Hood Bird Decal Question

[Gene-73]

I applied my hood bird decal today. One half went on almost perfect with only a couple bubbles while the other half has tons of little bubbles. Not sure what the difference was in the technique, maybe more/less gel? Anyway, I'm not too worried about it as the consensus seems to be that the bubbles eventually work their way out.

My question is though to those of you who have done this before, do you need to pinhole every bubble, or only the large ones?

Logic tells me that there needs to be an escape hole for the gel/moisture to evaporate but the instructions don't necessarily say every bubble. Here's what it says - "Small air pockets can be removed with a pinprick in the center of the bubble. Tiny bubbles will disappear over time in direct sunlight."

[81Blackbird]

Try to corral the smaller bubbles to make a larger one.  Then use the needle to make a small hole in the center and squeeze the air/gel out.  The very tiny ones will disappear when put in the sun or under a warm lamp. 

[b_hill_86]

I want to say any I had that were the size of a large pea or bigger I tried to pin and the rest I left. They all eventually went away. If you’d like I could email you a couple pictures of what I left to be worked out by the sun and how it turned out.

[JJ 109]

Did you apply it wet or dry?

I have never had a problem wet, but dry I get a ton.

[Gene-73]

Thanks everyone. I used the Slide-On Application Gel and applied it to both the hood surface as well as the adhesive side of the decal. Every square inch was coated but still only used about a quarter of the bottle. Most of the bubbles I had were smaller than a pea.

I can see that the bubbles are already getting smaller after 24 hours. I have the hood indoor because it's warmer than outside although may move it to the sun this afternoon as it should be low 60s.

The only real complaint I have with this process is the top paper layer is so thick that you can't see through it during the first round of squeegeeing, so you can't see and work any bubbles during this early step. Several hours later after you pull the top paper off is when you discover the bubbles. My understanding is that Phoenix Graphix originally used a paper top layer, then moved to a clear film, then back to paper. It seems to me that if you could see through the top layer the process would be much easier.

[roadking77]

Dont panic. I think you are on the right track. I pin holed some of the larger bubbles but tried to squeeze as much as possible. Be careful doing so, as its easy to get a wrinkle. I parked mine in the sun for as long as possible for many days, and they all diminished greatly. I think driving the car with the heat of the motor on the underside may have helped as well.  After a bit, maybe a month or so it was perfectly flat, not a bubble one. Only problem I had was where I put a wrinkle in trying to smooth out a bubble. Wished I had left it alone.