So.... i have a older SS machine ready for decals...Boy did i cop a lot of flack about it...
"it should be sprayed like it was in the factory" was one quote i was adamant to prove wrong !
My only remark to these skeptics was wait until the finished product !
I had no idea on how it would turn out as i had never seen it up close and personal in the past, all i knew was that i wanted to avoid respraying and stencils at all cost ! ( Its not that bad really just tedious !
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I was going to do it WET method, this is the reason why all the sides that were going to have the decal installed needed a light coat of paint, so the cabinet would not soak up the water.
You can either clear the cab or paint it. As you guys have seen i decided to paint it as i thought it killed two birds with one stone as the corners were already painted and so was the back...
The reason i chose the WET method of decal installation was simply because i had a little time to play with the decal IF a boo boo was made as opposed to no time with the dry method.
My particular decals were cut to size with not much to no over run what so ever, so i had to check and recheck and make sure it was not going to be a mess !
So armed with some hot water in a spray bottle with a hint of washing detergent,an old lint less clean rag and a plastic squeegee i was ready to rock and roll...
I decided to do the headbox first and i spent about 15 minutes aligning the decal on the first side for the first time.
15 mins you say, yes a very LONG time ! Just wanted to be sure.
The way i installed the decals was to line up the decal as best i could. Once i was happy i clamped it down protecting the artwork at the same time.
Once i was happy with the clamped artwork i peeled about 1/8 of the artwork and cut the backing off, starting from one side, in my case it was from top to bottom. The skinny or narrow part of the artwork is where you should start from. eg the width of the headbox decal is more narrow than the height.
Once i had stuck down that initial 1/8 of the decal i sprayed a fine mist of water onto where the decal was going to be installed.
So slowly pealing the backing off, leaving the decal curved over and hanging over the section which has been completed, and at the same time with my plastic squeegee i was rubbing the decal on. In the meantime all the bubbles where being pushed out as was the water leaving me with an entirely smoothed out, stuck on decal.
Once i had completed another portion of it i would then cut the backing off as the longer it gets the more it gets in the way. I continued with this motion until i completed the installation.
I took my time with this and highly recommend for you to do so if you decide to do it ! It can be a nerve racking task with the cost of replacing the artwork after all...
I hope this makes sense, anyway hopefully the pics will do the talking....
So the headbox gets the decals installed !
