanks in advance.

Gary Watt
Aberdeen, Scotland

[goin440]

I recall water, soapy water, or such works pretty well. I've never tried myself, but the water allows you to position the stripe just right. When you got it, squigy the water out using a towel and its on.

Someone may explain better, I'm no expert. If all else, call the manufacturer-- no sense messing up the install.

[Hat]

yeah thats about right - soak the back of the stripe & the area where you're applying it with very mild soapy water & use a squeegee blade to gently squeeze out the water when you're happy with the position.

& don't do it outside in the wind like i did...

[gaz]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the soapy water comment/tip.

Never thought of that. I'll try and not do it in the wind but pretty hard up here in the north east of Scotland...windy all the time

Cheers

Gary Watt
Aberdeen, Scotland

[bakerjc]

Some overlookable stuff:

Decontaminate the surface the decals will be applied to. Warm water with Dawn Dishwashing liquid mixture will get off most of the wax. I usually first apply a de-waxer, then wash a couple of times with Dawn. Dry to avoid water spotting.

Spec out the final location of the stripes. Measure and center to your hearts content...when you are happy with the placement use masking tape on the bonnet for alignment markers.

Set up a spray solution of approx 2-3% soap to water. I normally use a liquid car wash soap of decent quality. A small bottle is sufficient, a little goes a long way.

Take a few deep breaths. There's no turning back now......

Lightly mist the bonnet where the stripes will lay. Start peeling the stripe from the backing, spraying the sticky side as you pull (good to have a friend handy to do this and crack the beers for you) (Did I neglect to mention the need for beer? It's mandatory.....The finished job will be all botched up without beer). Reason for spraying while pulling? Just in case a wind picks up and aims a speck of dirt at the stripe, or if an insect decides to make it it's final resting place. If the sticky side is wet with the solution you can just flick off the offending particle.

Wipe the bonnet of the pre-mist with a lint free cloth (ensures all things that may have dropped on it in the past 30 seconds are gone), then remist it well. Apply and line up the stripe to the proper location and alignment. Use a silicon squeegee to force out the bubbles and soap solution, don't overwork it. Wipe off the excess soap you squeezed out, take a hard look at the stripe just to make sure there are no problems.

Now do the other side.........this will go a lot quicker, you won't agonize over this one.

Use a high quality terrycloth towel to apply a nice gentle but firm circular rub to the first stripe, make sure all of the bubbles and soap are out, then do the other side.

You'll know when to stop.....then let it "cure" for a good 6 hours or so.

[midlife mini]

Gaz, applied mine myself using the method described above, only tip i'd add is don't be shy with the soapy water.

[Kev beck]

If you can`t wait a while before driving. Heat the stripe up with a hairdrier. This will speed up the evaperation of the solution under the stripe.

I had one customer who fitted a sun visor. As soon as it was fitted, she drove down the road and the visor flow off and landed on the car behind.........

[gaz]

Guys

Thanks for the further comments and adding to this thread.

This will help me a lot. I was originally planning to peel the backing off and stick to the bonnet

So if any of you guys are planning to be driving around Aberdeen at the weekend and see some white stripes flying through the air......you'll know I've done it wrong

Still waiting for the stripes to arrive but once all completed, I'll post a pic or two.

Cheers

Gary

[R1]

I always used a 1 part meths to 3 parts water mix. The meths dries quicker than soap. Clean the roof with the mix first and then coat the roof and the vinyl well. This always worked for me when I used to fit large graphics to large aiport crashtenders at work, and I have just fitted a Union Jack roof graphic to my MINI using this method.

Once positioned in the required place, working from the centre out using a plastic spreader, slowly squeeze the water/meths out. Don't bear on to hard!!




As a bonus, you can always drink the meths if it goes wrong!!

NOTE: If you do use soap, make sure it's not one of these car wash soaps that has wax in it!! and use a very weak mixture!!

