Car & Truck Lettering

What it is

Car and Truck Lettering is your company name, phone number, website, or a short tagline cut letter by letter from single-color vinyl film — no background, no rectangle, just the words themselves applied straight to the paint. It reads as if it were painted on, and it comes in 13 standard colors so you can match or contrast with your vehicle. If you want a full-color logo alongside it, order that separately as a Car Decal or Truck Door Decal and place the two together.

Lettering is priced and cut to fit a panel size you choose, then shipped with transfer tape already applied so every letter lands in a straight line.

Popular sizes and where they go

These panel sizes are priced on Single Color vinyl at a quantity of one; a full-color option (Car Vinyl) is also available if you want to print the lettering instead of cutting it.

Size	Typically used for	Price
24 x 12 in	one door panel of lettering — company name and phone number	from $39.22
24 x 18 in	a door panel with a name, phone number and website	from $51.88
36 x 24 in	a full box truck or trailer side with larger lettering	from $89.84

Need a size that is not on this list? Enter your own width and height at checkout or in the Design Studio — pricing scales with the area, and every custom size still gets a free proof before it prints.

Why it holds up

Single Color lettering is cut, not printed, from a solid sheet of vinyl film, so there is no ink layer to fade — the color is the material all the way through. It is rated for 5+ years outdoors and comes off later without residue if you rebrand or sell the vehicle. Every cut-lettering order ships with transfer tape included at no charge, which is what keeps a multi-letter phrase perfectly straight and evenly spaced during application.

Uses by business type

• Contractors and trades — company name and phone number on both doors is the most common commercial lettering order.
• Owner-operators — a company name plus DOT-adjacent details on a truck door or trailer.
• Real estate and consultants — name and website on a personal vehicle used for client meetings.
• Fleet rebrands — matching lettering across every truck when only the wording needs to change, not the whole wrap.
• Window and glass lettering — hours, phone number or website cut in a single color for storefront or vehicle glass.

How to apply

Lettering ships with transfer tape over the letters so the whole line moves as one piece. Give yourself extra time versus a single decal, since alignment matters more across a full phrase.

1. Wash the panel with soap and water, then wipe it with rubbing alcohol and let it dry completely — any wax, dust or grease under the vinyl will shorten how long it holds.
2. Work in a shaded spot between about 60 and 90 degrees F. Direct sun makes the adhesive grab too fast; cold makes it grab too slowly.
3. Peel back a corner of the backing paper and tack the decal in place to confirm the position before committing.
4. Use a strip of painter's tape as a hinge at the top so the decal stays aligned while you peel away the rest of the backing paper.
5. Squeegee from the center outward in overlapping passes to push air out toward the edges, not trap it in the middle.
6. If the order includes transfer tape, squeegee firmly over it, then peel the transfer tape back slowly at a low angle, checking that every letter released onto the surface.
7. Press down any edges or corners that did not fully bond, working from the center out.
8. If a small air bubble remains, prick it with a pin and press it flat — do not try to squeegee a large bubble out through the edge.
9. Give the adhesive time to cure — avoid washing the vehicle for at least 48 hours after installation.

Removal and care

Warm the film with a hair dryer or heat gun on a low setting, then peel it back slowly at a low angle rather than straight up — heat keeps the vinyl from tearing into small pieces. Any adhesive left behind comes off with an adhesive remover or rubbing alcohol, then a regular wash. Because it is rated for 5+ years outdoors, you can leave it on through winters and regular washing and remove it later without stripping paint, as long as the clear coat underneath is in normal condition. Because cut lettering has no background layer, individual letters can be removed and replaced one at a time if only part of the wording changes.

Readability: how far can it be read?

Choose your letter height based on how far away it needs to be legible, using the general rule of about 1 inch of height for every 10 feet of distance for maximum impact. This is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee — a bold, high-contrast font reads farther than a thin, low-contrast one at the same height.

Letter height	Rule-of-thumb readable distance
2 in	about 20 ft — close-up reading, parked vehicles
3 in	about 30 ft — parking lots, curbside
4 in	about 40 ft — street-side, slow traffic
6 in	about 60 ft — highway speeds, larger trucks

For a truck seen mostly in traffic or on the highway, size up; for a personal vehicle parked at job sites, 2 to 3 inches is usually enough.