Installed my PhoenixGraphics Heritage Stripes this weekend. Wasn't easy but it came out really nice. Pretty much all you have to do is follow the included instructions.

I started with the rear deck since it's the easiest and will give you a good feel of how the things go on. Pull the car into the shade and give the area where the decal goes the best washing you've ever given. Scrub every inch with a sponge, then rub your hands over it with lots of water flowing to make sure its smooth. Use your fingernail to gently scratch off any of those little specks or dirty areas that don't come off with soap and water. After you do this, dry it off then go over the area again with rubbing alcohol and a rag to remove any wax or anything. Once you've done this don't touch the area with your fingers or anything else so you don't get any oil or contaminants on the surface.



Pull off one side of paper to expose the adhesive, spray with soapy water as explained in the included instructions (mix it right, you only need a teaspoon of soap per gallon of water). Spray the car too. Lay it down and slide it into place. Squeegee out the water with the included tool (rubber spatula from the kitchen works good too).





Next I did the hood. I took some better pics for this part.

A view of my workspace with the car in shade.


Here I am doing the best wash I've ever done on the hood. Same deal as before, get it good and alcohol afterwards then don't touch.



Alignment of the hood stripes is a PITA. The instructions say to not separate them down the middle....well.....the company did me the nice favor of separating them down the middle before shipping them so I had to do each stripe individually and get the alignment perfect. Spend some time with a measuring tape and some masking tape to make centerlines and you will figure it out. My mom helped me BIG TIME doing all this stuff. <<--(I'd be disowned if I didn't throw this in there. But she really did help and you will need at least 1 helper for sure.)

 

After you are done with squeezing the water out they need to sit 3 hours. Be careful when its time to pull the final piece of paper off.













Side note.......I didn't do the spoiler. It seems like it would be a pain because its two pieces, top and rear, and you have to butt them perfectly just below where the sharp curve is. I still may do it, but I haven't decided. What do you guys think? I kinda like it like this.

 

Looks Great!!

Where did you get the stripes at?

 

3rd word in Post #1....PhoenixGraphics. http://www.phoenixgraphics.com/

 

Those stripes look great.

 

Leave it to Stephen to point out the obvious
The strips really made a nice car even nicer.

 

That was totally uncalled for. Play nice....I just pointed out what was already posted up there.

 

All right, so I missed that part of the post, sue me!

 

they do look great but I have 3 questions

#1. How thick is the vinyl? Does it look like a sticker or is it quite a bit thinner? Or if you look at it now does it look like there is a sticker on there or like it was painted on?

#2. The only part that really bothers me about this is your paint is real shiny and looks great but the vinyl looks a little dull. Is there any way to add a shine to the vinyl stickers? Or do you have to put a clear coat over it?

#3. To anyone else who has done this, are these fade resistant? and how do they hold up in general?

I think they look great just out of curiosity how much did they cost you.

 

It is pretty thin, stuff doesn't get stuck on the line and the lines wash clean every time. Of course, anybody who knows what they are looking for can walk up, look at it, and tell they are stick-on but that doesn't mean they don't still look good. The factory Heritage Stripes were stick-on vinyl as well.

This effect is not noticeable in person like it is in the picture. If you know what you're looking for, yeah, there is a difference in sheen but mostly the stripes just look black.

If this is ever a problem, rest assured I'll be making a scene about it here

$220 for the whole set. Assuming they last a long time, that right there blows away the above points. You could spend $1000 - $2000 for a custom shop to paint these things on. This isn't a show car and I couldn't justify that for stripes.

 

great thread!!... I'm planning a repaint, and I'm considering going with vinyl instead of paint. With my car, the stripes have better reflection than the paint, which is nice because they really pop. When I do a BC/CC job, to have the stripes with the same reflection as the paint I think would make the stripes invisible on a dark grey car.

I'd be so happy if mine turns out as nice as yours.... thanks for the thread!