Wet application is not necessary. The material is a lot like duct tape. I wrapped each of the aluminum crossmembers. I made patterns for each bar, cut the gold foil to size with scissors, and depending on accessability and shape, removed the backing as necessary. They key for me was to stretch the material somewhat. Then smooth with your hand to squeegee it, being careful not to trap bubbles. I had large pieces wrap around on itself and get stuck sticky side to sticky side, but was able to get it back apart. It's pressure sensitive, so after positioning if you don't press it down you can easily pull it back up and reposition. If you do press it down, you can still pull it back up. These are all things that you will find out soon after you start. Overall it's pretty simple to work with. I've sworn I'll never attempt window tint ever again and I've installed 3M clear bra on the nose of a few cars. The gold foil is nothing like those. Especially since the surfaces I applied to are flat.
The surface if the gold IS delicate. It is easy to get micro scratches. I think it will be absolutely unnoticeable after putting some miles on the car. Just like other aspects of this car, there will be so much else to look at with the rear clam open, nobody's going to shine a flashlight down there and wonder how some superfine scratches got on the gold surface.
A.J.