DIY car window stickers

Consider the clothing that you’re wearing now. Apart from their obvious function of covering your essential nakedness, clothes are your statement to the world. They express your mood, your disposition, your individuality. When it comes to your vehicle, this type of self-expression can be tricky to exhibit. A paint job can be monotonous, if not downright expensive. Kitschy car accessories like fuzzy dice or dashboard dogs are just too gimmicky. If you want to extend your self-expression to your automobile, there is a simple answer: car stickers.

Car stickers come in numerous varieties, but today we’re going to zone in on car window stickers, the perfect accessories for style and self-expression. Car window stickers may not seem like much, but they have plenty of advantages.

Benefits of Having Car Stickers

1. Car stickers are great for branding.

There’s no better and more cost-efficient way to declare—and spread—your brand to the world than via your vehicle. Car stickers are ideal giveaways, whether you have an event, handing out stuff curbside, or offering freebies. Stick on your logo, your emblem, your signature color and let others do the same.

2. Car stickers informative.

Vehicle stickers have long been used as promotional material and through them, you can advertise your business address, contact information, and even operating hours.

3. Car stickers can share some good wisdom.

Everyone loves a bumper sticker, but more than that, from tattoos to stickers, everyone loves a good quote or mantra that they can apply to daily life. Put an encouraging statement for the potential road-rager in front of you. Stick on a funny joke for some traffic jam entertainment. The possibilities are endless.

4. Car stickers can serve as a warning.

New driver? Baby on board? Make sure other drivers know so they can be extra cautious around your vehicle.

5. Car stickers are decorative.

Put your face on your vehicle—and quite literally, too. Whether you want to stick on a self-portrait or an actual photo on your window, the point is, you can with car stickers. You can put your favorite characters, a random symbol, even your own customized doodle. It’s your quick, fun, affordable, and even temporary way to show off your personality when the outside world can’t see you inside your vehicle.

6. Car stickers can show off your affiliation.

Uber driver? You can display the iconic U on the corner of your windshield. Slap on your business logo, too. Whether you’re riding a company vehicle or your own personal automobile, car stickers can help you spread your businesses and affiliations around.

7. Stickers are generally fun.

We’ve all collected stickers back in the day and they’ve always been good fun. There’s just something personable about it, light and easy. Of course, you can’t go overboard stickering your car (the law is different per country), but even if you just have an inconspicuous sticker on a small corner of the rear window, it’s still a fun throwback to the good old days.

Kinds of Car Window Stickers

What kind of stickers would be good for your car? The problem is there are too many varieties to choose from that it can get confusing. We’ll quickly break it down for you so you can make the proper decision based on your needs and design.

1. Clear stickers

Make your design stand out with clear stickers. The margins are transparent to make the design look seamless against the window, but the colors are backed with white ink to really make it pop. They’re made with a special vinyl that can be printed and cut to your exact specifications.

2. Front adhesive stickers

These window decals have adhesive on the front of the design to be applied on the inside of a window, virtually making it perfectly protected and weather-proof.

3. Transfer stickers

Transfer stickers are probably the easiest to install, especially for designs with complex and multiple pieces. The sticker is attached to a transfer tape which you can then stick to your preferred surface. You can use your hands or a piece of fabric to apply pressure on the decal, making sure that it’s properly sticking. You may also run a credit card over it to reinforce the adhesion. Remove the tape slowly so that you don’t actually peel the sticker back.

4. Static Clings

Designed to firmly hold against the glass without an adhesive component, static clings are preferred for temporary or seasonal graphics that don’t require a lot of commitment. What we love most about static clings is that it’s reversible, either side sticks well on glass surfaces.

5. Vinyl lettering

Ideal for text designs, vinyl lettering stickers uses the same transfer-type system as transfer stickers, making it easier to apply long or multiple words or letters.

6. Die cut stickers

The end-all, be-all of stickers, die cut stickers are weather-proof and fool-proof. It uses an incredibly thick vinyl that is resilient against scratches, water, and sunlight. It’s the ultimate sticker.

How to Customize Your Car Stickers

There’s a simple reason why you should customize your vehicle stickers: because it’s just so easy. Sticker Mule, for example, makes it a cinch. Once you have your graphic finalized, you just need to visit stickermule.com and the good folks there have everything set up for you:

1. Select the type of sticker you want from the aforementioned.

2. Choose the size—Sticker Mule has standard sizing and custom cuts—as well as quantity. Remember, the more you order, the cheaper the cost.

3. After uploading your design, Sticker Mule staff will come back to you with proofs within eight hours. This way, you can check how your graphic will look before printing. If you need to make edits, just send a message and Sticker Mule will do the modifications for free.

4. Wait four days for your order to arrive. Have fun stickering!

Why it’s fun to use stickers on your car

• Stickers reflect your personality and you’ll realize that the only way to truly capture that that is to customize everything all the way. This way, your choices are reflected in every step of the production process. Buying car stickers from stores are okay, but you might find everyone else doing the same.

• You know what will fit your vehicle. A pimped-up ride definitely needs something custom to go with it. You want it in a very specific corner of your rear window? You got it. You want it to fit your side window exactly? Done. Every millimeter, your design.

• You can go crazy with your creative juices. Seriously, let loose. We’ve mentioned earlier that the possibilities are endless and that’s because they really are. Your car stickers are only limited by your imagination and, of course, the requirements of the law.

Frequently Asked Questions About Car Window Stickers

Are car window stickers removable?

Yes, they absolutely are. Static cling stickers don’t use any adhesive so they are very easily transferable, without leaving any gucky residue. As for the traditional type of sticker, Sticker Mule suggests using a good adhesive remover. Sticker Mule utilizes only the best and most durable materials, so you can bet that when you do peel off your sticker, if won’t rip apart into pieces, making the job even harder.

Do car window stickers go on the inside or the outside?

Both! Sticker Mule, for example, offers front adhesive stickers that you can stick on the indoor side of the car window, protecting it from the elements. However, their die-cut stickers, which you can stick on the exterior side, are virtually everything-proof.

How to apply car window stickers?

It’s not that difficult to stick on car window stickers, but you have to be extra careful. Though application depends on the type of sticker you have, all of them require you to start with a clean and dry window. Dirt and moisture will tamper with the adhesive qualities of the sticker.

Make sure to mark the area where you want your sticker. You can even put placeholders first to see how it would look before attaching the actual thing. When you’re in the right position, start with one corner first then ease in the rest of the sticker. Watch out for air bubbles; this, again, could also affect the quality of your sticker.

Once you’ve fastened the sticker, rub it smooth with your fingers. For varieties like transfer stickers or vinyl lettering, you need to further run through the sticker with a credit card (or something similar) to let out tiny excess air bubbles that got away and ensure that it has properly adhered onto the surface.

Where to buy car window stickers?

You need to find a place that can address your needs, offer a wide range of car sticker types, and make the entire process seamless. Sticker Mule does all of this and more via their website. In fact, they make it so effortless and fun, you might get hooked on stickering your vehicle.