Applying a decal....

[zhivago]

At first I thought you were joking: "No no you have to remove the paper!" 

I'm also about to apply a new decal to my jazzmaster and I don't want to mess it up, since it's so good looking...

hehehehehe!!

[zhivago]

I would add to what Fullerplast suggests by saying that a little heat from a hairdryer will help the decal 'relax' when you apply it. Sometimes it is suggested that warm water is used, and this does relax the decal, but a floppy decal can be a liability when you are trying to position it. So get the decal in place and then give it a warm waft with the hairdryer. Roll out any air bubbles very gently with wet Q Tip. Also, put some water on the surface of the headstock before you slide the decal on. It will stop it sticking to soon. The ultimate 'solution' is to use what modellers use for settling decals down nicely and without air bubbles, and that is a product called Microscale 'Micro Set'. Maybe not essential unless you want the belt and baces approach, but it slightly softens the decal after you have got it into position and makes sure it is stuck down and in firm contact with the surface.

thanks for that....I'll apply the decal tomorrow and post pics

[sookwinder]

For once in my life being "an old fart" is an advantage.....  any one (any male) over 40 years of age  must have spent some of his childhood making plastic model aircraft  (B17, Lancaster, Me109, spitfire, kittyhawk, B24 , mosquito, hurricane, Dornier, Junkers, mustang... ring any bells ?) and those plastic kits had decals .

I always used luke warm water... not hot, not cold , just enough for yuou fingers to notice some  slight level of warmth ... never bothered with white glue, or other solutions...

also make sure you do not have sharp edges on your finger nails....  I am serious ... I fucked up a decal before because of that..  (on a plastic model, not a headstock)

[~*blissedandgone*~]

valuable information for me also for when I finally put the decal on my Bass VI


sometime down the line.

[zhivago]

also make sure you do not have sharp edges on your finger nails....  I am serious ... I fucked up a decal before because of that..  (on a plastic model, not a headstock)

oh man...good point...I've been playing fingerstyle lately, so I let my nails grow a bit...I'll clip them before applying for sure!

[zhivago]

success!

many thanks to everyone for their input...I applied the decal with ease!

check out the pics!









Leo would be proud!

[~*blissedandgone*~]

Looks cool. I hope the black on black is easier to read in person, yeah?

I want to give your guitar a kiss it looks so good.

[zhivago]

yeah, it's a bit better to read in person...but not that much better I guess....it looks cool though

the body is looking good too now...can't wait to put it back together!

[chrisjedijane]

nice job, yannis!

I can't wait to see the finished product. I'd love to get myself a XII...

[zhivago]

hey thanks Chris!


I just went to my aunt's and had a look at the body...it's looking good...I will have complete pics soon-ish

[RumorsOFsurF]

For once in my life being "an old fart" is an advantage.....  any one (any male) over 40 years of age  must have spent some of his childhood making plastic model aircraft  (B17, Lancaster, Me109, spitfire, kittyhawk, B24 , mosquito, hurricane, Dornier, Junkers, mustang... ring any bells ?) and those plastic kits had decals .

I always used luke warm water... not hot, not cold , just enough for yuou fingers to notice some  slight level of warmth ... never bothered with white glue, or other solutions...

also make sure you do not have sharp edges on your finger nails....  I am serious ... I fucked up a decal before because of that..  (on a plastic model, not a headstock)

I'm 24, and I put together a plastic car model with waterslide decals about a year ago...   Maybe I'm sharing too much...

[JazzBlaster]

I'm 24, and I put together a plastic car model with waterslide decals about a year ago...   Maybe I'm sharing too much...

That's nothing, I painted my guitar with model car paint!

[~*blissedandgone*~]

I painted my Stratocaster with sky blue road striping spraypaint I got from Home Depot!




I was trying to make it Daphne Blue, but the Torino Red underneath it darkened it.

[RumorsOFsurF]

I'm 24, and I put together a plastic car model with waterslide decals about a year ago...   Maybe I'm sharing too much...

That's nothing, I painted my guitar with model car paint!

Airbrush, or brush-brush?

[JazzBlaster]

You can get the Boyds colors in aerosol in the toy dept at Wal Mart  I wanted something different, the clear is Nitro. I been thinking of repainting it tho and matching the headstock.

David