My Vtec (Stickers) Go "SWAAAAAAAAP!!!"

[VeeKaChu]

While I was powder-coating some parts in my engine bay I decided at the last minute to go with yellow accents to the blue powder, and suddenly found myself scheming to extend this theme wherever possible.

At the last Chicago KO Crew Green Monster Meet I had spied an Si with red VTEC stickers, and thought that looked very appealing to the eye. I hadn't ever considered doing that, but in light of the under-hood scheme I thought it would be an ideal means to bring the yellow topside.

My first stop in searching for said decals was site sponsor GrafiXpressions, but curiously they weren't there; at the time I looked I'd swear they had only red ones, but when I look now, they've none that I can find.

However, they did have vinyl Si badge overlays in every color of the rainbow, so "Score!" I knew those would be the tip-in for this mod. As usual, GrafXp's turn-around on the order was outstanding (plus freebies, as usual)- and those inserts will be included in this DIY.

I was able to locate a graphics company online (CutRiteFX) that did offer VTEC vinyls in any color, and both sets arrived the same day. When it was 102. I had actually arranged a four day weekend and was going to do this *and* powder-coat my valve cover, but, you know, 102. I'm old, and I'm not doing **** when it's 102. Or 92 for that matter.

So the weather shifts back to "non-climate-change" status, and I resolve to "make moar moddin" yesterday after work. As seen below!


For starters, since I'm old and my bones creak like your gramma's floorboards, I put the whip up on ramps just to get the stickers closer to patio chair level.



These are my tools- the aforementioned chair, paper towels, Glass Plus, a spray bottle of water, Goo-Gone, painter's tape, a scraper which proved wholly ineffectual, and a heat gun. I had done quite a bit of research into sticker removal, and conventional wisdom says that one should thoroughly clean the area around the sticker prior to attempting removal, hence the Glass Plus. That water washes off the Glass Plus (and later, the Goo Gone), by infusing it into the paper towels, and wiping.

The painter's tape I used to delineate the corner of the original VTEC sticker, to assist in the application of the replacement vinyl. If you are planning on removal only- as some folks apparently like to do- this tool and it's attendant step may be omitted.

The heat gun heats.



So I've washed the area, and marked off the corner, and here I'm applying heat to the sticker. You might use a hair dryer, and those get pretty hot, but I'm using a Harbor Freight heat gun that, on it's high setting, claims up to 1100 degrees. I've measured it at over 800 at the tip, but for our purposes I am not using it on the high setting.

Heat the sticker like you are petting a cat, stroking the gun slowly back and forth over the whole sticker. You'd like to not get it so hot that you can't put your fingers on the car, and if you see the sticker physically start to melt, you're probably doing it wrong.



Once the sticker is evenly warmed, you can begin to peel.

I used to work for Mercedes-Benz in their Midwest Parts Distribution Center, picking auto parts all day, and we got stickers to put on the parts we picked. I also did a stint there working on a ground-up revamp of the warehouse which included relabeling the entire 75000 square feet of bins and shelves, for eight months. I know a little bit about stickers and labels, and think of myself as sort of a sticker manipulation guru. If I ever see a sticker that I think I can get off in one piece I do it, and slap it on my tool chest.

So I think I can say, without fear of contradiction, you will not get these off in one piece. But once you hit the heating "sweet spot"- and if you don't yank on it like it's the butler's bell pull- you can get a lot at once. I got the second one off it three pieces... peel gently, slightly up, slightly back, like Casanova.



Now you're sticker is off, and you're looking at some grody, unsightly residue. It's time for the Goo-Gone, and it's how you handle this step that will determine how easy or frustrating this final clean-up will be.

The Goo Gone is an awesome product, when used correctly. However, it is a solvent, which means it's meant to dissolve things. This it does, and for our purposes, quite well. It's reasonably safe, however it will dissolve or otherwise damage clearcoat and paint as well if left un-attended. My point is this; I would not spray this **** willy-nilly onto the car, as it's going to run down under that trim strip below the sticker and pool up in there and wreak havoc on the finish. OK, so maybe not, it does wash off pretty easily, but those are the kinds of thoughts that lose me sleep.

