Waterslide Help Needed....

[Ultrakd]

Ok Im having problems when I put my decals on I can still see like the edges and the part that supposed to be clear... Am I supposed to still see it or am I doing something wrong?

[alparent]

Most DIY decal paper is thick....So you will notice the edges. That is why most will do a full cover decal and not a bunch of little decals.

[davent]

To make the edges dissappear you need to apply many, that's many thin coats of clear, sanding back between coats after you've got quite a few on, with fine wet sandpaper on a sanding block (an art eraser or small piece of styrofoam). You then bring the shine back up with ever finer grits of wet paper and finally rubbing compound.



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dave

[alparent]

Very nice ....how many coates? How many hours of sanding?

[davent]

Hello,
That amp was done with spray can lacquer and it was a number of years ago, i may have put on ten thin coats before i started sanding back with 400 grit between coats. You're only taking off (leveling) a very minute amount when sanding between coats so initially you may only do a couple passes with the sandpaper as the lacquer coat over the decal is very thin. You can see the leveling taking place and as you get more & more coats on you can sand more agressively. At any one time you only, at most, may sand a couple minutes between coats. It's easy to see your leveling progress as the 'still shiny after sanding' area keeps becoming smaller and smaller. A matter of patience and feel, resist the urge to get agrressive with the sanding and keep the sandpaper nice and wet. Spray, let dry the required time, sand, spray, dry....

These days i'm using waterbased guitar lacquer with an airbrush which puts the finish on extremely thin, takes an obscene number of sessions just to level the paint before the decals are put on.

Decal lines



After sanding back, before building the shine.


dave

[Ultrakd]

Ok thanks for the tips. Right now I have a can of Minwax clear brushing lacquer that Im starting to use. Maybe I should have gotten the spray can of it . Then after I put the coat on I stict it in a oven at 150 for 30 min then do the next coat.

[Barcode80]

You can also soften the decals (after applying, but before they dry) by brushing on copious amounts of decal softener. You can get decal softener in most places you get decals, or you can use plain old vinegar (which is actually what it is). It will soften up, essentially melt the decal to the surface (you won't notice until you let it dry). I've done this with great success. Also, when I don't want to go through all that trouble or do the sanding mentioned above, I design my graphics with a solid border that goes around the whole face, then trim to the border. A black border hides the edges well, they just look like the raised edges of the "painted" border.

[Ultrakd]

You can also soften the decals (after applying, but before they dry) by brushing on copious amounts of decal softener. You can get decal softener in most places you get decals, or you can use plain old vinegar (which is actually what it is). It will soften up, essentially melt the decal to the surface (you won't notice until you let it dry). I've done this with great success. Also, when I don't want to go through all that trouble or do the sanding mentioned above, I design my graphics with a solid border that goes around the whole face, then trim to the border. A black border hides the edges well, they just look like the raised edges of the "painted" border.

Yea that is what Im doing with my Tap Tempo Tremolo pedal here is what it is going to look like.

[add4]

How do you guys manage to cut the decal in such a clean way around the holes?

To make the edges dissappear you need to apply many, that's many thin coats of clear, sanding back between coats after you've got quite a few on, with fine wet sandpaper on a sanding block (an art eraser or small piece of styrofoam). You then bring the shine back up with ever finer grits of wet paper and finally rubbing compound.



[

dave

[davent]

Hello,

If i cover a hole with a decal i don't do anything until the decals had a number of coats of clear then just poke through the decal with a needle file and clean up the edges, that may not happen until i'm mounting whatever goes in the holes,no hurry. The edges will be hidden anyways by whatever will be mounted  so it's not something you need to be overly cautious with. Just be certain you've got the clearcoat going and that will fix the decal in place and there'll be no worry of tearing or moving it.

dave