I just put finish over a decal and the thing fisheyed like you won't believe and turned up on the edges a little too. I used a little bit of chromaseal around the edges just to build a little ramp more than anything (first time trying that). The decal is a peel and stick from decal connection (first time using these too). I've used other decals before and have had no problems at all so I'm really lost now. I cleaned the blank with alcohol really well before putting it on and used the vinyl application fluid on it and then cleaned the blank again to get all of that off. The only thing I can think is the chromaseal which makes absolutely no sense since I used it on the threads too. I also tinkered a bit with the "electric decals" and put a touch of chroma seal around edge of that and the same thing happened. HELP!

David Page
E-town, KY.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2009 08:17PM by David Page.

The alcohol was most likely your problem. Never use solvent as the last step in surface preparation.

You can test your Chromaseal easy enough - take a scrap blank and wipe with alcohol. Then rinse with water. Scuff with Scotchbrite, then seal with Chromaseal. Let dry and apply finish. Does it fisheye? If yes, throw it out. But I'm betting it won't. The problem is elsewhere, you just need to eliminate things one at a time.

.......

David,

IF you plan to use more peel and stick decals in the future, I suggest a spray can of called Krylon Workable Fixatif. Art and hobby stores carry it and it's the cats meow for putting over decals to prevent an "issues" with them. A couple light coats sprayed on, allowed to dry and finish over = perfect decals every single time. It wasn't likely the CP or the alcohol in my humble opinion, I think it's the adhesive on the decal that gets "mashed out from under" and the finish reacts against it. The harder you press the decal or burnish it, the worse the problem shows up. The CP would have worked if you had enough of it there to seal it down completely and likely you did not since CS is so thin. I've found that warming the finish in the decal area makes it even worse = thinner finish separates easier so avoid that as well. .

DR