What you want to do is spray the Goo Gone liberally onto a wadded up paper towel, and dab it onto the residue on the car. Go ahead and swab a lot of it on there, until the glue is thoroughly moistened.

Now here's the trick; leave it alone. Let it work. Give it 5-6 minutes....



Once the Goo Gone has worked it's chemical magic, the glue suold easily scrape up into a substance resembling those adhesive snot-bombs they use to attach cologne sample into glossy magazines. You can use your nails, as I mostly did, or you can use a scraper as long as it's plastic (wood is another possibility, I've done a lot of finishing scraping with popsicle sticks). NEVER use anything metal. I tried using a piece from an automotive trim removal kit, but it was just faster with the nails...



Once you've scraped up the majority of the residue, you can dab the remainder with some more Goo Gone, and then alternate rubbing/buffing with the glass plus and liberal amounts of water. This process took me less than ten minutes a side.

Now that the actual hard graft is over, we're onto the new hotness.



Recent research infoms us that there are two methods for applying vinyl decals, "wet" and "dry". There are advantages to either, depending on the application, and here we're going to do both.

The "wet" method involves spraying a solution onto both the surface and the back of the decal prior to application. This allows the decal to be easily re-positioned, and aids in removing pesky air bubbles.

However, since the VTEC vinyl in comprised of 11 separate but already neatly aligned elements, if those were to go sliding around independently after being applied, well sir, we've just wasted 15 dollars (or set ourselves up for possibly hours of soul-crushingly frustrating decal sliding).

So for that, we're going to use the dry method, which simply involves peeling off the backing paper and praying that we get it on the first try.



I'll be honest, the passenger side is a degree or two off compared to stock (it should be dead parallel to the trim below), but it's aligned to 'itself' and won't be noticeable unless I'm parked side-by-side with another Si. The passenger side is dead on though. Air bubbles were not an issue, but shouldn't be given the composition of the design.

Now for the inserts. These were done "wet", as the nature of these vinyls and the locations where they're going requires that it be "mobile" until it's in its final position. They have no top paper, i.e. they're just peel-and-press. They do have some adhesive on the back, and if you put them on dry and they're not perfectly aligned and you have to re-position them, they're very likely to rip or stretch. You NEED to be able to slide them about.

For a solution everyone recommends water with just a few drops of dishwashing liquid. This makes the water "slippery-er", easing the manipulation of the vinyl. However, I happened to have some "Window Film Application Solution"- I remember buying it at HD last year, but can't for the life of me recall why. Anyway, that's just a retail version of the same stuff.

I cut the "S" of from the "i" elements, because it's an effing snake and was really a bee-yotch to get into position. There's really no choice but to pull it off in one piece and try to lay it down; trying to pull off/peel back just a bit of the backing paper and laying down that way will not work.



I cut the "S" of from the "i" elements, because it's an effing snake and was really a bee-yotch to get into position. There's really no choice but to pull it off in one piece and try to lay it down; trying to pull off/peel back just a bit of the backing paper and laying down that way will not work.

(EDIT #1 for "Did I forget to mention...?") When your doing the "i" pieces, a tweezers is recommended for lifting the pieces off the backing. Also good for repositioning the pieces if they're initially misaligned, though again, if they're on "dry" (i.e., the solution you put down evaporates and the adhesive on the vinyl grabs, don't try to force the vinyl into position, as it will only stretch or tear. Lift with the tweezers and wet it again).



Initially it seemed like these pieces won't cover properly (or even stay on), and I do think the the bottom part of the "i" could be a micron or two wider, but after much slipping and sliding and wetting and dabbing I finally got them where I like 'em, and I think they look marvelous.



(EDIT #2 for "Did I forget to mention...?") Areas that you've cleaned vigorously with Glass Plus etc, i.e. where VTEC vinyls go, should probably be waxed back up again.

