IOWA CITYAUTOMOTIVE WINDSHIELD DECAL INSTALLATION

Welcome to Mobile Auto Truck Repair Iowa City Professional Vehicle Wrap Installation Services

Automotive Windshield Decal Installation near Iowa City IA:

Mobile Auto Truck Repair Iowa City is a Iowa City IA company that specializes in large and small format vinyl graphic removal and installation. We can install full or partial wraps on cars, trucks, buses, trailers, trains, floors, walls, windows, and more!

Our customers benefit from our high-quality, cost-effective work delivered on time and on budget.

We’ve been in the business for over a decade, and have had the privilege of working with more than 50 different graphic printing companies located all over the Iowa City IA. We attribute our success to excellent customer service and a passionate approach to our work.

At Mobile Auto Truck Repair Iowa City, we believe that it’s vital to stay on top of current trends in the vehicle wraps business. That’s why we’re constantly learning, evolving, and creating better ways to serve our customers. So, whatever your project, give us a call. If you want to save time and cut down on hassle, we’ll even come to you and install your vehicle wraps or decals on site.

Services Overview

• Professional decal installation
• Professional decal removal services
• Bus wraps
• Car wraps
• Fleets re-branding
• Truck graphics
• Trailers
• Vans
• Paint less color change on Cars using self-adhesivevinyl’s
• Canopies
• Window graphics installation
• Nationwide service
• Professional decal installation
• Professional decal removal
• Car and Van wraps
• Truck wraps
• Fleets re-branding
• Vinyl installation on trailers
• Scotch Gard paint protection film
• 3M carbon fiber
• Black matte installation
• Paint less color change
• Nationwide service, free estimates
• Retail graphics Installation

Clean the surface before installing car decals

Educate customers on applying car decals. They should first clean the area where they want to apply the decal. If you apply the decal or sticker on a dirty surface, it will pick that dirt and grime up. So make sure the area is clean where you want to put your sticker or decal.

You can use soap or rubbing alcohol and water to clean the area. Glass cleaning products should not be used because many will leave a residue behind and will prevent the decal from adhering.

Decide on the location for the car decal

Before installation of car decals, customers should be certain about the location. Various options include the bumper, windows and other interior and exterior surfaces to give a stunning look to your customers’ car. Tires are another place to put decals which make the car look more attractive. To add a more personal touch and to give a modern look to your customers’ cars, install new tires and top them off with personalized decals.

When you have an idea about the area, stick it to the car with electrical tape so you can step back and see how it looks. You can move the position if you do not like it. Once you have an exact place, you can install the decal.

Peel the backing film away from the decal carefully

Peel the paper backing off the sticker. During this process, make sure not to touch the back of the decal because it could leave the dirt on your decal’s backside.

Position the graphic precisely

Place one side of the decal down and smooth it out to the other side until the decal is fully placed. It is important to remember not to remove the backing fully. Remove one-third of the backing and start to apply one-third of the decal to the area. Then slowly pull more of the backing until you have fully installed the decal.

What are Car Decals?

Car decals (also referred to as car stickers or car graphics) are images, graphics, or lettering printed onto or cut out of self-adhesive vinyl material and then placed on any type of vehicle. Car decals include car & truck lettering, clear vinyl decals, opaque vinyl decals, perforated decals, and high adhesive decals. They are mainly used to advertise business names, logos, products, and contact information. They may also be used to show off your favorite logo, team, band, etc.

Common Uses: For outdoor use on windows, doors, fronts, or backs of any vehicle. This includes cars (automobiles), trucks, commercial vans, tractors, race cars, buses, jeeps, motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs, off-road vehicles, RVs, and any other vehicle.

Installation: All of our vehicle decals are very easy to install. You can find step-by-step installation instructions for each product on its respective product page. Select Learn More on one of the products listed above to see the product-specific installation instructions.

Care: Regularly wash your vehicle decal with a damp, non-abrasive rag. This will remove dirt and grime from the decal and help maintain its quality and lifespan. Avoid using power washers or high-power car washes. All decals are safe to use on areas of a window with windshield wipers.

How To Install Windshield Banner

Automotive Windshield Decal Installation near Iowa City IA:

1.) Prep the car for install

First thing you will want to do is prepare the glass for install. Clean the windshield of all debris to be sure nothing ends up getting stuck under the vinyl material. Using a glass cleaner and your microfiber towel, thoroughly clean any dirt or dust from the windshield. Even the smallest speck of dust will show through the vinyl and look some-what like an air bubble.

