I just couldn't resist adding black Vinyl stripes to my '01 RT/10. I loved the clean look when I originally got the Viper but I wanted a little extra something...and after seeing pics of Baz's stripes on his yellow Viper I was hooked. Baz...you were my inspiration on this one.Adding Vinyl stripes has been discussed, written and the how-to in the Illustrated's section was a big help. I'm not going to write this one up but I will share some tips and/or frustrations here. This was a fun a process but I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN.
Why? Adding stripes requires patience. Being Italian...well I have no patience so I already knew this was going to be a challenge.Material: I purchased my vinyl stripes from VinylStriping.com. Yes, a regular sign company. I purchased Avery A9 2mil, 9 year outdoor-life cast vinyl. In fact, they sold me a 150 foot roll. I think I have enough Vinyl leftover for 4 more vipers. They were easy to do business with and they pre-cut the Vinyl to an 8" width. 8" stripes with a 4" separation. For the record, I did email JonB at Partsrack to check if he sold vinyl kits but he doesn't. In this case, less than 50% of all advertising wasn't wasted. In fact, JonB said call a sign company. I did. I tried to support our great sponsors here but Vinyl doesn't seem to be a big seller for them. Once I received it all I had to do was install it
.Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of shadow in these pics. I took some quick pics today while the sun was out but shadowing is skewing the perfection (well almost) of these stripes. I'll take better pics tomorrow. Maybe some photography lessons are in order:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I also have a 150 foot roll of Avery A4 3mil vinyl. However, I found that the 2mil was much easier to work with especially within the license plate and naca duct areas which were a chore to get done properly. The 2mil will stretch and narrow if you pull on it too much. Simple don't pull on it too hard...problem solved. When installed, both will have ridge on the paint since it sits on top of the paint and is 2mil thick...I find any difference in ridge thickness between the 2mil and 3mil. If the ridge bothers you...paint them on.
Why Vinyl Stripes: It's reversible. Even though the vinyl is 2mil, it will come off but you need to use heat. Hair dryer, heat gun or the sun works fine. Someday I may have them permanently painted on but I wanted to be certain I would like the look. I freakin' love it.
Preparation: The area on which you're applying vinyl must clean. If its not clean, every piece of dust, dirt, contamination will show up as little pimples under your vinyl. You never get them out once you lay down your vinyl and they will stick to the vinyl. Don't ask me how I know about this.
I was the areas on which I was going to apply stripes using an extra concentrated dose of Griot's car wash which will remove wax. You can use Dawn dish soap as well. Once I washed and hosed off the areas I went over it with claybar to make certain I removed any contamination that may affect the performance of the vinyl.Heat: I used my wife's hair dryer to soften and shape the vinyl anywhere I need to conform it to curves. The vinyl will have a tendency to stretch back to it's original state after a while. Installers recommended that I heat the vinyl to 210 degrees so that it would stay conformed to its installed shape. A thermal reader helps here.
Naca Duct: The write up doesn't get into installing Vinyl in the naca duct because it was done on a Gen I. I think having the vinyl go through the naca duct, and license plate area, gives the job that finished look. After going through about 10 feet of vinyl, I decided to use 3 pieces of vinyl in the naca duct. I could not for the life of me get a solid piece to conform to that area. Unless you looked at it very closely, and ran your finger inside the naca you cannot tell it was done in three pieces. But it worked and came out looking great. If anyone is interested, I can post closeup pics of what I'm talking about.
Squeegie: DO NOT USE A HARD PLASTIC squeegee on Vinyl. Trust me...it will scratch. Use a felt-covered squeegie. I found that the California Jelly Blade worked perfectly. It does not scratch and does a magnificent job of removing water/air bubbles out from under the vinyl.
Duster: The California Duster was a great help. A quick pass of the duster over the car and the dust is gone. This was very helpful as I took breaks between installations on the car. Dust would build up over a few days and if left uncleaned it will show up under your vinyl.
Other than using soapy water, a squeeze and some elbow grease (sharp razors) this was not a very difficult process. If you have time, I highly recommend it. It can be done in a day. Plan on at least 6 hours if you've never done this before.
My final step is to complete the 'Baz Mobile 2' by installing a striped Mopar wing...just like Baz.
- Tony
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