Hood Star Decals

[Jank4AU]

Is the "matte finish" an air release material? Looking at the Willys lettering on my JLU, I'm wondering now if it is more of a matte finish vs. a gloss. Don't think I could go wrong either way.

I would go with a matte finish, especially on the hood. You don't need anything else providing glare which is usually why those hood graphics are mostly matte. I've purchased a few items from Pixel Decals and confirm the general sentiment - you can't go wrong with his products. Here's the hood decal he made for my Jeep.

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[J.Ferreira]

That was quick. Glad I posted here.

Well here's your chance. Show me (us) what you've got. Seems like 20" is the standard size (based on my very limited search - convince me otherwise). I want it centered on the hood. Since the "Willys" writing on the hood looks like it is in gloss, I think I'd like the star in gloss too to match. I kinda like the distressed look.

I know close to nothing about installing something of this size. I have a fear of screwing up the install. Does it go on "wet" or "dry"? If wet, do yours come with an install kit (or is that just overkill?).

Got pics of your stars on Jeeps?

Unless there's something different about the unlimited, the Willy's lettering decals are matte black. The 3M matte black that pixeldecals uses is very clean and flat (black).

 

[Deleted member 59498]

Cool thing is, that is the Allied Star, acceptable for most WWII allied nations and military branches.

Was used for motorcycles to heavy bombers for recognition.

 

[RoccoV]

Pixel is the only place i will get my decals. Here's mine I installed about a year ago.

I went with the ghosted look. Matte Silver on my Bright Silver.

 

[ArmyRN]

Ok then, matte black 18" distressed star in a circle. I'll order it tomorrow. It has been raining a lot, and my Willys lettering was looking a little glossier than I guess they really are.

 

[ArmyRN]

Ok... so I ordered not one, but two of the 18" black matte distressed stars (most likely will put the other one on my 98 TJ's hood).

So now we wait for them to get cut and delivered. I'll post pics and comments once they're applied.

Hopefully getting decals on your Jeep isn't like some folks with tattoos - once they get one, they keep getting more.

 

[pixeldecals]

For some folks it is definitely like tattoos!

 

[RoccoV]

Also did these the same way.

All my accents are Stars and Bars. A lot on Red, White and Blue!!

 

[ArmyRN]

Update time. My stars arrived yesterday. I've got'm (I ordered two of them) lying flat on a table with books on top to flatten them out. They come rolled-up in a long skinny square box.

Today I washed the TJ and put it in the shop. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the star on the hood after giving it one last wipe-down. The TJ's my practice run applying a start before I put the star on the JLU.

I'll post pictures of course.

 

[Heimkehr]

How effective is that hood guard for deflecting insects away from the windscreen? TIA.

 

[RoccoV]

Not at all. It's more to protect the hood edge.

 

[ArmyRN]

Ok... got the hood stars applied.

I did the TJ first, then did the JLU. It came out nice.

I did the "wet" method. Don't know if that made a difference or not, but when removing the top layer sometimes the decal wanted to lift off too. Hopefully baking in the sun will make sure the decal sticks onto the hood good.

 

[pixeldecals]

I did the "wet" method. Don't know if that made a difference or not, but when removing the top layer sometimes the decal wanted to lift off too. Hopefully baking in the sun will make sure the decal sticks onto the hood good.

The process is normally to leave the tape on until it has a chance to dry for 30 mins or so, then wet the tp of the tape a little and peel. You didn't hurt anything by peeling early and as soon as it is dry it will have full adhesive power.

 

[ArmyRN]

The process is normally to leave the tape on until it has a chance to dry for 30 mins or so, then wet the tp of the tape a little and peel. You didn't hurt anything by peeling early and as soon as it is dry it will have full adhesive power.

I let it dry plenty, but I didn't wet the top of the tape before peeling.

Oh well; like most of my projects, once I've done it once, I know how to do it right the next time. As long as it will stick I'm good. It looks nice!

 

[Jank4AU]

I let it dry plenty, but I didn't wet the top of the tape before peeling.

Oh well; like most of my projects, once I've done it once, I know how to do it right the next time. As long as it will stick I'm good. It looks nice!

Looks great!

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