This looks much better than...
This looks much better than anything we could've done with the companies' original decals - even with our mad sticker skills.
Putting stickers on the back window of your truck is not a new concept,from Calvin-pissing-on-something to powered-by-Coors decals, we've all seen it before. In the show scene, stickers are a way of giving thanks to the people who donated parts or work to get your truck show worthy. The one big problem with this is if you are putting a truck together, you have an idea about how it's going to look. And we're sure this look doesn't consist of a bunch of different-colored and -shaped stickers all over the place. There is a different approach you can take: have one giant sticker made that does two things; gives love to your sponsors and doesn't detract from the truck. We contacted Tim from Ultimate Design in Placentia, California, to cut us one such decal for our Comp Cruizer project. With the amount of companies involved with the project, we definitely needed one of these. Tim asked us to measure the back window and send him a list of all sponsors and a digital picture of the truck's paint scheme and window size. The next day, we had a preliminary design waiting for us in our e-mail box, and after we OK'd the decal, Tim cut it out. He brought it to the paint shop and stuck it to our back window, saving us the hassle of lining up 25 different-colored stickers. We know this is some pretty simple tech, but if you put this kind of thought into your build, it shows you didn't just slap it together.
1. Once Tim had the decal...
1. Once Tim had the decal ready, he brought it over and did an initial check for size. Then he taped the decal down on the edges and found center, then placed a long piece of tape on that line.
2. Tim says, "The center tape...
2. Tim says, "The center tape allows you to fold the decal over to remove the backing without the need of a buddy's help."
3. With the backing off, Tim...
3. With the backing off, Tim rubs the sticker down right along the centerline with a window-tinting squeegee. By working from the center out, you will minimize those ugly bubbles.
4. When that side was down,...
4. When that side was down, the rest of the backing was removed and the decal rubbed down. Tim leaves his decals a little big so they can be trimmed to a prefect fit with a razor knife.
5. Once all the area was rubbed...
5. Once all the area was rubbed down, the top layer is peeled back to reveal our new sponsor decal. Tim suggests you slowly pull the backing off and keep an eye on the small letters. If one starts to peel up, you can save it by using a pick to free the bond and keep the vinyl on the glass.
6. Ultimate Design can also...
6. Ultimate Design can also build up a battle board, and as an added bonus, you can insert more sponsors as they come in.