Installing round boat registration stickers at best can be a tricky process. We have made the following instructions available both to our customers and anyone else who might need this information. To install these successfully please follow the instructions below.
Our customers are advised to ONLY APPLY OUR STICKERS on dry not using the wet method.
Disadvantage of Wet Method
- Time is required for water to dry underneath the lettering before removing app tape. This can be anywhere from a few hours to 24 hours.
- Some app tape adhesive will break down and may leave glue on your substrate where it then needs to be cleaned.
Tips
- AT NO STAGE should you peel the back of the sticker and apply at random by grabbing and quickly placing and sticking on your surface. This is a recipe for disaster.
- Before getting started though please unroll & lay flat your stickers on a table for an hour or so.
- Start from the top and work your way down.
Tools You need
- Masking Tape
- An applicator. If you don’t have an applicator you can use a credit card or something similar as long as its a hard plastic with a straight edge.
The round boat registration stickers you purchased from us should have the application tape nice against the sticker surface with no or very little bubbles.
If you do have bubbles just peel back the sticker off the backing paper/plastic halfway and reapply in place and repeat for the other side.
Sticker Layer Components
There are 3 layers to the stickers.
- The top layer is the application tape that holds your stickers together.
- The backing sheet is at the back of the stickers and protects the adhesive.
- The actual sticker you will be sticking on your surface is in the middle.
Step 1 – Placing and Attaching Sticker on Surface
Firstly make sure your boat surface is clean using a suitable cleaning product that is safe to use on your boat substrate. Once this step has been completed next wash the area with soapy water then rinse with clean water and dry.
Place the complete sticker on your boat surface and hold it in place by applying masking tape along the top.
Make sure you had a few pieces of masking tape and that the sticker is held firmly in place.
Your sticker should now be hinged running across the top with masking tape holding it together in place.
Step 2 – Lift and Peel Backing Sheet
Next lift up the sticker and gently start peeling away the backing paper/plastic and once removed hold the sticker up and away from the surface.
The masking tape should be holding your stickers in place on your surface. All you need to do from here is to make sure the stickers do not touch the surface.
Step 3 – Top to bottom Application
While holding the sticker away from the surface with your other hand slowly apply the sticker in place using an applicator working from the top downwards. Allow the applicator to lay the sticker flat on your substrate by working your way down. If you need to go over clinkers/chimes etc work slowly down into grooves either with the applicator or by running your finger down and across the chimes.
Step 4 – App Tape Removal
Your sticker should now be applied in place as a nice flat sheet. To help it cure though before removing the app tape leave the boat in the sun for a few hours or you can apply warm air on a low setting from a hair dryer. If applying in warmer months you can skip this step.
Start peeling from the top of the top and rather than pulling it out towards you slowly pull down nearly against the boat surface. This way you have less chance of pulling the stickers off surface.
Step 5 – Finished Installation
Your stickers should now be applied in place.
Contrary to what others may suggest leave air bubbles alone. This is only trapped oxygen which will go away in time with the sun.
