Opinions on decal updates

I received my decals today. Very cool!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks a million Brandon!

Bill - Awesome! Can't wait to see some pics of them installed. I can't get mine on until early spring when my Outback comes out of storage.

I spent 3 hours yesterday removing the decal from one side...........my fingers are killing me! I'll be buffing the gelcoat before installing them to get that mirror shine back. I can't wait to see them on there! I'll be sure to post pics.

Thanks again Brandon

Hey, Wildbill, did you install your decals yet? I've spent hours prepping and lining them up and got going on the install today because it was very warm. I did the transom one last week and had no issues at all. But, the side decals are a totally different story. First of all, they did not come in a single sheet as was indicated. Instead, they came in individual letters that had to be strung together. Also, the plastic sheeting encasing the letters was applied in an extremely sloppy manner so it was nearly impossible to line all the letters up. I had an artistic friend help me tape them in place so they would not look too bad. After they were applied carefully and with pressure to remove bubbles as we went the finished look was not great. Full of air bubbles that seem to be between the front and back of the decals. I am disappointed so far and going to wait to do the other side. I'm not sure if its a problem with the product or if there is more we need to know about the installation.

Man, that's def upsetting. Take a step back and relax, sometimes it actually helps. Just a thought, I use a little soapy water in a spray bottle on the surface of the sticky and whatever its going on. That will allow you to make adjustments for several minutes to line up. Once you are set, blow dryer or heat gun will get the moisture out.

Bummer, Pat. The pics of the transom looked awesome and I was hoping the sides were going to as well.

Pat that blows, hopefully the air bubbles will disappear as they set.

show the pics of the transom vs the sides.

The first pic is the transom. It was fine. The rest are the side. It took forever to line them up as the spacing guides were placed incorrectly by the manufacturer and each individual letter's plastic sheeting was not square with the letter itself. Nor was the sheeting a uniform size. Each letter's sheeting overlapped the other letters making it very hard to remove the backing, even using the "hinge" install method. Despite efforts to keep them straight-- and we did very well on that part, the instructions posted above say to press from one end to the other to remove air-- which we did-- and then to use pressure to insure good contact. They were rubbed before the final sheeting cover was removed. When it was, they looked horrible.

man, I think you all did a great job of lining them up & it's one of those, "looks good from afar, but far from good." I can almost see the "bubbles" you mentioned in the decals. Do you think the bubbles are between the decal back & the hull or actually in the domed decal itself? I had to use a long, thin needle to get some of the air bubbles out of my seadek, but I'm not sure I'd want to risk going into the gelcoat.

I have heard of using a needle but let's just say I would have to put fifty punctures in them. The sites I've seen online say not to use that method on chrome or you will see it forever. I can't tell where the bubbles are but I can't press a single one of them out so it makes me think they are between the layers of the decal itself. I tried a little heat with a hairdryer and it did nothing.