Waterslide Decals

[bargeloobs]

/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from Gavin1393 on May 13, 2014, 14:10
Andyport is the go-to guy in all things decal!

Give him a holler!

Yep...done, cheers Gav, Wokks!

[Andyport]

Hi Bargeloobs

Don't know if I will be of much help really.
My wide format sign printer doesn't print white.
The lettering in your logo is way too small to vinyl cut...the only way is to print it.
Not sure why you are having trouble spraying lacquer coats over the waterslide decals.
I did it on my JM-1 headstock, although I was used Acrylic Auto Lacquer not Nitro.
I just sprayed down a few base coats, let it dry for a few days, then wet sanded completely smooth.
Printed the black waterslide decal, used the same Acrylic Lacquer to seal it, applied to headstock.
Let it dry off, then built up the top coats by misting them on.
Once it is completely sealed, then you can lay the coats on heavier.
You can just see a slight outline of the waterslide paper, more of a slightly different tint to it.
It came up really nice, and it is there to stay...won't be going anywhere!

I do have a contact in the sign industry with a new printer that can do white, but whether the white is solid enough to go over black and totally block it out, I don't know. But I will have to get back to you on that.

Sorry I can't help more.
Cheers
Andy

[bargeloobs]

Hey thanks for taking the time to drop some info Andy.
I couldn't really figure out why it wasn't sticking either, I'd recently done a resto on a Tele of mine and put a new decal on a Mighty Mite neck using pretty much the exact same process you've outlined (but with nitro) and it worked sweet as.
The only thing I can think of is the decal paper I bought is dud.
No worries man, I've got a dude in the States who does mostly modelling stuff making me up a decal for the front (as pictured), if it works out I'll just have to get him to do another one for the back.
I just wanted to see if I could get it done a bit closer to home to cut down on costs and handling times but never to mind.
At least waiting round for stuff to turn up from the States will give my finish a chance to cure.
Thanks heaps,

Nige.

[wokkaboy]

sounds like the decal paper may be dodgy Nigel. Why don't you try and experiment applying the paper using a different finish ?

[Andyport]

My only other thought on the lacquer issue was, were you allowing the nitro coats to dry of properly between coats?
If you lay on too many wet coats, there is a definite risk of it reacting with the decal and it will bubble.

Would love to be able to print white like that, but you're talking big dollars when it comes to printers for our industry. Sorry I couldn't help more...you would think there must be someone out there in this big wide land of ours that can do this, hey. Hope you get on alright with this guy in the States. BTW your design looks good.

All the best
Andy

[bargeloobs]

/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from wokkaboy on May 13, 2014, 15:28
sounds like the decal paper may be dodgy Nigel. Why don't you try and experiment applying the paper using a different finish ?

Yeah good idea, I've got some poly laying round from my last build, I'll try that on an old neck and see what happens.

[wokkaboy]

thats what I try and do Nigel, narrow down the problem till you nail it !

[bargeloobs]

Well I thought I was giving it sufficient time but who knows, I'll keep playin' round on some test pieces and see if I can figure it out.
Holy sh#t, I know what you're saying regarding the cost of printing gear, I was looking at a few different things just out of curiosity and yeah, that stuff ain't cheap.
Apparently this guy can go over the decal a few times to get the white (it is white, not green like in the pic) really vivid and bright so I've just gotta hope I can get it to stick.
Cheers.

[stan]

Just on professional decals, I have a Fender Tele, a Japanese one, and if you hold the neck on the right angle you can see the outline of the decal. Everything is fully original; so even the pros are not super pedantic about their decals...

[ponch]

So is there any official word where we can get white decals printed?