The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Decal Application

I recently painted my tailgate, and would like to apply decals that spell "Chevrolet" across the raised letters. I purchased a set from Chevy Duty and the instructions are rather minimal, basically do not apply to a glossy surface and to burnish the edges.

I painted the tailgate with PPG DCC (acrylic urethane), so there is no clear coat. What grit of sand paper should I use to scuff the letters? Secondly, how should i burnish them once they are installed?

Finally, I've applied things like decals before, and have "floated" them on a film of soapy water & alcohol to get it into position and then squegeed the wetting fluid out to get it to stick. Is this recommended for these decals? Thanks

Isaac

When I applied decals to the tailgate on my truck, it too, had recently been painted with acrylic urethane. No need to scuff. As a matter of fact, you might do more damage than good. You could easily scuff outside the letters and create a mess. Its been 6 months and I don't think those letters are moving for some time. Cecil.........

I put the tailgate letters on my bro's 69 using the soapy water(just a drop or two of dish soap in the sprayer) method, no scuffing, worked great, still fine after 2 years outside,, Brian

Put about 2 to 3 drops Dawn dishwashing liquid (yes, Dawn; more soapy stuff) and a capfull of alcohol in a cheap garden sprayer filled with warm water; Shake. Spray the LETTERS LIGHTLY; hold the sprayer back about a foot and mist it on, just enough to call it wet. Slide into place, squeegee the excess water out. The alcohol evaporates quickly and allows it to adhere faster than just soapy water.

In case any of you have to add decals to glass - NEVER, EVER use water & soap; apply them dry. You'll be there for a couple of hours waiting for the water to evaporate.