decal tips thread

[Pajo]

Thought it might be good to have a thread on tips for installing decals.

I would like share my experience as a complete noob of putting decals on my TZ.  I chose to use the dry method for three main reasons. Firstly I'm planning on keeping this TZ and didn't want to chance compromising the longevity of the glue by doing it wet.  Secondly I was doing it on my own and thought dry would be easier.  Thirdly I couldn't be bothered with all the mess of doing it wet!

I used the method that is well described elsewhere (such as

and http://www.robertwinter.com/pinball/restorations/ft/backbox/index.html) so I won't go into the how to put them on however I would like to share a some of what I did, for other noobs that haven't done this before.

The first tip I saw elsewhere but not illustrated is how to get the front panel positioned correctly.  For a TZ , the critical parts to position are the start button and the bottom line of text.  If you get these right then everything else should be good.   For the positioning, I used two small torches that I turned on and taped using gaffa tape into each of the start and extra ball holes from inside the cabinet (see photo's). I also used a calliper to ensure that the bottom line of text on the decal (Twilight Zone) was parallel to the bottom of the cab.  By positioning the torches correctly, you get a beautiful illuminated circle traced through your decal by each hole in the cabinet.  I used Irwin clams with felt on the jaws to hold the decal in position for the start of the  decal application process.

I was really careful about dust as I was working in a very dusty shed.  I used a damp cloth, then compressed air and a tack cloth to clean: the work table the decal was placed on, both sides of the decal before placing it on the cab, the cab itself.  I took it really slowly when smoothing down the decals,  if you are doing it on your own, be very cautious at the end of each decal as it can start to 'run away' unless you take extra care.  Mine ended up going down really well.  I took a long time preparing the cab but was still surprised at ending up with an almost mirror like finish (see photo's in edging tips)

[Pajo]

After putting on the decals and it all looking so nice, I was really concerned about cutting out the Start and Extra Ball button holes as these are in full view on the front and will show any stuff ups.  I practised on the leg bolt holes and flipper button holes which would be hidden and this was enough to convince me that doing it freehand would not be the way to go.  I'm sure that people experienced in doing this can get a good finish but it is definitely and art.  To get around the problem, I borrowed my wife's  Fiskars scrapbook cutter and Circular cutting template (http://www.fiskarscraft.eu/products/category/284/ShapeCutting-Tools).  I stuck a square of white decal material (from the edge border of one of the decals) over each button hole to act as a mask once the holes were cut out.  Again I used torches for positioning and clamped the cutting template once I was happy with the positioning. I was pretty pleased with the results, especially for a first attempt.  To finish the holes I went around them with a black paint pen (see below) and then removed the masks. Apart from looking very neat, an advantage of cutting the holes this way is that the cut-out can be made about 1mm back from the edge of the hole which reduces the chance of accidental peeling.

[Pajo]

The last area I wanted to share is finishing off  the edges or seaming.  It's hard to find anything much on the net about this apart from advice to paint your cabinet edges black before you apply the decals and to use a black texta to go over the edges once trimmed.  This I believe leaves the edges  vulnerable to accidental peeling.  The method I used was suggested by Treasure Cove in the US http://www.treasure-cove.net/DecalTips.htm however I used 600 grit wet and dry to bevel the decal edges (see photo's).  As suggested by TC, instead of a texta I used a Testors 2547c black gloss enamel paint pen that I bought through ebay from a US supplier for about AU$10 delivered.  If you haven't used one of these... get one they are fantastic. Before using the paint pen I masked up the bevelled edges to try and keep things looking neat.  I applied two coats of paint with 24 hours between coats.  After removing the masking tape and waiting another 24 hours, I smoothed the enamel paint edges using Novus 3 followed by Novus 1.  The results were fantastic with really smooth sealed edges and corners.  Something I learned from using this method of finishing is that it really isn't worth spraying your edges black before applying the decals.  The paint pen does such a good job you really don't need to bother with anything else.  I would however still spray around the start and extra ball buttons.

Summing up I would say don't be afraid of putting on your decals dry, it really isn't that hard if you do your prep work well, be careful about dust, accurately position the decals and go very slowly.  If you want professional edges, I highly recommend using the method I described.  It will take more time than but you will get a factory like finish to your edges.

[ddstoys]

Nice one never redecalled a cab before and the corners always interested me in how they were done the method you used looks really good 

[ajlaird]

Thanks for the detailed info.

It is documentation like this that makes the site so good, and potentially gives others the confidence to do it themselves.

[el_timbo86]

Great read and some really helpful hints there Pajo.

Thanks heaps 

[bwodie]

thank you so much for taking the time to write this up :)

[ktm450]

Great work 

[Strangeways]

For your first re decal job - you made it look easy !

Well done - and hopefully you will have the time to post more restoration notes on your TZ 

[shootar]

thank you so much for taking the time to write this up :)

+1

[Pajo]

Thought I'd update this with the back box re-decal job.  I did it dry as for the cab but decided to try something different to finish the edges as the gloss paint pen wasn't going to match the satin paint of the back box edges.

Step one after installing and trimming the decals was to carefully mask the decals to leave the white trimmed edge exposed.

I then  sprayed the edges of the cabinet with a few coats of satin black.  The masking tape was then removed to leave decal edges that were sealed to the edge of the cabinet.