Directions for mounting VINYL & MYLAR decals with or without application tape

1) Always store unused decals in resealable storage bags or a sealable container (i.e. rubbermaid or tupperware) this will not only keep the decals sorted and clean, but it will also protect the decals from major atmospheric changes which will effect the properties of the adhesives used in the various layers of these decals.

2) Take steps to make sure the surface you are mounting on is free of waxes, silicones, buffing compounds, anodizing sealers, and dirt or grease. Remove needed decals from the storage containers. Starting at a corner of the decal stock peel up the clear application tape. Sometimes the decal will remain down on the silicone liner stock, if so, lower the application tape back down over the edge of the decal, and burnish with your fingernail. Peel up application tape again bringing along the decal.

3) Looking through the clear,or paper, application tape, line the decal up to the surface you are mounting on, this line up is critical because once you tack (touch) the decal down to the surface… that’s where it will stay.

4) Once you have positioned the decal take care in rubbing it down. It works best to first tack down the center of the decal and then slowly rubbing down the rest to the decal working form the center out to the edges, doing one side at a time. This rubbing can either be done with your fingers or a soft rag.

5) Now Burnish the decal down with a medium hard plastic squeegee (again working from the center out to the edges.)

6) Peel back the application tape slowly until it separates from the leading edge of the decal. if the decal wants to lift up, burnish the decal again. It works best to separate the decal on a corner verses on a long flat section.

7) At this point, some milkiness or dotted areas, may still be present under the clear areas of the decal. (Actually they are also under the printed images.) This is where the pressure sensitive adhesive has not totally bonded down to the substrate. Generally these small areas will disappear within about 30 minutes.

8) As with all adhesive mountable decals the bond will take about one week to really grab with a full bond taking about one month.

Trouble Shooting

A) If the decal doesn’t want to stick to the substrate or release from the application tape, the probable cause is temperature, adhesives are all thermal sensitive. They have a optimum working range of 65 to 85 degrees. A 50 degrees bicycle frame might as well be a sheet of waxed paper.

B) Trapped air bubbles can be popped with a pin and carefully reburnished, but the best thing is to be more careful in the application.

C) One unsightly problem involved with adhesive based decals in that dirt will stick to the adhesive on the very edge of the decal. the best way to prevent this problem is to seal the edge of the decal with clear wax. This can ve done within a hour or so on dry mounted decal. If you have used soap and water to mount, you will need to wait several days to ensure that all the moisture has been allowed to evaporate.

D) Heat also works great in removing old dried on decals also. Try a hair dryer. Directions for mounting Vinyl and Mylar Decals with or without application tape

Directions for mounting TOP MOUNT DryAP decals

1) Remove needed decals from the protective bags. Always store the unused decals in sealed bags and/or in a air tight covered container (i.e. Rubbermaid or Tupperware) to prevent deterioration of the adhesive and plasticizer loss. It is highly recommended to store the decals in a cool, dark, slightly humid area. Heat, UV light, and dryness can all have a detrimental effect on the flexibility of the s product over the long term.

2) This type of decal is produced with five layers of stock or printed substances, 1. support paper, 2. self releasing clear plastic film, 3. image areas, 4. adhesive layer, 5. silicone release liner. The stock consists of the first two layers, the support paper is coated with a adhesive layer which holds the self releasing clear plastic film in position during the printing process. The decal itself is constructed with various layers of clears and the colored image itself. The final printing is a film of pressure sensitive adhesive used to bond the decal to your frame. The final layer is the silicon impregnated release liner used to protect the adhesive, and allows us to send you stacks of individual thin decals not one big fat stack of paper plastic and ink stuck together. THE SURFACE YOU ARE MOUNTING TO MUST BE VERY CLEAN TO GET A GOOD BOND. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THERE IS NO WAX, POLISH OR FINISHING RESIDUE ON THE SURFACE YOU ARE MOUNTING THESE DECALS TO. AFTER THE DECALS ARE MOUNTED YOU CAN APPLY WAX OR POLISH RIGHT OVER THE DECAL.

3) To prepare the decal for mounting, first remove the silicone release liner to expose the back of the decal (adhesive side). Fold a corner of the stock down to separate the clear plastic and decal off the entire sheet of backing stock. Care must be taken while separating stock to not prematurely break the bond of the decal to the plastic film. A slow and steady peel works much better than a ripping mo- tion. If you have broken that bond anywhere on the decal it will now be visible by looking through the plastic film at the face of the decal. The separation areas will look frosted and will always be on corners or edges. This by no means scraps the decal, but you must be aware of these areas because once they touch the surface you are mounting on, you will not be able to lift the decal and reposition it. When mounting the decal care should be taken to get the correct position on the first attempt. You can’t stick it down and peel it back off with much success. Once positioned rub the decal down with your fingers, taking care not to trap air bubbles. At this point, using a clean dry rag, buff the decal down by rubbing the rag back and forth. This serves two purposes. First it bonds the adhesive to the frame with a combination of heat and pressure. Secondly, the rubbing loosens up the releasing agent that is bonded to the back side (squeegeeing side) of the clear film. Thirdly, rubbing the decal down before squeegeeing the decal down will eliminate the possibility of stretching the decal while squee- geeing. This in turn, will eliminate stress cracks, which could appear up to 2 weeks after mounting. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STEP CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED.

