Official Luthiers Forum!

I found a source for waterslide decals and have ordered a few to try out.

Anybody have any experience with them? Do I add them before finishing the headstock, or in a middle coat or does it go on last after everything is finished?

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Reguards,

Ken H

Can you post that source or pass it to me. I think I would like to do my logo in some of those for some of the electrics I build.. Particularly the Fender style necks.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I found them on eBay. They were shipped yesterday, so I should have them in the next couple of days. $9.98 for 3 custom decals and free shipping. HERE IS THE LINK

by the way, the electric necks are the exact reason I ordered them. I have a few that I need a logo on and this seemed like an acceptable way to do it.

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Reguards,

Ken H

I purchased some waterslide decals from eBay and found them very so so and the color I chose really didn't work. These are people printing on waterslide decal paper from their home printers. I searched the net and found waterslide decal paper that will work with my inkjet. The paper looks the same as what I bought but I have not got around to testing it yet. The best thing is I can try different fonts and colors without a tremendious expense.

Let us know what you think of the decals and if they meet your needs.

Philip

Hmmm, Went from online to offline and became a guest. Oh well. Forum looks good though.

Philip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

Middle coat. you need to put them on a non-porous surface. You don't have to topcoat them, but it protects them.

One tip for better performance is to soak in a weak solution of hide glue. It seems to bond with the gelatin-like stuff of the decal and both strengthen it and make it adhere better.

Howard "just a guest" Klepper

Boy those confirmation codes are hard to read. If you aren't visually impaired now, you will be after trying to read a few of them.

I purchased some waterslide decal paper and they do work. I did have some problems getting the quality of the decal to look good since some of the paper had small wrinkles. I am not sure if this was my fault (storage?) or they were shipped that way to me. I also noticed that they work best if put on a surface that is sealed first and smooth.

Good Luck!

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Brad
Avon, OH

I've used the decal paper from Micro-mark and it worked okay. Mine was black and white so I used laser decal paper. You can get it for dot pitch printers too.

I had read somewhere that you should use a gel varnish to put on top of it because it adheres well to it, and the varnish does not contain alcohol which will melt the dye in the print. So after I applied the decal, I let it dry for a day, then coated it very lightly with a gel varnish. Then I continued with the finish, whatever you choose. Hope that makes sense. Good luck!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I have put them after the first few coats so the final coats cover over it to protect it. After you print them you should give them a coat of poly or lacquer to stop the ink from running. It will run if not coated.

Testors (the folks who do model cars and such) makes a custom decal kit that you can print up your own decals. The quality of the decal depends on the quality of your printer.

http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2255

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

that led me to another site where you can buy all of the waterslide decal paper and also the software to create your own custom decals. http://www.decalgear.com

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Reguards,

Ken H

just a little update here. I got the decals in today and I am pleased with what I see. There are instructions with the decals that say they reccomend that you apply them over a coat of lacquer, then lightly mist (they call it "dusting") several coats of lacquer over the decal after application. These are mirror imaged right now, so they appear backwards. They are applied face down, then the paper is slid off of them. I cant wait to give them a try!

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Reguards,

Ken H