I had considered myself fairly skilled with my hands, having worked as a machinist for 7 years.
Yet I had nothing but frustration while trying to apply the vinyl overlays. I thought that trimming by placing an razor blade into the groove would have been easy, but the vinyl stretched and then showed underlying gold when it went back in place. I had bought enough vinyl for two tries on both bow ties.
Gave up and went to masking tape/carboard and rattle can flat black paint, 3 coats. Simple. I also like the fact that the pebbled texture of the original remains visible with the paint option.
I don't know how long it will last, but I've used the same stuff on a motorcycle and had it hold up for 4 years. I figure I can always re-do the paint, if need be in the future. So far (4 months), it looks the same as the day applied.