I'll update with better pics of the finished result, but I'm in need of a wash/detail, and I wanted to let everything set for a bit. I'm actually going to do that right now, but thanks to everyone who made it through!

[curtis6556]

Never seen anything quite like this, very unique; me likeyyy!

[RRFG2DD]

[sofakingfresh]

Not feeling the yellow, id say either keep the stock or leave em off. But man that si one looke horrible dude

[Dar-Dar]

Not a fan of the 'Si' overlay.

[ebardun]

I think the overlays look ok. although I'd prolly lose the 2.0 badge IMO. Nice write up


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[Anny]

Love yellow and love this. If ever I get a black Si, I'm getting all over this ****. Looks awesome!

[VeeKaChu]

Originally Posted by ebardun

I think the overlays look ok. although I'd prolly lose the 2.0 badge IMO. Nice write up

Great, more work with the Goo Gone.



That badge was a nostalgic throwback for me- My motherI had that identical badge on a 1980 Dodge Omni, and it was a horrible piece of **** performance-wise. It was applied slightly crookedly to boot, and I never got around to straightening it. And my wife hated it. And now it's gone!

[HeelsandEers]

I could definitely F with the yellow and blue.

[blue rocket]

looks good - original colors too -- I like it! As an FYI, we do offer both of those products. We were the first company to do the "Si" emblem overlays and those can be purchased directly from our site, here: GrafiXpressions - Express yourself in vinyl form!...

we definitely can make the iVTEC stickers as well, just gotta email us about them!

thanks!

[VeeKaChu]

Originally Posted by blue rocket

looks good - original colors too -- I like it!

Thanks! Can't tell if you noticed, or not, but I did link to your emblem inserts in my post as well- wouldn't have even found them if I wasn't looking for the VTEC stickers in the first place...

Didn't know I could request the custom VTEC vinyls from you (as mentioned above, I swear I did see RED ones on your site last week, but no option to select another color; and yesterday, none at all turn up), or I'd have done that. Next time, I'll check ya first, but threw you some rep anyway for the inserts, and the great turnaround time. Thanks again!

[churchless]

I really like the blue with the yellow. I took off the i-vtech decals, and am really liking how clean it looks, but I'm starting to wonder if there isn't too much red on my RR FA5. What are your guys thoughts on maybe doing this with my si decals except in black or something?

[ebardun]

Originally Posted by VeeKaChu

Great, more work with the Goo Gone.

image


That badge was a nostalgic throwback for me- My motherI had that identical badge on a 1980 Dodge Omni, and it was a horrible piece of **** performance-wise. It was applied slightly crookedly to boot, and I never got around to straightening it. And my wife hated it. And now it's gone!

image

Looks clean! I'm feeling it. Now you got me thinking about doing my vtec decals as well hmmm


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[Tegs0195]

I think it would look better without the "civic" and with a rear H with a matching yellow overlay!

[mwu]

really liking the yellow v-tech
not so sure on the si

[ExMachina]

I really like the color scheme! The blue and yellow look pretty boss together.

Any thoughts to replacing the Honda emblems with JDM ones and getting some yellow overlays for them? Might be over the top, but its just a thought.

[VeeKaChu]

Originally Posted by ExMachina

I really like the color scheme! The blue and yellow look pretty boss together.

Any thoughts to replacing the Honda emblems with JDM ones and getting some yellow overlays for them? Might be over the top, but its just a thought.

I'm considering going w/blue emblems (I've seen em on here). Yellow was a consideration, but I've already caught hell from the wife on the yellow- she thinks it looks "clown-ish!", so likely no on more yellow on the exterior... blue she likely wouldn't notice immediately!

[rub17]

some original stuff here, dont kno if i could pull it off ... but cuddos

[Fsrider]

bUMp for far away shot!

[VeeKaChu]

Originally Posted by Fsrider

bUMp for far away shot!

Here we are at the jdmchicago.com FNL Meet a couple of hours ago- the hoods up because I'm pimping my powder coating biz.