Waterslide Decal on Warmoth Bass

[BASS ESCAPE]

Hi Guys,
I just added a custom waterslide decal to my Warmoth bass. What kind of clear-coat would you recommend I apply to seal the deal?

Thanks!

 

[Strat Avenger]

Where did you get the decal?

 

[BASS ESCAPE]

Where did you get the decal?

I was able to get some paper on Amazon and print it myself. Pretty wild.

 

[stratamania]

Is there already another finish under the decal?

 

[Cagey]

I bury laser-printed decals in lacquer headstock finishes that turn out pretty good...

You need to put a thin finish on the face (just a couple coats) and sand it back fairly fine so you have a flat, non-porous surface for the decal to adhere to. 400 grit is fine enough.

Clean the surface with naphtha, apply the decal, and give it plenty of time to dry - you don't want any moisture under the succeeding coats of finish. So... 24 hours or so.

A fine mist finish over that, to seal the toner so it doesn't melt and get fuzzy-looking from exposure to acetone. Toner is actually super-fine plastic powder, so it'll melt in the presence of acetone if it's wet too long.

Once that's well-dry, you can start putting cover coats on the whole face. Figure 3 or 4 at least.

Using a flat sanding block, sand over the decal area only, clean it off with naphtha, and shoot it again.

Repeat 3 or 4 times, about an hour between coats. This has the effect of raising the surface around the decal while maintaining the decal's height. At that point, it should appear that there are no edges to the decal. If there are, a few more shoot/sand cycles should finally level it.

Once it's level, a couple/few more cover coats for good measure, then let it sit for a couple weeks.

Level and finish sand, buff out with compound, and polish. Viola! Buried headstock decal!

 

[bagman67]

Any thoughts on shellac as the first coat over the decal before you start laying on coats of lacquer?  That would seem likely to diminish the risk of melting the toner.

 

[Cagey]

I haven't tried it since I haven't needed to, but it makes some sense.

The acetone in lacquer boils off remarkably fast, and the laser's toner won't dissolve instantly like inkjet pigment/dye, so a light lacquer mist just to temper it a bit seems to work out fine.

I worried about it before trying it the first time, so I did some experiments to ease my mind. Too much, and while it doesn't melt to where it'll run, it will blur any sharp edges, making things look "out of focus". Too little, and you don't get continuous coat and it's protection, but it's better to err on the light side.

 

[LP Freak]

I used a Minwax nitro rattle can from Lowe’s and it worked great.

 

[apw100]

Here is an application and finishing guide created by customer decal maker Rothko and Frost.

https://www.rothkoandfrost.com/downloads/1518364846CLS002-CLS-Waterslide-Decals-Application-Instructions.pdf

 

[pirate]

I bury laser-printed decals in lacquer headstock finishes that turn out pretty good...

You need to put a thin finish on the face (just a couple coats) and sand it back fairly fine so you have a flat, non-porous surface for the decal to adhere to. 400 grit is fine enough.

Clean the surface with naphtha, apply the decal, and give it plenty of time to dry - you don't want any moisture under the succeeding coats of finish. So... 24 hours or so.

A fine mist finish over that, to seal the toner so it doesn't melt and get fuzzy-looking from exposure to acetone. Toner is actually super-fine plastic powder, so it'll melt in the presence of acetone if it's wet too long.

Once that's well-dry, you can start putting cover coats on the whole face. Figure 3 or 4 at least.

Using a flat sanding block, sand over the decal area only, clean it off with naphtha, and shoot it again.

Repeat 3 or 4 times, about an hour between coats. This has the effect of raising the surface around the decal while maintaining the decal's height. At that point, it should appear that there are no edges to the decal. If there are, a few more shoot/sand cycles should finally level it.

Once it's level, a couple/few more cover coats for good measure, then let it sit for a couple weeks.

Level and finish sand, buff out with compound, and polish. Viola! Buried headstock decal!

Have you experimented with trying to apply a decal onto finely burnish headstocks? After 2000 grit?

 

[Cagey]

Yes, using the same process as described above. It was a highly-burnished roasted Maple neck that I would normally never apply a finish to, but I only finished the face of the headstock so as to bury the decal. It was a customer's neck who didn't decide he wanted a decal until after it had been burnished, otherwise I wouldn't have polished the headstock face so fine. Worked out well, although only time will tell how well the finish survives on the edges, as applying finish to a piece that smooth doesn't give the finish material much to grab onto.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Where did you get the decal?

I was able to get some paper on Amazon and print it myself. Pretty wild.

Can I get you to make me a couple like that?