water-dip stepside tailgate lettering decals?

[Lugnutt]

Couple of years ago I purchased a set of water-dip CHEVROLET letters for my 72 stepside tailgate. I lost track of where I put them so I re-ordered from Brothers. What I got in the mail was peel-n-stick decals, not water-dip decals. I've checked around and can't seem to find a vendor that has the water-dip letters. I've checked with Brothers, Classic, LMC, Southern Kentucky, and Manes.

Do any of you know of any vendors that might carry the water-dip tailgate decals? I sure would appreciate any help or comments.

Thanks

[Lugnutt]

Hmmm,

Seems from the lack of response the industry has discontinued the use of water-dip decals. Have any of you guys used both types including the peel-n-stick kind in the past? I'm thinking maybe I need to look into making stencils and spraying the letters on now. The peel-n-stick don't impress me much, though I haven't seen them on a vehicle yet. Sure would like to get some opinions from some of you that have used them.

Thanks

[merlin3]

i have installed many of those peel and stick letters with no problem.in the shade just wet down the gate with a spray bottle with soap and water, line up the letter to were you want it [the soapy water will let you move the letter around]then squeegee the air bubbles and water out i always let it sit overnight.if there are no indents in the gate measure and lay them out first.hope this helped.

[lowrodderchev]

I just did my decals yesterday pretty easy and came out great spray bottle soap/water wet my fingers so they wouldn't stick then tailgate pressed out bubbles then slowing went over it with hair dry to dry off water

[Lugnutt]

Thanks for the responses,

I guess maybe I'm confused about what kind of decals I've got here from Brothers. These do seem to use water during installation but are not required to be dipped in water first to soften them and allow them to release and slide off of the backing sheet. But these also don't look like true peel-n-stick stickers either that are installed dry (I wouldn't want those).

Bottom line is I'm not afraid of the installation process, it looks easy enough, I just didn't want to put something on my truck that would look "cheesy" and afterward be hard to remove. I guess I'm going to give these a try and see how they look. Thanks again for your input.

[lowrodderchev]

here's the ones I just did

[Lugnutt]

I followed the directions sent with the decals and the application failed. I cleaned and prepped the surface, peeled off the adhesive backing, wet both surfaces and applied the decal to the tailgate. I then gently wiped the surface making sure there were no air bubbles and waited for it to dry. right away the edges started to peel back and nothing I could do kept the decal from just coming off. I'm not too happy right now.

[Lugnutt]

Brothers are good people.

When I described what happened, the guy at Brothers said the decals were bad. When I pulled the backing paper off of the decal, the paper backing stayed stuck to the adhesive and the paper delaminated leaving part of it on the decal. They are sending me a new set. They also suggested using soapy water like you both advised (wish they would include that in there instructions).

Wish me luck

[69 MOD]

I Overspray everything when it comes to decals, the water can be worked out
When peeling the face off pull back at a 180* angle (or as sharp as you can) not 90* as this will pull on the decal itself.

Don't worry about the tiny bubbles if you have some because the sun will take them out, trust me on this. It will be flat after a few days I've seen large bubbles disappear too.

Also it only takes 2-3 drops of dish soap shake your bottle to mix and you are good, too much soap will make it hard to keep the decal from slipping & adhering.

MOD

[Lugnutt]

Originally Posted by 69 MOD

I Overspray everything when it comes to decals, the water can be worked out
When peeling the face off pull back at a 180* angle (or as sharp as you can) not 90* as this will pull on the decal itself.

Don't worry about the tiny bubbles if you have some because the sun will take them out, trust me on this. It will be flat after a few days I've seen large bubbles disappear too.

Also it only takes 2-3 drops of dish soap shake your bottle to mix and you are good, too much soap will make it hard to keep the decal from slipping & adhering.

MOD

Thanks, I'll use your recommendations when the new decals come in, heading out-of-town soon, I'll get into it again next week. How do you get the peel-away started, finger nail, razor blade?

[69 MOD]

I lay the whole thing on, rub the water out, use a towel to dry the outside and soak up the area once applied
The 'white' layer will just peel right up with the tip of your finger.
When you come to the edge of the decal and it starts to peel you have to let it sit a little longer, if it stays you can continue.

The one thing I didn't mention is that I usually start from the center of the decal and with light pressure take the first swipe each way...
i.e. of your tailgate decals, middle of decal up then middle down just to get the bulk of water out (sometimes all comes out) then use a harder pressure to work the rest of the water out.

Drivers liscense/CC works ok but if you have a plastic bondo blade use that instead and use the credit card for finish work once you've peeled the outer cover off (wrap it in a cloth or it will scratch)

Good luck!!
MOD

[Lugnutt]

Originally Posted by 69 MOD

I lay the whole thing on, rub the water out, use a towel to dry the outside and soak up the area once applied
The 'white' layer will just peel right up with the tip of your finger.
When you come to the edge of the decal and it starts to peel you have to let it sit a little longer, if it stays you can continue.

I'm not understanding something here. You say to lay the whole thing on, do you mean the whole thing including the bottom paper backing? I was assuming the decal is on top, then the adhesive, then the paper backing. What "white layer" are you refering to that is to peel up after you rub the water out? The only thing that can peel "up" is the decal which is on top. I'm not seeing what you're trying to tell me.

My assumption was, based on the attached instructions, to first peel off the paper backing and throw it away, then wet the decal and tailgate, then apply, slide into position, and work the bubbles out. How can I apply the decal with the paper backing in between the tailgate and the decal? What am I missing?

[69 MOD]

I was thinking the letters were all in 1 big decal (never dealt with these)

So yes remove back, spray liberally, apply and work out water.

The outside "backing paper" that holds the decal itself is usually white or parchment color that's what I was referring to.

See how the paper holding the decal on the right of the pic is white?

[Lugnutt]

Originally Posted by 69 MOD

I was thinking the letters were all in 1 big decal (never dealt with these)

So yes remove back, spray liberally, apply and work out water.

The outside "backing paper" that holds the decal itself is usually white or parchment color that's what I was referring to.

See how the paper holding the decal on the right of the pic is white?

I gotcha now. That's what my decals wouldn't do before, the backing paper stuck to the decal and only half the paper thickness came off. Much appreciate the photo. In a week or so I'll give it another go.

Thanks

[Lugnutt]

With the new decals and advise from you guys my tailgate lettering went well.

Thanks

[LSUMurse]

Nice job, looks great.

[69 MOD]

Perfect
Nice job!

[merlin3]

great job

[slikside]

Lug,

With a tailgate that gorgeous, you gonna leave us hanging on the rest of the truck?? How 'bout a pic of the whole rig?

Looks like you did a great job.

[70cst]

Great job!!!

[Lugnutt]

Here's a few pictures of my truck after a good restoration. It's a driver, not a show truck so it's not perfect in all places. Living in the suburbs of Kalifornia, I had to hire-out the body and paint work, most everything else I did in my garage. Got lots of pictures doing the interior work and some of the bodywork and paint.

[slikside]

That is a cool truck you have. Thanks for the pics. You've done a lot of good work there.

That saddle interior is so cool. You've got the best looking seat cover in that style IMO.