Decals

[paisley_tele]

I bought some decal paper that dissolve or something them is slide on and cleared over. And know a good website the has some cool decals ?

[selloutrr]

tubesandmore has some labels in the radio section.

as far as cool....idk? have you considered buying the paper and printing your own?

[Lonely Raven]

I agree, just buy sheets of the paper (try to plan to use the whole sheet in one use) that work in a laserjet printer.

Layout the lettering/graphics in MS Word (or your favorite text or graphics software) to try to use up the whole sheet...because partial sheets are...difficult to re-run through the printer (though there are ways). Print out a couple test sheets on regular printer paper, and when you're 100% sure you got it, print it out!

I find they look best when you trim as close as you can to the ink. I use this stuff all the time making custom motorcycle helmets (if soaked well enough, you can bend them around curves!), and I got lazy once and didn't trim really close to the image...well, it looked like crap. No saving it once it's dry, and no way to get clear coats thick enough to high the lazy trimming.

So, layout, test, print, trim closely. Take your time, and it will look amazing!


[img:800:536]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p673704304-4.jpg[/img]

[Lonely Raven]

This second photos shows one decal I got lazy on. You can see the "webbing" in the image near the top.

[img:800:536]http://lonelyraven.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p346302354-4.jpg[/img]

[xtian]

Nice! Can you link to this type of transfer paper?

...I don't really know anyone who owns a laser printer any more! Guess I could go to the copy shop for a photocopy?

[Lonely Raven]

It looks like the page I bought from doesn't exist anymore...I tend to buy bulk so it's been years since I've ordered.

A good brand of paper is Papilio. They make all sorts of custom paper, even some extra durable "bakeable" waterslide decals that you put in the over to dry/cure.

Do some online shopping, I'm sure you'll find a sample kit somewhere you can play with.

[rp]

Blick's Art Supply has printer water slide decals. They must be set with Polyurethane to become transparent. I used the Lazertran. It didn't work out that great for me, you can see the decal but then I didn't lacquer the whole panel just the decal. Takes some experimenting to make it go totally transparent. Must be 100% dry. They don't stick too well before the varnish either on somethings like rough metal. Buy a little and experiment first.

http://www.lazertran.com/
http://www.dickblick.com/

Radio Daze has varied ready made sheets of antique radio decals. Hard to figure out what's what and actual size and finding all you need on just one sheet. Mostly Ham and old sparky terms. Not that cheap that you can buy an assortment and experiment.

http://www.radiosupply.com/

[ampgeek]

I buy sheets of the laser printer, water slide paper at Smallbear Electronics.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Categories.bok


And...make silly graphics in Corel Draw for all of my pedal builds.

I have both used and not used the softening solvent. Still trying to decide if it is better with or without.

They can be tricky to work with so be prepared to waste a few before you get it where you want it and set it to dry.

I always put a half dozen coats of clear over them before assembling the finished pedal. I have found that a really complete drying between each coat is essential for a good, rigid surface that wont indent under the force of the pot/jack/switch washers.

Trimming close to the graphic is a really good idea as LR suggests. I always try to design my graphics with a solid outline which seems to hide the edge pretty well after a couple of coats of clear.

Good luck!
Dave O.

Edit: YUCK! Those look pretty weak in low rez. They look much better when printed out in high rez when the final product is produced.

[paisley_tele]

That's where I bought the paper small bear.

[Structo]

Also beldecal.com

[paisley_tele]

Can any one make me a desgin for my pedal ?