Fender Waterslide Decal

Tomis17 · #1 08-27-2007, 05:06 PM

For those of you who have done this before, how the heck do you put these stuff on?

Any help would be much appreciated.

202dy · #2 08-27-2007, 05:49 PM

It would appear that the pre-adolescent hobby of building model cars and airplanes from kits has gone the way of the dinosaur.

Soak the decal in a bowl of water for a few minutes. The decal will then slide off the paper backing. Carefully (they are a bit fragile) slide a bit off the edge of the backing paper and place the end in the desired position. Slide the rest of it on to the headstock. Lightly blot with a soft rag, pushing any air bubbles to the closest edge of the decal. Let it dry overnight and clear coat.

Tomis17 · #3 08-27-2007, 07:21 PM

Uh huh! That's how you do it. Kind of concerned about the clear coat part though. I've never put decals on cars, airplanes, dinosaurs, or anything before. One of those things I never got to share with my dad.

bassman10096 · #4 08-27-2007, 07:58 PM

About the least reactive (read: "not as likely to curl or eat up your plastic decal") clear coat is nitrocellulose. You can get a rattle can of clear gloss nitro through Stewart McDonald or Reranch.com. If you look around the net, there are plenty of descriptions on how to spray the stuff once the decal is on, but I've found it just works best to lightly mist a couple of coats and allow to dry until I'm sure the edges of the decal are not going to lift. Then, you can spray a thicker coat or two. Check out reranch for info on sanding and polishing lacquer, but if you don't get it anyplace you don't mean to and you spray neatly, you may be ok without any polishing at all.

Tomis17 · #5 08-27-2007, 09:36 PM

I got 2 sets of decals and the first one I put on did not turn out so good to say the least.

It was indeed fragile as I accidentally ripped the top part of the decal off trying to straighten it out. The second didn't rip but I forgot about the air bubble factor. It looks like **it. I'm a little disappointed. I just burned my money in flames.

The clear coat thing is way to difficult. I don't think I'm up for sanding. I tried my first paint job this summer and it was not so fun.

202dy · #6 08-27-2007, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomis17

I got 2 sets of decals and the first one I put on did not turn out so good to say the least.

It was indeed fragile as I accidentally ripped the top part of the decal off trying to straighten it out. The second didn't rip but I forgot about the air bubble factor. It looks like **it. I'm a little disappointed. I just burned my money in flames.

The clear coat thing is way to difficult. I don't think I'm up for sanding. I tried my first paint job this summer and it was not so fun.

It takes patience and a delicate hand. That goes for most of what we do in the repair world. There is little room for violence in guitar building and repair.

Painting, rubbing out, and buffing is something that can be learned. Reranch is a source as is Dan Erlewine's book. There are many others. The important thing is to practice on scrap. Shoot some boards and practice rubbing out. When you feel confident that your skills are decent do the guitar.

If you have realized this level of work is not for you take it to a pro.