Do you have time for one more decal question?

[tommy2tone]

I followed hanau tutorial in the libary. But my results were terrible.
Here's what I did (after turning the PR blank round):
1. Applied 2 coats of MED ca. Let dry over night.
2. I let decal (inkjet, white decalpaper from decalpaper.com) dry 24hrs, sprayed with Krylon Clear from walmart, let dry 24hrs.
3. Applied decal and got smooth. Let dry 24hrs.
4. Applied layer of thin CA with paper towel. Let dry 24hrs
5. Applied about 5 coats med CA during commerical breaks (like someone mentioned here.)
6. Started with numbers 3-9 of micromesh. This destroyed the decal, that's why no pictures... I figured 1-2 would be too rough.
Here is a picture of the decal I was trying to do.
It was on a slightly oversized slimline to make it fit.

 

[plantman]

Jeff; It would be better if you showed us a photo of the wrecked decal so we can get a more detailed idea of what is happening. Looking over your method, the only ways to destroy the decal is by to much heat buildup or sanding through the CA finish. I would also say that you might not have enough coats of CA to cover the edges of your decal enough. Also if you would use thick CA and accelerator evey 4th coat, you could finish your pen in about 15 minutes. After my 6-8 coats of thick CA, I hand sand, with power off, with 220 and 600. Than apply any good polish at high speed. Jim S

 

[Neededwill]

Also after printing my decals I let dry about 2 hours then spray one coat, wait an hour then a second coat. Let dry over night before cutting decal out. And I agree with Plantman, you can only do light mm sanding after ca is applied, it will get too hot.

 

[walshjp17]

Jeff,

Did you wet sand with the MM? I have found wet sanding works best and is less likely to remove CA down to the decal.

 

[Dalecamino]

If you are putting a decal on a PR blank, you don't need thin CA. So eliminate that step. After you have applied the Medium CA, wet sand with 400 wet/dry, until there are no shiny spots. Then, 600 wet/dry, then 2000 wet/dry. Then you can finish off with plastic polish. I use Novus II then Meguiars PlastX and swirl remover. Better if you have buffing compounds, and wheels.

Seems you have a couple of 24 hour steps too many here. I think there is one for the ink to dry after printing (although I don't remember waiting that long myself), then one for the decal to dry after it's applied to the blank. Hope this helps.

 

[RMayoIII]

I've done several decals without sanding through. I use all the mm pads wet sanding too. Seems like you're either spending too much time with each pad or the ca was not thick enough. I've also read alot about people "using the slurry", I never do this, always try to keep clear water flowing over the blank. Another thing I've heard is that some decals are thicker than others, you may have to go extra thick on the ca coats to get enough built up to sand flat without taking of the decal. Just my two cents!

 

[WildThings]

Probably the last 20 pens I've done have had decals on them. Blanks from Brooks803 turned down for a long clicker. At that point I wet sand them 150, 200, 300, 400, 600 and then wet sand them through all 9mm pads. They sure are shiny after that. My waterslide decals are from Hobby Lobby - Testor brand printed on a Epson Stylus NX420 inkjet, let dry about 15 minutes and spray a flash coat on them from an aerosol can of Krylon triplethick. 15 minutes later a heavier coat of TT and let dry overnight.

When applying the decal I submerge it into water for about 10 seconds and then put it on its side on a paper towel to drip for about 30 seconds. Apply to pen blank and let dry preferably overnight but have done them for about 4ish hours also.

Back on the lathe with a Harbor Freight blue nitrile glove on the left hand and blank mounted BTC. Lathe on slow speed ~550 rpm. With my right hand I drip Medium CA on the top of the blank in the middle and the gloved finger barely touching the bottom drag the CA to one end. Back to the middle another drop and drag to the other end. Step back wipe the excess CA off the gloved finger with a paper towel. Grab my accelerator and psssst a small amount at the blank. Put the accelerator down and grab the medium CA bottle and repeat with the next finger. Repeat all steps above though all 4 fingers TWICE for a total of 8 coats.

Put away the CA, accelerator and pull off the glove. Set a bowl of water under the blank. Turn the lathe off and grab some 150 grit sandpaper yes 150 grit. Sand lengthwise while rotating the blank by hand pretty aggressively. This removes the majority of the high spots. Squirt the dust off, turn the lathe on about 1000 rpm and wet sand with 600 till the blank is dull.

I stop the lathe and wipe the blank DRY with a paper towel. Look at the blank with a bright light shiny on it. Rotate it by hand. If you see any shiny spots, streaks back to wet sanding with 600 only until those shiny spots are gone.

All shiny spots gone!! Now its time to make it shine. Back to the mm through all grits (9 I think) Dry it off and polish it twice with Meguires plastic Polish. Finish with a coat of Renaissance wax.

From the time I mount the blank for CA'ing til the time I'm done it's no more than 15 minutes

WT

 

[Dick Mahany]

I have a secret weapon.........my trusty Ryobi heat gun. Hit the ink, check. Spray 1 coat of decal binder, check, Hit the bonder for about 2 mins with low to med heat, check. Repeat the bonder / heat cycle step, check. Apply decal and coat with thin CA to seal it. Then finish with General Woodturners Finish. Worked great, but I ruined many attempts before doing this. Now I'm a happy camper.