Water Slide Decal paper

[nash]

I’m doing a parts build for a customer and I want to put an “assembled by...” logo on the back of the headstock. 

I saw this inject water slide decal paper on eBay. Has anyone used this and how good is it?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F181840164873

[Guest MoJo]

I looked into this a few years back, bought the paper then never bothered as it was far easier to order them from this guy

Guitar Decals UK

His decals are good quality and reasonable priced. 

[Jabba_the_gut]

I’ve used some of the clear stuff before. It’s very thin and gives a good finish. Not sure if it was the same brand but you could get inkjet or laser paper. I used the laser one and finished over it with water based lacquer. I seem to remember that the laser one can’t be finished with nitro and the inkjet can’t be finished with water based finishes.

Cheers

Jez

[discreet]

I've just done my first DIY decal with waterslide inkjet paper. It's a bit different from using commercial decals, but it is quite possible to get good results. Took me a couple of goes, but once I got the hang of it everything was fine. Just like anything else, really.

Main difference is that after printing you need to spray the decal with nitro or acrylic clear coat so that the inks don't smear when you place it in water. My first effort went tits-up because I didn't apply enough clear. After that it was all good. Will definitely be doing my own from now on.

Edited September 23, 2018 by discreet

[Grangur]

I've used inkjet waterslide paper. It worked well for me.

Something to be aware of is that after you print the work, you need to spray it with lacquer to give the decal something to hold it together. Waterslide paper is, in effect, paper with a waterbased gelatine on the surface. So the lacquer provides the substance that holds it together.  If you don't lacquer it, all the letters will float off the decal in the water.

When you apply the decal, don't be afraid to get the headstock wet, even with bare wood. Soak the decal well, make sure the gelatine is well wetted and dissolving. If you don't soak well, the decal will always have a milky look to it when applied to natural wood.

When the decal is dry, sand down the edges of the decal to soften the edges and spray a good few coats of lacquer over the top to allow you to sand it some more and get rid of the lines.

[discreet]

1 minute ago, Grangur said:

When the decal is dry, sand down the edges of the decal to soften the edges and spray a good few coats of lacquer over the top to allow you to sand it some more and get rid of the lines.

Good advice. I found that applying a DIY decal to a white headstock helps a lot with this!

[Guest MoJo]

On 22/09/2018 at 23:30, discreet said:

I've just done my first DIY decal with waterslide inkjet paper. It's a bit different from using commercial decals, but it is quite possible to get good results. Took me a couple of goes, but once I got the hang of it everything was fine. Just like anything else, really.

Main difference is that after printing you need to spray the decal with nitro or acrylic clear coat so that the inks don't smear when you place it in water. My first effort went tits-up because I didn't apply enough clear. After that it was all good. Will definitely be doing my own from now on.

That looks pretty good. I'm tempted to give it a go now

[nash]

Thanks for the help everyone.