I really want vinyl stripes on my 05 GT but. I don't know of I can do it or if I should take it to a sign shop. Just wondering how hard it is. And I'm also wondering how much it would cost for a sign shop to do.

 

I have stripes sitting in my room waiting for spring to put them on. So I cannot comment on how hard it is but I did a lot of research an talked to several people.
But cost. Ford quoted me $500. Another shop quoted for $700. This is all for getting the stripes all the way down like a gt500. Too much IMO. So I'm doing it myself. Going to require patience!!! I might do it over a couple days. To break it up an make sure I'm focused all the way through. Keep it wet the whole time. Never let it get the slightest bit dry. Heat gun for getting out any possible bubbles.

 

I have done my fair share of stripe installations over the years (see below). There are plenty of how-tos written up or video taped, so I wont rehash that here. For the most part, I actually think that anyone could do it as long as they get a really good pre-cut kit and follows the instructions carefully. In all of my stripe installations, the only 'difficulties' i ran into were the front bumper of my S197 with the first set of gold lemans stripes. Because of the bumper contours, the bumper stripes were in about 6 pieces... and there was no template instructions on which piece went where, so I had to kinda wing it. The other difficulty was when doing my second set of gold 'reverse' stripes on my S197. Since that was full custom, I had to do a lot more (see here for full write up).

My suggestion to you would be to get something small, apply that to see how easy/difficult it is. If it is something that you are comfortable with, then go ahead and order a full set of stripes. I highly recommend Graphic Express for their kits. I purchased all my stripes for my New Edge from them, they are a very high quality piece. http://www.graphic-express.com/

Here are all the stripes that I have installed:

New Edge



S197

 

I didn't do mine It was striped before I bought it but I have to replace some of them, I asked I guy that has done it before and he said use a spray bottle filled with dawn soap and water then you spray the paint so once the stripes are down you can move them

 

I had a guy quote me at 200 if I buy the stripes. Do you think I should try to do it or let a pro do it. I'm a little OCD about my car. So if one stripe is even a little off it will drive me crazy.

 

$200 is a good price. I would suggest letting a pro do it. If they mess up, then they can buy a replacement piece. I had mine put on for $250. No way I would try it myself. Far too time consuming and delicate.

 

What kind of places are you guys getting these prices at? At that price I'd be tempted to get them installed. Also are they like the gt500 an all the way down the bumper?

 

Yeah bumper to bumper. Look at local sign shops and Craigslist posts. Some people are really good but they don't have a shop so you don't know about them.

 

It's actually quite easy to do. You just need to lay the stripes out the way you want them to be, apply some masking tape across the middle of the stripe and do half the length at a time.

The hardest parts will be measuring, measuring, and measuring. You need a steady hand with a razor blade to "fine tune" the edges and curves and to do the "stitching" where you bring two pieces together. I've done my own stripes many times over the years and it's like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

There are tutorials that involve spraying the adhesive side of the stripe with a 10/90 solution of dish soap to water. That will allow you to move the stripe around on the surface until you get it where you want it, then you simply squeegee out the solution from under the stripe and you're good to go. Only problem with that method is it VERY easy for the stripe to move while sqeegee-ing it. I prefer just lining everything up using masking tape and doing half the stripe at a time.

 

I've done it twice now, and it's not hard; just takes some patience. The key is to use plenty of the soap/alcohol/water solution, and don't force anything.

On the roof, hood, and upper front bumper, I laid down a strip of 3M Blue painters tape, the width of the gap. That way, I could just push the stripe up against the tape, squeegee it down, and remove the tape.

In the back, I started from the pieces that surround the "gas cap". There's really only one way for them to fall, so you can line up the remaining trunk and rear bumper stripes with them.

For me, there was only some aggravation with my ducktail spoiler. That took a little love from the heat gun to lay down right.

 

Did mine also, not that hard, but needs practice and know how. If you never done it before .............. don't ! except if you pay cheap for the kit, then experience. As for " A GUY " have him show you what he did before, because if you are like me & lots of other member here, you wanted perfect, no bubbles or wrinkles. I've seen some stripes on mustang at local club done from " GUY'S " who do vinyl for a living, but on tractor trailer and store windows ect ......... they don't care about a few mistake or the blades going deep in the paint.

 

Is it bad to put stripes on in colder weather? I have my stripes ready to go but not sure if its good to put them on in colder weather (30's and 40's). Not sure if the vinyl stripe will adhere to the paint better in warm weather or not.

 

It Is !! Also it's better inside so there is no dust, sand or any other particles under the stripe. If you want the stripe to mold over the body's form it has to be warm, also for the water the evaporate.

 

okay thanks! I'll wait for spring then. My neighbor has a huge garage and hoping to get it inside there. My only hurry was I have this paint scratch about two quarters large and the paint is gradually peeling off. Slowly. But its exactly where my stripes will cover so I'll be able to avoid paying ~$400 to fix the bumper.