I took my car in to have my Baltimore Street Mods stripe kit installed. The guy does all the emergency vehicles around the area as well as mustangs for the Ford dealerships. He called me this morning and said the kit was not good vinyl (its 3m, but he says he uses a better quality 3M) and did not think it would come out well. Specifically he said the BSM kit goes on wet and because of that has issues with bubbles and "the adhesive bunching up". He also said it would eventually shrink and pull away from the curved areas.

His says his kit goes on dry and thereby avoids those issues. He also says it is a better quality, thicker 3M vinyl with a crosshatch pattern that prevent air bubbles. He wants a total of $500 for his kit and the install (he says it is normally $700).

My questions

Is there wet and dry applied vinyl?

If so, is the dry type better?

Are there different grades and thicknesses of 3M automotive vinyl? Anyone have experience with BSMs kit?

 

Ok, first I would love to know what vinyl he says is better than 3M. The vinyl you received is most likely 2mil automotive vinyl so that is definitely what is preferred for the install. Now the guy says one goes on wet but his goes on dry. Just so you know, they are all the same. You can install them wet or dry. The difference being that if you install it dry and mess up, well, you throw the piece out and start over. If you install it wet, you have some "placement time" to move it around. Vinyl does not shrink so I am not sure what he is talking about. He says he has thicker vinyl, you don't want thicker. 3mil is a standard vinyl which is actually a lot cheaper than 2 mil. Anything thicker than 3 mil is specialty vinyls which are not recommended for vehicle application (other than stoneguard which is usually 6+ mil).

I worked in a sign shop for years (manager/designer/installer). I think the guy is just trying to get you to buy his product. Whether it is better or not, I really don't know. However, if it is 3mil thick or thicker, I'd be a bit worried. As for the install, you just spray the area with a degreaser (I use dawn liquid soap and water) to remove any wax. Install the stripes, wet is preferred, and squeegee away the water. The ends that wrap around areas, such as the hood or seams, may take a while to dry. To get around this use a hair dryer. Do not use a heat gun unless you really know what you are doing or you could damage the vinyl and your paint. Just use the heat gun to warm up the glue side of the vinyl and the paint area it is going to stick to. Slowly lay it in place by using a squeegee to apply pressure and push away the air. Sounds confusing but it isn't. You might just want to find a "friendly" sign shop in the area that can show you the process.

 

Ok, I had to type fast because I am at work Just to clear something up. If you are looking at the more popular vinyls such as 3M and Avery, they normally all carry the same type of warranty, which relates to both the thickness and type of vinyl. So for example, most 2mil automotive vinyls carry a 7-9 year warranty and 3mil opaque vinyls usually carry a 5 year warranty. 3mil's are used on vehicles however, that is usually only when the purchaser wants to save money and plans (or knows) on replacing the lettering in a few years.

Also incase you didn't know, you can wax over the vinyl stripes and it is highly recommended. It seals the edges and helps prevent staining (on lighter coloured vinyls such as white). I always apply a coat of glaze ontop of stripes to help prevent staining from bird crap, tree sap, road grime, etc.

 

Yeah, it sounded fishy to me. Problem is, I cant find a place around here thats willing to do it (and I really have no talents in that area...). Im starting to think I may wait until winter and have them painted.

Anyone want to buy a silver BSM stripe kit?

 

I eventually had mine painted on as well. Vinyl is nice when you are not sure if you want to keep the stripes or not, or even change colour. You still might want to find an installed and put the kit on before getting them painted. That way it gives you a while to look at the car and figure out if you really do want to invest the money into having them painted.

 

Oracal is what is being used for my stripes. It's supposed to be better than the 3M clear stuff. Don't know about the solid stuff, though. Either way, sounds like the guy was blowing smoke.

 

Not to hijack this thread since it's sort of on-topic, but I was wondering what a good install price should be? When I tgold a loacl installer I had a kit already purchased, I was quoted $95.00/hr. I've already attempted this twice and screwed it up both times, wasting $$$$$. Not sure which direction to go now...

 

That price seems reasonable. I know some will think that is high for labour but if they mess up your kit, they need to make new pieces which comes out of their pocket.

 

Heh, I can understand exactly what you mean since I've had to purchase a couple kits when I messed them up LOL Thanks for the reply.

 

I had my stripes installed a year ago (BSM Silver stripes on Sonic Blue) paid $100.00 and I am very happy with the install, the installer has told me the quality of the stripes was very good and has ordered BSM stripes for other cars even though they can cut there own they liked the fit and ease of the BSM's. Eventually I will have mine painted on but for now looks great and NO ISSUES.

 

If you have BSM stipes and they are metallic colored they will have crosshatch pattern already. I have these and don't care for the pattern. I have been wanting to switch to avery stripes but don't have the money to do it right now. This guy seems to be blowing smoke. I put my stripes on with the help of rrobello, and neither one of us had experience with stripes. I consider myself mechaniclly inclined and he does detailing on the side so maybe that helped. It wasn't really hard, just VERY time consuming. There are write ups about stripe installation on here.

 

I think that's the kicker for me, the VERY time consuming part. It is very tedious work, and if you're not a patient person than you will have issues. I am not, and I did...

 

FWIW, I had just gotten a set of BSM vinyl stripes (GT 500 kit) installed last Friday. Dropped the car off at 9AM and car wasn't done until a little after 5PM. The guy did a great job with installation though it cost me $450. He said that he has seen a lot of junk vinyl that is purchased on the internet but the BSM vinyl was good stuff!

 

a good way is to become friends with a local body man..i met up with a friend who works a a local body shop and had him do my car.it's been a pain to do it,it's cost me 50.00 the first time and 20.00 each additional time..for a total of 90.00 and 3 lunchs..we took our time 5 hrs the first time including our 1.5 lunch break,to do the hood ,trunk,and and rear bumper..the next time was about the same,finishing the front bumper and then doing the side stripes.the last time was to do the hood scoop,front bumper(had to get a new front clip due to a large racoon at a high speed) ..Robert

 

I got quoted 700-800 to have vinyl cut and installed. Ordered the BSM kit and did it myself for around $120 with supplies. 3 years later, still happy with it, though would like to go painted, but considering it will cost over 10 times as much, I'll stick with the vinyl for now. I think I would find another shop, the BSM stripes are good quality.

 

Stay away from the installer and just do it yourself.

Just follow the instructions from BSM and you'll be fine.