[gaz]

Thanks R1

As for drinking meths.......I'll pass on that and maybe have a beer instead

Cheers

Gaz

[bakerjc]

Quote:

Originally posted by gaz
Thanks R1

As for drinking meths.......I'll pass on that and maybe have a beer instead

Cheers

Gaz

re my previous post stating the need for beer. Not only does it calm the nerves, but it keeps you from drinking either the meth/water or soap/water combo..........

But maybe a meth/soap/water cocktail......hmmmmmm

[gaz]

Hi all

No alochol intake at all for me this weekend...........the stripes did not arrive in the post

I was all set for Saturday evening getting them applied with a few beers.

Never mind, I'll get them soon.

Cheers

Gary

[froggert]

just put a set on earlier today.

get everything clean. the paint surface should feel perfectly smooth. when doing the boot stripes, try to spray out any dirt that might be under the weather strip below the window. if you don't, small pieces of dirt may float down when you wet the back with soapy solution.

used the plastic squegee with low-friction sleeve that came with the stripes and ended up with scratches on the vinyl. switched to a silicone squegee on the rear stripes and all was good.

a heat gun on low setting or hair dryer may help with drying the stripes and getting it to form around curves or edges.

[Daktaklakpak]

Do you guys recomend waiting a little while after getting the car before putting on the bonnet stripes.

[benggolf]

I drove off within 10 minutes after installation of the hood stripes; no issues at all. It was a warm sunny day.

[froggert]

imo the sooner the better. as you drive it and expose it to the outdoors, the car and paint pick up little things like tar, tree sap, and other contaminants. it'll be easier to properly prep the surface when the car is new.

[bakerjc]

Quote: Originally Posted by Daktaklakpak

Do you guys recomend waiting a little while after getting the car before putting on the bonnet stripes.

Wait until you get the car off the dealer's lot.......they hate like hell to see a couple of hundred $$$ installation go bye bye.

Do it, do it soon. A cooper becomes a Cooper when it gets it's stripes.

[olarte]

I installed some white stripes on the sides (horizontal on the bottom).

And while the job went fairly well, i do have a few very small bubbles that don't want to go away even by doing the old "puncture a tiny hole with an exacto" fix.

I hope that they will settle on their own in a day or two.

I assume there is no way around leaving them if they don't settle on their own as the rest of the stripes are in place right?

ivan

[gaz]

Hi all

Thanks to all who responded to my original question.

After some delay from Cool New the bonnet stripes finally arrived on Friday. Almost two weeks to delivery despite them being in stock.
They were the white ones with all round black border/pinstripe. Packaged well and delivered by courier.

Wonderful weather so was armed with plenty soapy water, 3 glasses of wine, rubber squeegy thingy and a picture of a 'striped up Cooper' off this site.

Application was easy and was happy with the outcome. The tip of plenty of soapy water was a good one. Sprayed the bonnet and stripes all the time so they were moveable. One piece of grit landed on the stripe but was flicked off the wet backing with no problem at all.

Thanks again guys....if it weren't for you lot......I would have just peeled of the backing and applied.



Cheers

Gary

[bakerjc]

Quote: Originally Posted by gaz

Hi all

Thanks to all who responded to my original question.

After some delay from Cool New the bonnet stripes finally arrived on Friday. Almost two weeks to delivery despite them being in stock.
They were the white ones with all round black border/pinstripe. Packaged well and delivered by courier.

Wonderful weather so was armed with plenty soapy water, 3 glasses of wine, rubber squeegy thingy and a picture of a 'striped up Cooper' off this site.

Application was easy and was happy with the outcome. The tip of plenty of soapy water was a good one. Sprayed the bonnet and stripes all the time so they were moveable. One piece of grit landed on the stripe but was flicked off the wet backing with no problem at all.

Thanks again guys....if it weren't for you lot......I would have just peeled of the backing and applied.



Cheers

Gary

Now it's time to think about the top...........just as easy to do, just takes a little more time.

Go to idlegear.co.uk for ideas, good product and they ship fast.