Vinyl Car Decals - Quick and Easy to Make Your Own! (2024)

Materials

• Cricut Permanent Premium Vinyl
• Cricut StandardGripTransfer Tape
• Painter's Tape
• Design #233 - Get my free vinyl car decal SVG/PDF/DXF designs from my free resource library.

Tools

• A method to cut your design. I used the amazing Cricut Maker.
• Cricut Green StandardGrip Machine Mat
• A weeding tool. I used the air release pen.
• Scraper tool
• Scissors
• Fonts Used (Optional) - Allspice, Quirkle, ChunkFive, SS Coconut Meringue
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Lint-free paper towel

Instructions

Step 1: Get my free vinyl car decals

Get Design #233 which is the free vinyl car decals SVG file. I have created several different designs for you, and they are all included in that file. You can download my file from my free resource library (get the password at the bottom of this post).

For this tutorial, I am using the 'Crafting is my therapy' design.

Upload the SVG file into Design Space. This is what my vehicle decals design file looks like when you upload it to Cricut Design Space:

If you’re not sure how to upload an SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made. If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, here’s how to download and upload SVG files to the Cricut Design Space app.

Step 2: Prepare your file for cutting

Once the file is uploaded, decide which of the designs you want to use and hide or delete the remaining designs. To do this, with the design images selected, click "Ungroup," then click a design to delete or to hide the layers you do not want to cut.

Next, you will want to measure the area of your vehicle where you want to place your decal. Then go back into Cricut Design Space and resize the design by grabbing and dragging a corner of the design when selected.

If you are using my Maker Family decals, you can use the family labels I created or create your own personalized family member labels. To create your own labels:

1. Select the text tool
2. Select a single-layer font that you would like to use. I used Allspice in my design which is also available in Design Space
3. Adjust the letter spacing, if necessary, by selecting the text and clicking ungroup. You can then adjust spacing for individual letters.
4. Once you are satisfied with the placement of your text, select all letters and click weld.

Step 3: Cut out your car decal design

Once you have your vinyl design sized properly, it's time to cut it out. I used the Cricut Maker to cut my vehicle decal designs, but you could use a Cricut Explore or Joy or anything that cuts vinyl.

Using a StandardGrip machine mat (the green one), place your vinyl on the machine mat with the color side of the vinyl facing up. I recommend you use a brayer to make sure the vinyl is well adhered to your machine mat.

Select the proper cutting material setting (I used "premium vinyl"), load your fine-point blade into your Cricut machine, load your mat, and cut.

If you need more help cutting vinyl, check out my How to Cut Vinyl on a Cricut tutorial.

Weed your design. Weeding means removing the extra vinyl away from around and within the design. Leaving the vinyl on your mat can make weeding the material easier since it stays still and flat. You'll probably want to use a weeding tool for this job.

I like to work from larger to smaller sections during weeding. Using a weeding tool, very carefully peel away the extra background vinyl …also referred to as the negative space or the part of the vinyl we don’t want to include in our finished design.

Poke your weeding tool into each section you want to remove. Gently lift it away from the design. Make sure you do not pull up any pieces you want to keep. If they come up, gently pat them back in place and try again. Don't forget the middle parts of the letters! It’s also a good idea, especially with large designs, to cut off the excess vinyl as you go. That way it doesn’t end up sticking to the parts of the vinyl you want to keep.

Next, we'll use regular transfer tape to move the adhesive vinyl to the car window using my taco method.

Cut a piece of transfer tape a bit larger than your design. Remove the paper backing. Bend the transfer tape up in a taco shape (a U-shape) with the sticky side down.

Lightly place the bottom of the taco on the center of the design and gently lay down both sides of the transfer tape. Smooth each side down with your hands, working from the center and moving outward, avoiding wrinkles and making sure all of the vinyl is covered.

Use the scraper to adhere the tape more, going from the center outward.

Flip the machine mat over and roll it away from the vinyl while keeping the design flat on the table. This keeps the material from curling.

Run the scraper over the back of the design, too. You want to make sure it is totally stuck to the transfer tape.

If you struggle with using transfer tape or need help lining colors up, check out my Transfer Tape video for tips and tricks!

Step 4: Apply the vinyl decal to your vehicle

Before applying your vinyl car decal, make sure your window is clean. Use some rubbing alcohol on a piece of lint-free cloth, such as a shop towel or coffee filter, to wipe the window where the design will go.

I like to use painter’s tape to tape my decal to the application area prior to applying it. This way I can measure and adjust to ensure the placement is straight and centered. Once I am satisfied with the placement, I use painter’s tape to mark the corners of the design so I know where to place the decal for application.

Remove the transfer tape backing and stick the design to the window, pressing from the center outward to minimize wrinkles and bubbles.

Before removing the transfer tape, make sure your design adhered to the window by gently pressing with a scraper tool.

Tip: You can also apply decals to car windows with the Wet Vinyl Method.

Step 5: Show it Off

Now you're ready to drive around with your newly personalized vehicle!

Notes

Recommended Products

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