Unpack the door art skin or photo door skin from the box or tube. Allow the design to lie flat by unravelling and lying on a flat surface. DO NOT cut the design at this stage to fit your door dimension- you will trim on the door. Features of this product include:
- The vinyl is self adhesive. One side will appear sticky- the other will have a woven fabric finish. No additional glue required.
- The vinyl has a high tech adhesive that can be repositioned over and over again.(*1)
- If accidently you stick the vinyl to itself (sticky side to sticky side), the vinyl can easily be pulled apart.
- The vinyl is able to be wiped clean with a damp cloth and can even be cleaned if you get dirt on the sticky side. Wash with water and then allow to dry. Stick again.
PREPARE THE SURFACE
Check the door surface for any obstructions. If the door has any hooks or other obstructions, remove them first. If the door has a window or an air vent on it, then you will trim around this after you have installed it. The main obstruction you will experience is the door handle. See our article on removing a door handle.
Give your surface a wipe down to free from loose dust and grit. Clean with gentle soapy water if required for heavy soiling- do not use household cleaning products as they tend to contain repelling subtances such as silicones. Leave door to dry before installation of vinyl.
Wait at least 2 weeks for freshly painted surfaces to dry and cure completely before applying vinyl. The solvents in paint continue to evaporate for up to 2-3 weeks and this can affect the adhesive and therefore the longevity of your vinyl art.
INSTALLING THE DOOR SKIN
The door skin comes in a standard size of 204cm high x 90cm wide. Depending on whether your door is an internal door, a cupboard door or other, then it may be slightly larger than your door. Not all doors are exactly square and if you pre trim to size you may find it diffcult to fit. We recommend trimming the design after you have installed.
Hold the design (with backing paper on) up to the door and check your alignment and whether you have excess that will need trimming later. Take note of where you think you will start at the top. Hold in place with masking tape if required so you can stand back and align. We do recommend you install with a second person, and they can help at this stage.
Once you are happy with the initial alignment, lay the design face down on a flat surface. Peel about 10cm of backing paper away and fold it over. You will use the revealed sticky strip to temporarily hold your design in place on the door. Check alignment and re adjust the top as required. The backing paper is still in place.



Start installing the door skin by pulling about 20cm more of the backing paper down from behind the design in an even line. Move both of your hands to the front and smooth the design onto door by sweeping from the middle to the outside for this section only.

Before you continue onto the next section of 20cm, this is the time to check your alignment and whether
the door skin is straight and heading in the direction you want. If not, peel off the door and reposition. Once you have this first 30-40cm correct, the rest of the design will follow in the same line. So you need to get this first section perfect.


Continue installing the door skin downwards, moving in sections. [If you didn’t remove the door handle, during installation you will need to cut a single slit when you get to the door handle and pop the handle through- leave like that until you have installed the whole skin. Return to the handle at the end, and using a sharp utility knife cut as neatly as you can around the casing.] As you reach the bottom of door, pull the backing paper completely out from the vinyl and roll up and store in case you wish to re-use the vinyl at a later date.

To FINISH the design, you need to do the following:
TRIM: Taking a freshly snapped utility knife, start at the bottom edge (this way if you make a mistake it will be less noticeable) and angle the blade inwards (to avoid any “lip”) and in a steady motion run the blade across the vinyl pulling the discarded strip taut as you go, this will stop the blade snagging on the vinyl if it is nice and taut. Do not rush this as the blade can jump and make unwanted slashes- just
work steadily and you will get a nice even cut. Repeat on all edges.

DOOR SLIT: To be able to refit the door handle, cut a cross slit in the centre of the door handle and keep it as seamless as possible. If you have removed the door handle, do not cut a circular hole here- just cut a slit that the handle core can slip through. Retrace the steps for removing the handle and the result should be a seamless design fitting under the door handle.

AIR AND EDGES: If you have any air pockets under the design, you should be able to sweep them out- if not, lift design away until you reach the pocket and then re apply ensuring the air is swept out. Rub firmly over the whole design and press the edge in nice and firmly so they do not pop up. Your door skin is now fully installed. The vinyl can easily be wiped with a damp cloth for cleaning.
