# A while ago, I flamed the hood of my Cruze... tell me what you think.



## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

Not my cup of tea, but if you can cut a new one out that actually matches the curve of the hood it will look better. My recommendation would be to cut out another one same size, and put the base on the edge of the hood where the grill trim is, and roll the excess around the edge of the hood. It will make the blob base look like its coming from the engine, and curving it around the edge will make the decal last longer. Right now the front edge is prone to peeling from air when driving the car, and it can peel when washing your car.


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## ls1vazquez (Jan 25, 2013)

Hey, thanks. I was trying to get pretty exact on the measurements just for my understanding of the constraints but rolling it around the lip of the hood would be the best.


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## marden64 (Dec 1, 2013)

Smurfenstein said:


> Not my cup of tea, but if you can cut a new one out that actually matches the curve of the hood it will look better. My recommendation would be to cut out another one same size, and put the base on the edge of the hood where the grill trim is, and roll the excess around the edge of the hood. It will make the blob base look like its coming from the engine, and curving it around the edge will make the decal last longer. Right now the front edge is prone to peeling from air when driving the car, and it can peel when washing your car.


The front edge should be fine. I've put tons of decals on hoods of vehicles and never had any problems with customers coming back to have them redone. Only time was when someone took it to a high pressure car wash and sprayed the car wrong.

But I do agree with the rest of your post.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

It beats leaving a full underbody engine shield on there to get real flames!


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

mamoru


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## HoPo99 (Oct 31, 2013)

Be careful with the black vinyl. A few months on there and the paint will be discolored when you remove them


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

marden64 said:


> The front edge should be fine. I've put tons of decals on hoods of vehicles and never had any problems with customers coming back to have them redone. Only time was when someone took it to a high pressure car wash and sprayed the car wrong.
> 
> But I do agree with the rest of your post.


This is the main reason why I suggested wrapping it under the hood. Pressure washers, gas station wash machines, and even someone hand washing with a sponge can pull the edge up enough to ruin the decal. It is rather hard to do, but its always a possibility.



HoPo99 said:


> Be careful with the black vinyl. A few months on there and the paint will be discolored when you remove them


If your paint is discolored after removing the vinyl, you used really bad quality vinyl. If the vinyl is using that strong of an adhesive, the decal/vinyl isn't suited for car paint.


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## marden64 (Dec 1, 2013)

On a side note. If you have your car just painted, wait at least 2-3 weeks before putting vinyl on it. There is a chance that when you take it off, you'll pull the clear coat off as well or even the paint.

I did a full vehicle wrap for some guy and 3 weeks later he left the company he was working for and wanted the graphics taken off his truck. Everything was fine until I got to the drivers door. As soon as I started to take the graphics off, the paint came right off as well. Stopped everything leaving the vinyl hanging and called the boss who called the owner who said it just came out of the paint shop a few days before putting the vinyl on.

Saved our @ss from an insurance claim.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

I don't know if this would work on the vinyl that you are using but years ago I had to put some stick on signs on a vehicle I was using for courier work. Before putting the stickers on I was told to apply soapy water to the area the sticker goes on as this allowed the sign to be adjusted without damage and later when the vehicle was sold they came straight off. The only down side was when the stickers came off 2 years later the paint under them was not faded and you could see where they had been. Maybe a good cutting polish and buff could have fixed this? Aussie.


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## Danny5 (Dec 22, 2011)

Fade marks are the price you pay for putting items on your car. When the vinyl is destroyed in a few years, pull it off and enjoy your new "ghost" flames.

I disagree with everyone here. If you put the vinyl down on a freshly cleaned surface, you should never see peeling. I've seen dealer vinyl stickers last years without ever peeling, and they are way more complex/intricate designs on flat surfaces.

On my last car, the entire hood was vinyl wrapped, and I had hash marks on the fenders. Never a problem with peeling, even from exposed corners. Not that it wouldn't look better if you did wrap around the lip of the hood.


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## HoPo99 (Oct 31, 2013)

I'm not referring to the quality of the vinyl since I use some high quality stuff. I'm saying the black absorbs so much head and holds it against the paint that over time it discolors the paint. Nothing to do with the adhesive.


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## ls1vazquez (Jan 25, 2013)

I use a spray liquid called RapidTac for Vinly application. No issues at all.

Discoloration has crossed my mind. If the car was a darker color I probably wouldn't have done it but the lighter color, especially silver... no big deal. Even If I get slight discoloration over a short period it can be readily buffed out.

That being said I do have some older decals that I'm probably going to remove in the short future just because I'm getting tired of them. 

Stuff I'm using it high quality, I'm not worried about discoloration


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