Seahound

So I got my graphic-express boss stripes today (Merry Christmas to me), but the instructions say that it has to be no colder than 45 degrees for two days. I live in Kansas and it'll be March before its that warm. Does anyone have any experience with doing vinyl that can give me some advice, or do I have to wait until spring? Thanks in advance for the help.

u-got-stang

I highly recommend you wait for warmer weather, unless you have some way of heating your garage safely... Personnaly I would wait until the temperature was over 60 degrees.... The vinyl is much easier to work with at warmer temperatures especially when you have to work around the bends and curves on your bumpers... Even in warmer weather, the front bumper was kind of a pain in the @#%...

hireman

yeah , what he said ......nice pony too !

Torch_Vert

Don't jump the gun. You'll just end up sorry. If you can't get a well heated space to work, you're just going to have to bite the bullet and wait.

The preceding message was brought to you by a guy that learned the hard way (years ago). Patience is hard, but it costs less than throwing away a messed up graphics set.

red454

Definitely wait for the right weather unless you have access to a heated building. And if you do have access to a warm building, let the car warm up for a few hours.

The vinyl is MUCH easier to work when it is warm, and there is a lot of work to get the vinyl to conform to the bumper and trunk curves. I used a hair dryer (on LOW heat setting) very CAREFULLY on some of the more difficult areas. Remember if you do use a hair dryer that there is a fine line between just enough heat and way too much...

One more thing - make sure the surfaces that you are putting the vinyl on are ABSOLUTELY clean.

adrenalin

As others have said, you either have to find a heated garage where both the surface of the car and the vinyl can reach the min temp requirement, or wait until it warms up outside. If you don't 2 things will happen. First, the vinyl will be too cold to conform to the curves in the body. Second, the car surface will be to cold which prevents the vinyl adhesive from adhering properly. I've seen people do this before and a few weeks later go to wash their car and basically blast pieces of vinyl off of the car when using the pressure washer.

scramblr

Yep, I'm thinking about the vinyl rear panel, but giving myself the winter to think about it since I can't install it anyway. I had to bring pcv hoses in the house and put them on heaters to soften them up and remove the fittings. LOL

Seahound

OK, so I found a shop that will install it. They have a heated garage and everything, so 2 more questions: First the directions say the temp needs to be above 45 for the next 2 days. Is that a big deal or can I still do it now (temp gets down in the 30s here at night)? Also, they want $100 to do it. Is that what I should expect to pay or should I go elsewhere? Thanks in advance for the help.

red454

Well, I think the temp needs to be as they state so the water used in the application process can evaporate. I think it would not be good to have any remaining moisture freeze under the vinyl.

And it took me the better part of a weekend to do the vinyl on my car myself, so $100 does not sound bad. Do they have any experience with this type of vinyl application?

u-got-stang

Unless you can leave your car in a heated garage for a few days during and after installation, I wouldn't do it... Even though they can get them put on (by the way $100.00 is a great price), there is plenty of moisture still trapped between the vinyl and your car that needs to evaporate... I'd be afraid the cold temperatures would cause that water to freeze and expand (probably not a good thing for the vinyl or the adhesive)... Just my opinion! I'd wait!

Seahound

Poop, that means I'll have to wait a few months to put them on...oh well, better than rushing it and having to pay for it twice. Thanks for the help guys.