Please watch the video below. Above all, just take your time, this is a relatively easy installation, but requires just a little finesse.
Installing the Lightbar Vinyl Decal
Watch the video for positioning. The exact placement is much easier to see than to describe, so watch it before you start.
- Work in normal room temperature conditions. Around 70 °F / 21 °C, give or take, is ideal for applying vinyl.
- Clean the light bar with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry.
- Turn the light bar on. Having it lit makes it much easier to see the edges and line the decal up accurately.
- Find the alignment point at one end of the light bar, where the bar kinks and starts to turn upwards around the corner. That kink is your starting corner. It does not matter which end you start from.
- Peel the backing off about 5–6 inches of the decal at that end.
- Line the end of the decal up on the corner kink and anchor it there.
- Work along the bar, peeling the backing as you go and pressing the vinyl down with your fingertips. Track the bottom edge of the light bar as your guide. The top edge is hidden by the frunk lid when it's closed, so the bottom edge is the one to watch. The reflection of any overhead light along the top of the bar is a useful guide too.
- When you reach letters with cutouts (such as O, D and E), press those centers down with your thumb so they stay on the carrier sheet and don't get lost.
- Keep light, even tension as you go. Don't pull hard enough to stretch the vinyl. The decal follows the shape of the light bar on its own, so it needs very little manipulation.
- If the vinyl starts to fight you or sits too low, peel that section back, guide it into place and reapply. It handles this well.
- With the whole decal down, squeegee it thoroughly. Cover every part of it, not just the areas that look bubbled — the air release channels in the adhesive only work where you squeegee. Skipping areas leaves bubbles that show up later with sun or temperature changes.
- Peel the top carrier sheet off slowly, pulling it back low and flat at roughly 45 degrees.
- Use the hard (non-felt) edge of the squeegee to tuck the decal around the corner at each end of the bar. This is what stops light bleeding out of the ends.
- Turn the lights on and check the whole decal is down and aligned, then close the frunk.
