5 Best Places For Bumper Stickers On Cars (Explained)

Do you know that there is a way you could customize your vehicle to your liking without breaking your bank or overspending?

Bumper stickers are a great option to customize your vehicle, especially if you plan to send a message to onlookers.

In this article, we’ve discussed the best positions to place your bumper stickers where they would serve their best purpose. Meanwhile, find out if bumper stickers are still popular today as they used to be.

What Are Bumper Stickers?

A bumper sticker is an adhesive label with words or prints on them, intended to be attached to the bumper of a vehicle. 

More often than not, bumper stickers are mostly used as promotional tools to send a message to people. It could also be religious, humorous, or just secular wording. This means that any person, for whatever reason they deem fit, can use them.

It is important to note that these stickers aren’t just meant for cars. We can put them on bike frames, doors, suitcases, laptops, etc.

What Are Bump Stickers Made From?

There is a wide variety of materials that bump stickers can be made from and thankfully, most of these options are cheap and affordable.

The material used in making these stickers varies because of the different ways a sticker can be applied. One good method for making bumper stickers involves the use of Cricut machines.

For instance, stickers stuck on a glass surface will most likely be made with a clear material, unlike a sticker stuck on a metal surface. For better clarity, below are the primary materials used for making bump stickers:

1. PVC

This is the short form of polyvinyl chloride. It is a plastic material used to make these adhesive labels and it could be clear or translucent, depending on the intended use. Clear PVC is often used on a vehicle’s window.

2. Decal

Decal paper is a solid material that only covers one side of the stickers with adhesive. The other side is usually left for the print design of the label.

It is much advised to opt for the waterproof decal bumper stickers because they are more durable than ordinary ones.

3. Magnetic Material

As we all know, magnet normally stick on metal or steel by way of magnetic attraction. So magnetic bumper stickers can only be stuck on areas of the vehicle with steel.

They often last long and can be used many times without losing their magnetism.

4. Vinyl

This is perhaps the most durable material used in making bumper stickers.

Vinyl is a solid waterproof material, and they are extremely efficient for indoor and outdoor display. 

Best Places To Put Your Bumper Stickers?

There are strategic places that could help increase the exposure of your stickers to others. Below are good placement locations for your stickers:

1. Windshields 

The windshield of a vehicle is one of the best places to put a car sticker. They are mostly the positions where direct or official messages are seen quickly.

With an official sticker on your windshield, you are most likely to get a quick pass on a line.

2. Rear windows

As stated earlier, the rear window, especially the upper parts, is one of the best spots to put a bumper sticker. They offer the perfect canvas for stickers or decals for promotion and branding.

However, you must be careful with any large decals as they may block your visibility or worse still, break some driving rules and regulations.

3. Doors

Your side doors are splendid positions to place stickers, especially because there is no issue of visibility in these areas. Owners can therefore place any size of stickers on such areas, which would be clear to all.

4. Bumpers 

As the name goes, bumper stickers can be used on the bumper of the car. These positions are particularly famous for being used for political quotes and ageless sayings.

5. Gas Tanks

The space for gas tanks on a car is actually very limited. Therefore, only small stickers can be used. It is more glaring on bikes and motorcycles as they have a bigger fuel tank.

You should also know whether bumper stickers affect a car’s value.

Factors That Affect the Placement of Bumper Stickers?

The best places to put a bumper sticker depends on the purpose for which it was bought.

If it is a secular or humorous sticker, it may be placed at any convenient location, but if the main aim of the stickers is to send a message or serve as a promotional tool, owners may have to look for more strategic positions to place these stickers.

For promotional stickers, there are many variables to put into consideration in order to get the kind of exposure you desire. Variances like the:

• The size of the sticker
• The design of the sticker
• The driving style of the owner 
• Roads traveled
• The vehicle type
• Places parked

All these factors affect the visibility and legibility of a bumper sticker.

However, judging by common reason, the outstanding place to put a bumper sticker is at the top of the back window, as close to the average sight of the passengers behind.

It seems that the visibility gotten from the back of the car is often better, regardless of whether the car is parked, followed, or stopped. 

Another best position to place these bumper stickers is at the driver’s side of the vehicle, as most onlookers would take notice of those areas.

Also, explore the easiest ways to remove vinyl bumper stickers.

Should Bumper Stickers Be Placed Inside or Outside?

You can put these stickers either inside the vehicle or outside. It all depends on the material used to make them.

For example, stickers made with thin plastics should not be placed outside because they can easily be removed. Besides, these kinds of stickers are not weather resistant. Sunlight or rainfall could cut through their durability easily.

For materials like vinyl, they can be placed both outside and inside the vehicles because they are mostly weather resistant.

However, if you intend to use clear vinyl inside the car, you must be careful with the printing design because when placed inside the vehicle, they are harder to see.

This is even more disadvantageous for promotional stickers because their function may not be fulfilled. The best way to make these kinds of stickers visible is to reverse-print the design.

Furthermore, opaque stickers can only be placed outside for them to be seen by others. All you need to do is to get a suitable material to back up its durability so that it won’t wear off prematurely.

On the other hand, we can use translucent stickers both ways. For the outside position, the artwork submitted to the printer should be on the upper part of the right side, while for the inside position, the artwork must be mirrored.

This means that people from the other side would be able to see the sticker from a good angle and it won’t look backward.

You might want to also check out the bumper sticker rules you must follow here.

What To Remember About Vehicle Stickers

It is one thing to fix stickers on your car; it is another thing to understand the logistics of fixing them. There are methods needed to be put in place and things to note before sticking them.

Below are some checklists to be ticked before fixing a bumper sticker.

a. Hassle-free Removal

Stickers are absolutely easy to fix, but what happens when you want to remove them?

This is one thing to put into consideration because most of these stickers are made with a solid adhesive that can damage the paint if removed incorrectly.

There are several ways to remove a bumper sticker effectively. Some of them include: 

• Beat it with heat
• Saturate with vinegar or alcohol 
• Use boiling water

On this note, you can learn about the 11 best methods to use in removing bumper stickers here.

b. Use Durable and Weather-resistant Stickers

The best way to preserve your stickers is to make them weather-resistant. It is not a good idea to always peel off stickers from your car often, as they may damage your car paint later on.

Thus, it is important to find a material that works for a very long period, and nonsusceptible to the outside weather.

c. Clean the Surface Before Application

Another method to employ before using bumper stickers is to make sure the adhesive is placed on a clean surface. Any grime on the surface of the adhesive would weaken its glue and it may fall off quicker than you expect.

Make sure to clean the surface with soap or alcohol and wait for the wet surface to dry before any application.

d. Don’t Be Hasty

Rushing to fix a sticker may end up badly.

Take your time to carefully press the sticker on a clean surface without tampering with the adhesive. Make sure to smoothen it out to avoid bubbles or folds. 

Make sure to also check out our article on what bumper stickers with numbers mean.

Source

Ride in style: how to design your vehicle in stickers | Sticker Mule.