4) Burnish the decal down with some sort of burnisher: A bondo squeegee or some other form of hard plastic applicator works best. Be sure to burnish down the entire decal working from the center to the edges. Be sure to hold the plastic film down while burnishing, to avoid ripping or wrinkling the decal. Now, reburnish the decal, starting from one side on the film but not on the decal. Work into the decal. This will separate the edge of the decal from the film. Continue the separation across the rest of the decal. After this, burnishing the plastic film normally has separated from the decal, if not just peel it off. If by some chance the decal hasn’t separated at this point spend more time burnishing. ONCE THE DECAL IS MOUNTED If there are any bubbles in the decal… tiny ones will pull them- selves down in about a half hour, larger ones can be popped with a pin and burnished down. As with all pressure sensitive decals, it takes several days for the bond to really set in. Try to avoid major abrasion to the decal for about one week. TO REMOVE THE DECAL. If the decal is bonded to raw metal just rub the decal for quite awhile with a strong solvent like M.E.K. or a Lacquer thinner, or you can sand it off. If mounted on a painted frame that would be damaged by strong solvents, heat the decal up a little to soften the adhesive and scrape the decal off with the edge of a stiff piece of plastic (like a credit card) it will be slow going.

Directions for mounting DryAP CLEARCOATABLE decals

1) Remove needed decals from the protective bags. Always store the unused decals in sealed bags and/or in a air tight covered container (i.e. Rubbermaid or Tupperware) to prevent deterioration of the adhesive and plasticizer lose. It is highly recommended to store the decals in a cool, dark, slightly humid area. heat, UV light, and dryness can all have a detrimental effect on the flexibility of the product over the long term.

2) This type of decal is produced with five layers of stock or printed substances, 1. support paper, 2. self releasing clear plastic film, 3. image areas, 4. adhesive layer, 5. silicone release liner. The stock consists of the first two layers, the support paper is coated with a adhesive layer which holds the self releasing clear plastic film in position during the printing process. The decal itself is constructed with various layers of clears and the colored image itself. The final printing is a film of pressure sensitive used to bond the decal to your frame. The final layer is the silicone impregnated release liner used to protect the adhesive, and allow us to send you stacks of individual thin decals not one big fat stack of paper, plastic, and ink stuck together.

3) To mount the decal, first remove the silicone release liner exposing the back of the decal and the printed adhesive. Then starting at a corner of the support paper peel up the self releasing clear plastic film on which the decal is printed. It is important to to do this step slowly and smoothly as to not cause the decal to prematurely start releasing from the clear film. Holding the clear plastic by the corners and above the object to be decaled, align the decal in position and apply. It is imperative that the decal be in correct position before you apply to much pressure. Rub the decal down with your fingers, being careful not to trap air bubbles. At this point, using a clean dry rag, buff the decal down by rubbing the rag back and forth. This serves two purposes. First it bonds the adhesive to the frame with a combination of heat and pressure. Secondly, the rubbing loosens up the releasing agent that is bonded to the back side (squeegeeing side) of the clear film. Thirdly, rubbing the decal down before squeegeeing the decal down will eliminate the possibility of stretching the decal while squeegeeing. This in turn, will eliminate stress cracks, which could appear up to 2 weeks after mounting. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STEP CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED.

4) Burnish the decal down with some sort of hard burnisher: a bondo squeegee or some other form of hard plastic applicator works the best. Be sure to burnish down the entire decal, reburnish the decal again. This second burnishing will cause the clear stock to move laterally, which separates the clear from the now mounted decal. This is how the release is achieved. you can actually see the two separate at this time. (Do not attempt to burnish the decal down once and then peel the stock up, this will cause the decal to rip and create a major scrap problem.) Slowly peel back the clear film making sure all areas of the decal have released properly. If any haven’t reburnish again.

5) After removing the clear film, examine the decal to make sure the decal is laying flat on the frame. If any wrinkles, bubbles, or flaws remain reapply the clear film and work the area with burnisher. Large bubbles can be poked with a pin an burnished.

6) Buff the decal down with a clean dry lint free rag. Nylon or polyester work much better, than cot- ton, because they will leave no fibers stuck to the edge of the decals.

7) At this point, any tiny bubbles or waves in the decals will flatten themselves out with in about one half hour. Heating the decal slightly will speed this up. The decal is now ready for clearcoating.

Directions for mounting WATER SLIDE decals

1) Remove needed decals from the protective bags. Always store the unused decals in sealed bags and/or in a air tight covered container (i.e. Rubbermaid or Tupperware) to prevent plasticizer loss in the decals.

2) Wash area to be decaled with a mild detergent, rinse and let dry. A clean surface is imperative for achieving a superior bond.

3) Cut decals apart and trim excess paper from around each decal to be mounted.

4) Dip decal in warm water for a few seconds.

5) Place wet decal face up on a moist paper towel and wait until the decal slides freely on the paper.

6) Place decal face up in position on object to be decaled, and slide the backing paper off leaving decal in position.

7) Gently slide decal into final position and press out any air bubbles with a soft damp cloth. Don’t press too hard. It will force the adhesive out from under the decal. Take care not to stretch the decal out of shape.

8) Some milkiness will be evident on dark surfaces. This is good because it is the adhesive and it will clear.

9) Wipe away excess adhesive and then do not touch the decal until firmly dry about 12 hours. With up to 24 hours on large images (2 inches x3 inches or larger).