window sticker help

[kuzman83]

OK... I just got a shelby window sticker from positive impressions and i went to put it on tonight and heres what happened, tell me if its normal. I cleaned the window off with windex. marked the position for my sticker with masking tape then sprayed the window with windex again. applied the sticker. took a straight edge and pressed out all the windex from under the decal and waited. In my previous experiences the sticker dries to the window in about 15 mins or so and then the outside paper comes right off. Not so in this situation. It seems that there is some sort of hyper bond between the paper and sticker and every time i go to pull the paper off the sticker comes with it. I have resolved to stop messing with it before i screw it up for good and see if it will cure overnight enough for me to be able to remove the paper tomorrow. I am thinking that maybe i will have to soak the paper in windex to get it to come off of the sticker more easily. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[DC Turismo]

Might be a dumb question on my end but why are you putting the decal onto a wet (windexed) window? In my experience, I have also windexed the window, let it dry thoroughly, and then applied the decal. Not even letting it sit for 5 minutes I've been able to pull off that protective paper. If any corners do not stick, I take a small squirt of hand soap and squirt it in that problem area and smooth it out with a decal squeegy. What it sounds like to me is that you are applying this decal on a wet surface and the decal is not being able to stick to the window...

I could have misunderstood you though. If this was the case and the decal is sticking to the window thoroughly, then I would take a decal squeegy in my left hand and use the fingernails on my right hand to peel the paper away while keeping pressure down on the decal itself in between the crease being formed by the paper peeling away and the decal on the windshield. Smooth it back out one al the paper is off, and if any bubbles resorted from this, take something small and sharp like an exacto knife and push one tiny hole in each bubble then follow that by smoothing over it with the decal squeegy.

I hope this helps.

[kuzman83]

no i did apply it to a wet window. the way it works is that the windex allows the decal to move around so you can position it and then the alcohol in the windex evaporates leaving only glue and window. When you squeegie out the windex from underneath it bonds the sticker to the window. I got up this morning and peeled the paper off and all is well, it just needed a lot more time to dry than i thought it would.

[Clay]

never used windex to apply a decal. Ive always used water with a bit (like a few drops) of joy (mild) dish washing soap. Squeege, etc. I never put a decal on dry, if I really want to look right.

and your right, you have to wait for the liquid behind the decal to fully dry sometimes before the paper will pull off.

clay

[LaserXT1986]

never used windex to apply a decal. Ive always used water with a bit (like a few drops) of joy (mild) dish washing soap. Squeege, etc. I never put a decal on dry, if I really want to look right.

and your right, you have to wait for the liquid behind the decal to fully dry sometimes before the paper will pull off.

clay

Why would you say not to use Windex? Just curious....as I have over 18 years in the industry working with thermal transfer printed vinyl, solvent based inkjet printed vinyl, aqua based inkjet printed vinyl, screen printed vinyl, and just regular vinyl. And in a pinch when I didn't have Rapid Tac (what the pros use), Windex worked fine in a pinch from the location I was at (versus running back to the plant).

Ad actually you don't have to wait for the liquid behind the decal to fully dry. You need to make sure the transfer tape (the "pre-mask") has had ITS "adhesive" to the decal broken down enough to pull off without lifting the decal as well.

**EDIT** I apologize, I thought your reply said "Never "USE" Windex...you actually said "never "used"...my apologies for missing that important letter D

[Clay]

**EDIT** I apologize, I thought your reply said "Never "USE" Windex...you actually said "never "used"...my apologies for missing that important letter D

thanks for catching that, cause I was gonna call you one it

[TopDollar69]

I've always heard that you are suposed to use water with dish soap.

[LaserXT1986]

I've always heard that you are suposed to use water with dish soap.

Problem with using dish "soap" or detergent is mixing the proper amount relative to the water. Too much soap and it takes forever to setup, too little and it's like just using water. Further complicating things is the brands... some are concentrated, some are not, some have scents, some have grease cutters...all factors that change how it reacts with the water when mixed and used as a substitute for the actual application fluid.

For the DIY type I recommend mixing dish detergent, something like Palmolive or Dawn, and mixing 2½ teaspoons of it to ½ gallon of water. Mix well and pour into a squirt bottle. This is based on many many many years of being in the industry.

Of course if you can get your hands on Rapid Tac (what the pros use) by all means, use that!!

[TopDollar69]

Thanks for the info, that will be helpful when I install my new stripe kit.