Ok, so not I only do I love accessories and fashion for ME, but I am a DORK and love to accessorize my car, too! I actually used to be HUGE into modding my little sports car I had in college and I even worked at an aftermarket car parts place that sold fancy exhausts and turbos. Did I mention that me and the other Stacy were part of an all-female car club back in the day, too? Oh ya, we did. It was a great excuse to drive our mildly modded cars to
La Parrilla Suiza and pig out on tacos and margaritas in the name of our weekly meetings. We weren't just posers, though... the girls in our club knew quite about the turbo in Stacy's GS-T, a TRD cold air intake vs. Injen for my Celica, and how much it sucks when the damn tire people don't install the proper air valves on our new low profile tires and rims... ugh, can you say blowout on the freeway?!
Those were fun times, alright. I may not have my lil' rice rocket anymore, but to this day, I just CAN'T leave my car stock! With being older, married and kids, it's an expensive hobby. Not to mention I drive something more practical: my cute, economic Kia Soul. This brings me to my weekend project of installing pink decals to make my logos pink! (Boy, was my husband excited. Not that he drives my car on a regular basis, he has his own, but I think he rolled his eyes so hard he almost passed out.)
Anyway, I think it's CUTE! I ordered them from
House Of Grafx, who has a huge selection of fun stuff. Here's what else you will need to girl-ify your car:
- spraying water bottle
- paper towels
- credit card or other hard plastic card like a gift card
- badass music playing in the background
Luckily, I've put on vinyl before, so I knew it can be tricky. I like to use a "wet" method. I cleaned the Kia emblem well and and then used the spray bottle to blast water on it. This makes it easy for me to slide the decal around exactly where I want it. It definitely took a lot of patience and even some ever-so-careful "peeling up" and laying it back down to get it just right. In this particular situation, I also liked starting in the middle (making sure the decal around the "I" was fitting right and working my way out. Then you have to use your handy dandy plastic card to help push out water bubbles. Be careful, though! The vinyl can rip if you're too aggresive. I try not to "mash" the decal down all the way until you've worked the bubbles to the edge. A lot of your smaller bubbles will actually dissipate as well, as the decal dries and gets exposed to heat and sunlight.
Don't worry, I didnt do a PERFECT job, and I was lot more successful when I put the second one on. But as soon as it was completely dry, it looked like a custom paint job. Only if you put your eyes right up to it can you see some flaws. Overall I am super happy with my little modification! Now if I could just get some rims and a nice suspension kit... ;) Alright my fellow weekend warriors, tell me what you think in the comments below or if you have any questions!
XOXO, Stacy M.