2.) Find the center point

Before you place the material on the car you will want to find the center point of your windshield. For most vehicles the rear view mirror is placed in the center point of the windshield, but every vehicle is different. First measure the placement of the factory markings just to be sure they are in fact the center. Place your logo decal (with backing still on) on the window to decide how low you’d like the logo to be placed. In this example I chose to place the banner at the AS1 line printed on the glass. Depending on the size of the window and personal preference you may want more or less banner showing than what’s in this example. Some vehicles will have small lines and arrows printed on the glass showing where window tint or banners should not exceed on the windshield. For this 2007 350z it was 6.75 inches from the top seal. That’s about how deep I’d like the banner to go down the windshield.

Find the center and the drop distance and mark it with tape in a perpendicular shape so you have a horizontal and vertical line of reference.

Take a second to study the seal of the window, picturing where you will place the blade before you lay material over it and can no longer see the seal itself.

3.) Measure Twice Cut Once

Next, you will want to go ahead and lay the banner (with paper backing still applied) on the windshield to start eyeing up the position of the banner. Do your best to have the same amount of excess material on both sides. It does not have to be perfect as these banners are meant to be a one size fits most so you should have plenty of excess material protruding past the window seals on both sides.

Once the measurements match up on both sides, use some tape to fully secure the banner in place to ensure the wind or any other disturbance doesn’t affect the placement.

4.) Place Half of the Banner on the Glass

Your banner should have a precut line on the back of the backing paper. If you see a slight indentation on the banner itself from the pre-cut line you will not see this line once the banner is applied and have time to settle on the glass. With one half of your banner fully secured, lift the other side off of the windshield and remove the paper backing. Slowly peel the paper back ensuring that the vinyl material does not fold over on itself, if it does slowly peel the material apart from itself.

Once the paper has been removed start laying the banner down from center point making your way to the edge of the glass. Along the way use a squeegee (wrapped in a microfiber towel) to maintain a straight vertical line while moving horizontally towards the edge of the glass.

Take your time with this portion, patience is key. This material is surprisingly forgiving so if you start to see a major crease forming simply lift the material off the glass and re-squeegee that portion until the even vertical line is retained. Many of the air bubbles will squeeze out as you make more passes across the glass. This material has tiny air holes throughout so as long as the crease is not folded over itself the air bubbles will squeeze out.

Move the squeegee in a vertical direction once the banner is laid across the window, pushing towards the top seal and bottom of the banner creating as tight of a seal of the material to the window seal as possible. This will make cutting the excess off much easier later. Make your way towards the corner of the windshield and do your best to push as much air out at the corners.

5.) Repeat on the Opposite side

This side will be slightly easier as the banner is less likely to move since the line has already been established by the first half. Start from the center again and make your way towards the side of the windshield, maintaining a vertical line along the way.

Once both sides are laid down look at the banner from all angles to ensure all of the air bubbles have been pressed out. if you come across one that you can’t seem to get out don’t be afraid to lift the material back off the glass and re-squeegee from that point. Depending on the color ordered the material may be slightly thinner and more susceptible to stretching which will alter the line established by the placement of the first half. Be careful not to pull on the material too much.

Run the squeegee around the entire perimeter of the banner to ensure a tight fit up against the window seal.

6.) Remove the Excess Material

Razor blades will not cut or scratch glass so you will be able to run the blade directly on the glass to remove excess material. You want to find out where your seal meets the glass and do your best to either run the blade slightly under the seal or lightly press against the glass where the seal meets ensuring your aren’t damaging the seal of your window. Typically a faster more steady cut leads to a smother, less jagged line. Moving too slowly may lead to a more rough cut line.

Depending on the vehicle you may have a more defined seal or window line, some windows even have a small gutter between the glass and seal that makes running the blade against the glass even easier.

7.) Place the Logo Decal on the Banner

The final step is to place the included logo decal on the banner. You should have received two logo decals in your order so you have a backup if you misplace the first one or you have the option to layer them or even try one logo out and swap it out for another.

The placement of the sticker is very similar to the banner.

Use the center tape left on your windshield to center the logo on the banner. Tape the logo in place and take a few measurements of the decal to ensure it’s centered.

Fold the logo back just like you did the banner and remove the paper backing off of one half, taking the transfer tape and colored decal with you. If the logo wont come off of the paper backing with the transfer tape, lay the logo back onto the paper and re-squeegee the logo and transfer tape. Apply pressure to ensure the tape has bonded to the logo material. Squeegee from the center towards the edge of the window. Remove as many air bubbles from the transfer tape as possible. Repeat for the other side.

Once the transfer tape is removed remove any leftover painters tape and take a step back to make sure you are happy with your logo choice and placement, if you aren’t trying again with the second one in your shipment 🙂

Need help applying your new large window sticker? Don’t worry we have step by step instructions on how to help you get perfect fit!

We also offer application tools at a low price to help remove any air bubbles while protecting the quality of your sicker.

If you need help applying any other types of stickers we also have guides for Small Stickers or Decals, Large Transfer Stickers, Large Die-Cut Stickers, Transfer Sticker Preparation and Family Stickers. We are also available through live chat