Has anyone attempted to apply a vinyl decal to bare thread & then apply your finish & how did it turn out?
Thanks,
Jeff

I haven't tried it so maybe someone else would have more insight. If you are going to do this you will have to use color preserver, and before you put the decal in place. Otherwise your color will be slightly different under the decal, or a lot different with no CP at all because the finish will not penetrate completely under the decal. With a couple coats of CP applied prior to the decal your color will remain the same with or without the decal. Now the decal sticking good?? Depends on what kind you use.

Gaps in thread where decal would not be touching anything might expose adhesive to finish and cause a problem-have to try it-holler w/results. Burnishing decal over bare thread could cause thread texture to show through decal also.

I've done it, but it's not easy, you have to wait until your finish is thickened up enough to hold the decal in place and not lift it.

DR

Just curious as to why you would do this???

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Just to see if I could skip a step if I needed to Mike :-)

It's NOT something I do, but just something I have tried with success a couple years ago. I would NOT recommend it!!! It can get you in more trouble than it's worth. Read that last line again.

DR

Mike, the vinyl material is extremely thick in comparison to other decal mediums. It requires me to apply two coats of finish. Since I'm going to apply the vinyl over thread, I was curious to see if anyone had skipped the the first coat over the thread only. The present finish I use is low build & I have no issues with it & will continue to use it.

Makes sense, Just wondering

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Jeff,

Something that helps cover the thick decals is to let your finish thicken more before application. You may already do this, you can get by with one coat once it thickens, but that coat is likely to be as thick as the 2 you had to begin with.

DR

Duane, I went ahead and tried it anyways & got good results. I put the second coat on this morning & you cannot tell that I simply applied the vinyl to the thread only. I maybe got lucky & wont make it a regular thing to do.
Thanks everyone,
Jeff

Glad it worked out for you Jeff. Like I said, I've done it several times also and it can be done as you have seen. I just don't trust it because the fail ratio is higher. When you have one fail, you can end up with a mess of sticky in the finish from the decal and into the thread that cant be dealt with easily. End result may be a bigger decal! :-)

DR

So how did you get the color of the thread under the decal to match what wasn't ? or did you put it on NCP?

Cody, I used black nylon, the vinyl does not let the thread underneath show.
Jeff

I've dont it on GB green nylon with no CP, the finish will penetrate the edges of the thread around the decal and you wont see whats under the decal like Jeff suggested. The appearance will be no different than putting finish on the thread 1st and adding the decal the normal way. Again, the failure rate is much higher.

DR