Decal question

[jzerger]

I am getting ready to try decals on pens. I have read most everything in the library and numerous threads here. My question is: what is the best/easiest blank to put them on. I'd like to put them on wood; do you finish the blank first with a CA finish before applying the decal, then sealing it, and then more CA ?
I'm concerned about water from the decal getting on the wood.
Thanks for your patience and help.
John

 

[wouldentu2?]

Apply the CA, sand and polish to 12000 with Micromesh and then apply the decal.

The shiny surface under the decal will hide the decal. You don't need a lot of coats of CA just enough to make it smooth and shine.

I do wood ones all the time and use the above procedure.

Top coat the decal with CA. Thicker the deal the more CA coats to hide it.

Water slide decals take about 8 coats of "thin" CA.

 

[Ulises Victoria]

In plastic modeling, before applying a decal, they apply a coat of gloss paint. Even if the final result was going to be a flat look. Why? If looked under a microscope, flat paint looks grainy, with a lot of hills and valleys which trap air between them. Shiny paint has a more uniform surface. So... shiny is more uniform than flat. Not to mention wood. So you want to apply a coat of whatever gives you the shiniest surface you can get, to have the less possible amount of air trapped between your decal and your surface. What you do after applying the decal is another matter, but at the very basic, you want what I described above. Hope this helps.