Felt Squeegee

This project was inspired by a video I saw in which a crafter was using a “felt squeegee” to smooth out adhesive film for a project. I have since discovered that they are a tool used in lots of applications for getting vinyl and other adhesive wraps snugged down to a substrate bubble free especially in automotive applications like window tint and advertising wraps. This one is probably on the small side for a car wrap, but I have found it very useful in getting vinyl masks flat for etching glass. It could also be used to apply stickers.

The design is super simple. It’s set up to print in two colors, but if you don’t want my initials on it, just print it in a single color and they won’t show much.
I applied felt to it using 3M™ Super 77™ Multipurpose Spray Adhesive and then trimming the felt with a razor and straight edge. This stuff is prone to over spray, so put your project on newspaper (you do have newspaper, right?) to protect your work surface. It can be cleaned off, but with care you won’t have to. Super 77 is billed as permanent and I have used it for other projects with excellent results.

The felt I use was purchased as surplus/scrap from a local company that sells and services pool tables. Pool table felt is made of a combination of wool and usually nylon. Worsted cloth is the best cloth and isn’t actually “felt” — the wool goes through a spinning process, which eliminates the fuzziness on the surface. It’s often over $100 for the good, durable stuff, hence my visit to a local installer who sold me a bag of scraps that will probably last me a lifetime for $5.00. For this project, I simply cut a rough size rectangle and trimmed it to fit once it was glued on.