Decals and vintage tint satin nitro

[stephen78]

Hi everyone. Newbie here. I did some searching on this topic, but there seems to be a few different methods. I'm planning on getting a Warmoth neck finished with Vintage Tint Satin Nitro. I would like to apply some sort of custom made waterslide decal (haven't decided the design yet). What sort of clear coat should I use once the decal is applied that would work with the vintage tint satin nitro (that hopefully won't ruin the look of the satin finish applied by Warmoth)? Also if you can recommend some specific brands and the method you used (applying/sanding/etc.) that would be much appreciated. I've never done anything like this so I'm a complete novice. Thanks in advance!

 

[Cagey]

I don't remember reading of anybody doing that. I suspect if you wanted to get a professional result, you'd need to apply the decal to the headstock color coat before any satin finish went on, or the decal would reveal too much. If there's already satin finish on there, you'd probably want to shoot a coat or two of clear gloss, sand it level, then apply the decal, then 3 or 4 coats of clear before you start level sanding again, then alternately sanding/coating until the decal is buried, then a satin finish coat. It sounds like more work than it is. I've done it before (without the satin) and if you mask off everything but the headstock face, you can do a sand/shoot step once an hour over the course of a day. Takes about 10 minutes per round.

Difference would be once the decal is buried nicely, you would finish sand and shoot the final coat with satin. Remove the masking and clean it up.

 

[stratamania]

I did a headstock with satin nitro and a decal; if anything the decal reveals less than with gloss as I recall. Although it is a while since I did it so take that for what its worth.

I would just give the face of the headstock a light sanding to get rid of any compound that may be on it. Then pretty much proceed as Cagey mentioned but using a satin nitro. 

Whichever method employed there is no guarantee that the satin you use will match Warmoths. But you could probably get close.

 

[BigSteve22]

I have no experience with shooting nitro. I used Minwax satin lacquer rattle cans on my necks because I like the way the finish shines up a bit on the back but doesn't get draggy or sticky. Granted my finishing technique is NOT as pretty as most, but I do bury the decal in the lacquer with no problems even using the satin for all coats. Here's a pic I shot at an extreme oblique angle, back lit, using a macro:

This has 3 coats as a base, then the decal, 3 spatter coats to build up the edges, and 3 or 4 top coats. That slight orange peel is really exaggerated by the lighting and the angle and nearly invisible at normal viewing ranges, but you can see that the decal is completely buried with no visible edges.

 

[stephen78]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I did a little more research and found this thread...the 11th reply seems to have some good instruction:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=17997.msg266285#msg266285

 

[Ace Flibble]

Lightly sand back the Warmoth finish, apply the decal, then it's just a question of building up enough layers of nitro to 'bury' the thickness of the decal, + 2-3 passes on top so you can sand it a little to finish it properly, without sanding back through to the decal.

Any nitrocellulose spray will work fine. The rule is you can spray nitro on poly but you can't spray poly on top of nitro. So as long as you don't use a poly spray, you're fine.