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How do you prep your plastics for new numbers and graphics?

what do you clean them with?

what was the best way you have found to apply them ?

clean them with warm soapy water and let them dry overnight. applying them is mostly experience. i've finally gotten fairly good at this after applying tons of them. i no longer use the spray with water first method. here's some of my tips. 1. make sure you know where/how it will fit. look for "alignment points/lines before removing the backing 2. don't touch the edges of the adhesive. i touch further in to avoid weakening the adhesive on the edge. 3. don't make the mistake of thinking it's easier if the plastics are off the bike. 4. start at the highest point of the plastics. don't start with the exhaust side panel which is the most difficult. leave that for last. 5. heat gun will help make the graphics material more flexible. be careful...you don't need much heat. too much and it will stretch and possibly delaminate. 6. go slow and look constantly for air bubbles and misalignment. you can pull it back up if necessary. smooth as you go a little at a time.

good luck.

ken

Thanks ken

Thanks Ken, I'm actually going to put some on my wife's Crf 150R tomorrow. I'll try your method as mine hasn't always worked out the best.

ok...i've revised my methods since my last post on this topic. why? i watched a professional mechanic for a factory team put on graphics between motos and his twist works and works well. btw, everything i said initially still applies there's just a added twist.

rather than removing the entire backing when applying the graphic remove it and then cut it into sections and reapply it to areas that won't be initially applied. this prevents those areas from sticking to whatever they touch and allows you to focus on the section you are working on. You can leave open areas that can be applied and then remove the strips of backing as needed to continue applying the graphic.

ken

Cool, I didn't get around to it today so i'll try the added technique. Hopefully I'll get around to it this weekend? Thanks!

i hope i explained that well enough. basically you can use the backing to cut and reapply it so the only sticky areas exposed are the ones you want exposed. by cutting the backing in small strips you can reapply them so that when you get to that area you can reveal the next few inches of sticky to continue.

i hope this makes sense. it works great!

ken

Yea Ken it worked great. Another question, the edge always gets dirty fast because of the glue that is exposed around the edge. What is the best way to remove that without using a chemical that will dull out the graphic? Thanks again.