Have anybody have trouble with Mudhole's decals ? I bought 2 from Mudhole, I installed them just like they showed on Facebook live and both decals peeled away from the blank when I applied the Procoat finish on. The edges peeled away. I am pretty upset with what happened. I can never trust there decals again.

You might want to contact Mudhole and ask them about the issue. If this were a standing problem with their decals, they wouldn't have been able to sell them over these so many years.

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Yes ,I will. I don't want say anything bad about Mudhole. I buy 95% of my rodbuilding supplies from them and love them. I think there great, this is the first problem with their stuff

I find that they may require precise and extra burnishing especially on the edges to insure that the decal adhesive affixes firmly. I just did a fish flag decal and it worked perfectly.
I have used several of their decals and any minor problem I had I would attribute to operator error.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

Michael,

When I apply a decal that might be a little older, I will wrap over the decal with some package cord, or thicker string, to make sure the edges of the decal are down on the rod blank. Then, as a must, I apply two coats of color preserver over the decal and let it dry before applying an epoxy. This method has never failed for me. I used to worry when apply decals...not now!

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com

These were brand new decals. I burns them real good with my finger and then a burnishing tool. I followed Mudhole directions and both decals curled up at the edges after applying Procote. I did email Mudhole, so I'll wait to see what they say.

Did you apply them on top of a coat of epoxy, or on the blank itself? I find applying them on top of a thin coat of epoxy works best. I also apply them just after the epoxy coat has set up so that it will no longer fingerprint, of course do the fingerprint test on the left over epoxy mix, not the blank.

Michael, Did you use any color preserver? I always use two coats and never have had a problem with Mudhole's decals

Ron Jack
Bowdoin, Maine

These are the custom print decals Handcrafted by decals . Mudhole said you don't need color preserver. I installed just as they showed on Facebook live show the other night.

Ron Jack Wrote:
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> Michael, Did you use any color preserver? I
> always use two coats and never have had a problem
> with Mudhole's decals

I put two coats on of CP making sure to cover the edges. You cannot tell it was used other than the fact your decals won't peel up. That's with all decals.It also helps to have a coat of epoxy down first before applying the decal.

Michael,
One thing that I do, is to take a dowel that is about 1/2 the size of the blank where the decal is going to be placed.

Then, I will take the decal - with it still with its protective backing and wrap the decal tightly around the dowl. Then, I put a layer of saran wrap over the decal and finally wrap it tightly with tape and let is sit for a period of time during the building cycle of the rod or longer.

Now, when I take the decal off, and place it on the rod, it has been preshaped to be perfectly fit for the blank. After applying the decal, I will again wrap a layer of saran wrap over the decal and tape it tight and leave it for at least two days before applying any finish.

I never use CP on the decals

I like your idea Roger, I'll try it next time.

It works for me , get the decal bent some before the application that way it don't peal up easy

William Sidney
AK

maybe apply the label and give it some heat from a hair dryer.. the heat may relax the plastic enough to take on the shape of the rod..

Almost 20 years ago RodMaker featured an article on "bending" decals around a mandrel slightly smaller in OD than the blank, plus how to use thread wraps to bind the decal to the rod blank prior to finishing.

Now here's some other issues to be aware of - a finish that takes longer to set will allow more time for the finish to work its way under any loose decal edges. Where decals are concerned, a quicker set of the finish is desirable. CP can be helpful but is not always required. Generally, if the epoxy will bond to the decal surface without being repelled and resulting in craters or large dry areas, it's not needed.

The issue most of the time is a good, solid bond of the decal to the rod blank, particularly at the edges. This is even more important on smaller diameter rod blanks where the decal is forced to conform to a tighter/smaller radius.

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It is best when using regular Pro Kote, to allow the finish to sit for 10 to 15 minutes for applying it to a decal. When Pro Kote is first mixed, it is very thin and will tend to migrate under a decal and lift it. When it sits for a bit, it will thicken just enough to not migrate under the decal. Thank You

Bob McKamey
Mud Hole Custom Tackle
bobm@mudhole.com

How I do most of mine is to apply the decal right after your put on the handles and reel seat and before you wrap the guides. I gently heat the decal with a hair fryer before applying. In the winter I also warm up the rod blank. Then I wrap the decal in thread like you were doing an underwrap then hit it with a bit more warm air and let the decal stay under the thread until you are ready to apply epoxy on the rod or at least overnight. No CP needed, this has worked very well for me especially on the decals I make with my Pearlable 270 printer which I think may be a tad thicker.

I will say that by using Rogers suggestion first is probably a great idea.

Tom

I use a rubber printer's roller. Works every time