Waterslide... im impressed!

[Retropin]

Ive been doing a bit more to the Bank A ball that i was first working on a few years back.. those that remember will know that even though i was using compatible paint and CC.. the CC coat ate certain colours and i walked away from the whole debacle.

Looks like 2 years is what it took to get me to come back to this, Ive replaced the pink that got eaten to cheese with acrylic lacquer, but this meant that i lost ALL the text that says 50 POINTS WHEN LIT.
 I was going to paint it in by hand but thought id give waterslide a go.
Took a few hours to draw up the text from scans taken at the very start of the restore.. no fonts fit this exactly, so i vectorised the whole thing.. oh and the 2 sides are not the same.. i had to tweek the size and ratios for the 2nd side.
I double printed the text to get a  better depth of colour.. can be a bit thin otherwise, i actually did this by accident. I printed one off but had some grease from my thumb which showed on the print. I put the paper back in and it printed in exactly the same spot, so i did another double print with the paper inverted. A spray with clear lacquer and shes ready to go
In all honesty, this was so easy to do and really does look bloody great. Ill leave it to dry a few hours and then CC over the top to seal....

Heres the before and after shots





Second side... this still had some text left and so was aligned to go over the top...




Im going to paint the red inside the text... this is the easy bit... its the black POINTS WHEN LIT that i really wanted.

Anyway.. waterslides... BLOODY BRILLIANT!!!

[ktm450]

nice work mate 

[Pinprick]

That looks like a very nice job . . .

Forgive my ignorance, but is waterslide a particular type of film?
Is it thinner than clear self adhesive label film?
Is it Inkjet compatible?
Is it easily obtainable e.g. Officeworks etc?

Thanks

PP

[Retropin]

Yes.. its a very thin film thats over waxed blotting paper.. you print with a standard ink jet printer.. allow to dry and then spray a clear over the top to seal. You then cut out the design and soak in water for approx 30 secs.. wet the area it needs to be applied to and the film slides off the paper and you get a little bit of time to align. Press out water with a cloth and allow to dry.
Officeworks didnt have it in brisbane.. apparently Melb stock it, but this is QLD and its a bit backward.
I got my sheets off Ebay

[Pinprick]

Thanks heaps for the information - much appreciated.
I'm always looking for different & better ways of applying graphics prior to CC.
I will try my luck here in W.A. or follow your lead and search Ebay.

Cheers

PP

[Strangeways]

Interesting mate - you would be the last person I'd expect to see with a waterslide decal on a resto - but that's progress for ya !

[Retropin]

Interesting mate - you would be the last person I'd expect to see with a waterslide decal on a resto - but that's progress for ya !

Told ya before Nino... if you lose all the text, its really bloody hard to paint it in and get it to look aligned and at this size text, its a nightmare. The film is so thin that 1 coat CC and its invisible. This is MY Bank A ball.. a keeper ( lol famous last words!)... im really pleased with the results

[Strangeways]

Interesting mate - you would be the last person I'd expect to see with a waterslide decal on a resto - but that's progress for ya !

Told ya before Nino... if you lose all the text, its really bloody hard to paint it in and get it to look aligned and at this size text, its a nightmare. The film is so thin that 1 coat CC and its invisible. This is MY Bank A ball.. a keeper ( lol famous last words!)... im really pleased with the results

so this is how I can tackle my Aces High test area ?

[Mr Pinbologist]

Nice job there 

There is also waterslide decal paper you can buy for laser printers from the link below

http://www.thecopiercompany.com.au/products.asp?id=129

This is what i have been using lately for this application (replacing text). The beauty of this stuff, is no need to spray with acrylic clear etc before using, meaning thinner even less noticeable decals!!

[millsy]

Excellent result there Gav 
Yes the waterslide decals are a great alternative.
Have used them on cabs,aprons & PF, currently experimenting using them on a backglass.

[Olivia_jason]

i dont know if this is the same for painting these things, but i have used acrylic lacquers painting cars. not sure if you use car paints or not, but if you use acrylic laquer purpse thinners it can be very harsh and can cause reactions with even other acrylics. it will give it the best finish using the suited thinners off the gun as far as gloss, but using general purpose thinners can be a safer option for less reactions esp if painting over old paint. just thought id say that, from what i have experienced with painting acrylics.

[Retropin]

Original cock up was with using a Monokan 2K clear.. have used this before on a whole PF with no problems./... it only ate the pink areas on the BAB.
Yes... im now using acrylic lacquers with standard all purpose thinners and then a retarder thinner for top coat to give a better gloss if required.
Still have to take care though...CC must be done in layers to build up and allowed to completely dry before applying final coat... it can soften the paint underneath otherwise