Adhesive Vinyl background

[drama07]

Last week i tried applying adhesive vinyl like-tint as my tank background. I ended up throwing it away because it was so sticky that when I try aligning it on the tank, it was nearly impossible.

My question is was I suppose to spray the exposed adhesive side with soapy water so that it slides easily on the glass w/o it immediately sticking to the glass?

[chort55]

Yes, when applying window tint you should use a slightly soapy (the soap is actually optional, but it does help a little) water mix and mist the tank and the tint. I've tinted 5 cars and a truck....You don't have to soak it, but a good misting works great... also gives you less bubbles to have to work out to get a good crisp smooth finish :D

Another tip I will give you, is when its in place run a blowdryer over it ;)

[Ranchhand02]

I installed one on my tank and it said to wet the back of the tank, and I did. I was able to slide it around and postion it the way I wanted it without any trouble

[drama07]

yeah I I just sprayed water on the tank glass, wiped it dry and then wasted $10 :D

Thanks for the tips. Didn't know you had to apply the vinyl on wet glass.

[gws76]

Here's another alternative if you still want to use tint. There is one that is static stick rather than adhesive stick. I bought a roll of it at the big mean giant wal-whoever they are. It comes in either 5% or 20% tinting. You still want to use a spray bottle of water so it moves around easily. It also makes it easier to work the bubbles out.

[chort55]

If you go the static cling route, do it in a near sterile environment lol.... Dog/cat, human hairs, dirt,dust, cookie crumbs basically anything that gets stuck even will be there forever as its nearly impossible to get off.... not that you don't want a really clean work space with standard tints, the cling IMO is just a PITA if theres even a little dust or hair in the room because it just draws it to the tint :(

Also I suggest paying a little more for the pro/ elite or whatever the best stuff is called now :lol: Its thicker and easier to work with IMO... the thiner stuff folds and bends really easy and any small creases are often visible :( ..... Basically like everything else go with the best from the start, it will save you time, money, and hassle lol

[drama07]

static tint sounds neat, BUT...

bought the adhesive type from avery. Almost wasted another $10 - water is my saviour. Anyways its looking good. Still trying to remove some tiny air bubbles.

Would a flame work to get those bubble pockets gone?

[jdm18honda]

no flame will burn tint use a drivers license or card

[jdm18honda]

then blow dry dont worry about leaving it wet it will dry after to scrap with a card two or three days to dry

[James79]

With window tint the tiny bubbles will go away after it dries out. 2-3 days. Use a wet card to squeeze out bubbles or you'll scratch it.

[blair graphix]

If I read correctly you are putting this on a 20-something gallon tank... so just go to a sign shop and ask them for a couple feet of what ever color you like. They should have just about any color you could think of.

I did mine in a black and didn't care for it... then did it in a marine blue for a year or so. When I moved the tank I applied gentain blue (not to dark and not to light.)

Applying it is easy. Take a spray bottle and fill it up with water and then put a couple drops of dishwashing liquid. The with the color side down on a table peel back the white paper backing. Hint.. if you spray the table the surface tension will help you keep it flat.

Then once you have the paper backing off just spray the crap out of it... doesn't matter, you will not effect the adhesive. Then spray the back of the tank. Simply pick-up one side of the vinyl and lay it against the tank. Tank a squeege or credit card and work from the top down... that way you know it will be up against the top rim.

If you get sick of it down the road peel it off and try a different color.

Just my .02... I cut decals for a side job, if you were closer I would give you a couple feet of what ever you want.

Later,
Taylor

[drama07]

thx blair for the instructions, but I pretty much done applying it & cutting the leftover edges off.

Right now I'm trying to get rid of some tiny pockets. Quite difficult. I guess from some advice here, it'll dry up so I can rid of it in couple of days.

Anywayz all... thanks for all the inputs. Very helpful. I'm quite proud of my accomplishment today :)

[chort55]

What are you using to smooth the tint?