08/11/2026
DRY METHOD OF APPLYING VINYL DECALS: Installing your own vinyl graphics & avoiding installation charges, often the most expensive part of custom graphics.
1. Clean your destination surface.
2. Place your decal (wax backing-side down, application-tape-side up) and align as you like it. It should be adhesive side down, looking like it will look after applied.
3. Once you have it lined up, place a strip of masking-tape (vertically) down the center of the image to hold in place, over-lapping the edge onto the destination surface. Make sure it won't move. Once fixed...
4. Pull one side of the image back flat against itself, folding over the masking-tape centre-line that you placed to hold it down. Don't crease it, just fold it.
5. Using a sharp angle, start in a corner and peel away the image's backing until you get to the masking-tape-centre-line you laid to hold it in place. Keeping the vinyl (on the application-tape) pinned back with your finger, cut away the removed backing along the centre-placement-tape line. Careful not to scratch surface or cut your vinyl.
6. Using any squeegee like item (a credit card works well), begin to lay your graphic down onto your prepared surface from the masking-take centre line outward. DO NOT LAY DOWN ALL AT ONCE! Hold the image at an angle above the destination-surface, and slowly, starting at the centre-placement-tape-line, press down the image from the centre out using the squeegee. Squeegee from the centre-tape-line outward as you lay it down, pushing out bubbles as you go.
7. Once one side is laid down, remove the centre-tape-line, then remove the other half of the vinyl backing the same way as before, and repeat the process for the other side.
8. Squeegee the entire image a few times, from the centre outward, each time with greater pressure, making sure that you get all the air bubbles out.
9. Begin peeling the shipping tape off using a sharp angle. If the image comes off the surface (sticking to the shipping tape), simply lay back down and squeegee hard a few times