I have been putting decals on for years and have only had problems with one rod company's decals . His decals seem to partially float up thru the finish. I complained and they now send 2 decals with all blanks, which have to be on the rod for warranty work. I have cleaned the blank with rubbing alcohol, with a coat of dry flex coat applied first , apply decal, heat 10-15 seconds with heated hair dryer and the decal still comes loose, after a coat of finish, even after rubbing with a burnishing tool. Poor quality decals suck....... I think a seminar at the ICRBE on decals would be great!!!!!

We've done such seminars in the past. It may be time for a repeat. Thanks for the suggestion.

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Seems every blank I get comes with two decals. I sometimes need the second because I get the first one on off center.

I don't have problems with Rainshadow, Point Blank, Phenix, Amtak, or the new RX10's by Rainshadow. I vigorously use a burnishing tool over 100% of the area using the backing as a protector of the decal, then apply CP to the edge of the decal, just enough to seal the edge on peel and stick, over the whole decal on the "rub off" ones or whatever they are called.

My theory is that the CP seals the edges quite quickly, before they can lift, while epoxy, taking a lot longer to cure, has time to "attack" the edge. Not sure I'm right, but what I do works.

I put one coat of flex coat under my decal, allowing 24 hours to fully cure, then the decal-peel and stick. I wonder how the CP will behave ontop of this?

The CP is likely to cure your ails. You don't have to apply it around the entire circumference - just on the decal and just far enough out to cover the edges. Michael is correct. We covered this in RodMaker a few times now. CP dries before it can do any damage to the decal's adhesive. Epoxy takes much longer and tends to work its way under the decal edges and begin lifting it. Give it a test on a scrap piece of rod blank with a similar decal you have see if the CP doesn't solve things.

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What is CP?

CP means color preservative. A liquid product available from many companies, usually water based. It is applied to thread to prevent the color distortion that will occur when epoxy is applied.

Hello All.
Here are some articles to read on decals.

V/I Name Author Pg.
12/1 Decal Tips & Tricks! Their Electric. By Tom Kirkman. 16
9/2 Decaling, The Art of. By Jimi Ellis. 22
12/1 Decals & Labels, They're Electric. By Bobby Feazel. 10
18/5 Decals For Your Custom Rod (From The Pearl Lable Makers). By Pat Barnard. 14



Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Where can I find these volumns and issues ? I tried rod building forum library

I think Tom will respond on where to find them. Part of them deal with making your own decals on a computer, and one thing to keep in mind about ink jet printed decals is that not all ink jet ink is resistant to fading and color changes with sun and time exposure. And I know of no way to know which inks are better than others. If you do your own decals on an ink jet you may end up disappointed with them.

I know nothing about laser printers and decal performance.

The commercial suppliers of decals, like Decal Connection, offer decals printed with color-fast inks and I have seen no fading with them.

[www.rodmakermagazine.com]

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Gary,
There is a good video on You Tube from Rain Shadow about putting their decals on their rods.

1. Do NOT clean your blank with alcohol. -- This cleaning causes many more problems that it helps.

2. However, I do clean the blank with Windex. Never a problem using windex to clean the blank.

3. I do not put any finish on the bare blank before applying the finish.

4. The day before I am going to apply the finish, I take the decal and wrap it around a smooth object - like a drill bit at the base - that is a bit smaller than the location on the rod blank where you are going to apply the decal. Then, I take a strip of paper and wrap it around the object on which the decal has been wrapped and the decal itself and make the wrap nice and tight. Then, I will put a rubber band around the paper holding the decal tight - and let it sit for a day before applying. This gives the decan a nice circular shape so that the edges are all going to be a nice tight fit when applying the finish.

5. I use a pair of fine tweezers to hold the decal, once I have removed the backing from the decal if it it a peel and stick decal. By using the fine tipped tweezers one does not contaminate the decal.

6. Place the decal in place and then using a clean cloth or paper towel rud the decal to get a very secure adhesion to the rod.

7. Now go ahead and apply the finish to the deal and the rest of your wraps and after letting the finish dry - go and enjoy the rod, or if for a client, ship the rod.

Using this simple technique, I have never had an issue. Note: I personally almost never ever use CP for any reason. It is a fine product - but I simply don't care for the appearance that one gets when one uses cp on the threads or any other portion of the rod.

Just an individual preference. CP is a good product and if you like the look after its application, then by all means use it.

Note:
The heart of the application of the decals to a rod, is to preform the decal to the shape and size of the rod blank, so that after the decal has been removed from its circular resting spot, the decal wants to maintain that same shape on the rod.

Also, you mention heat during the application of a decal. I personally don't use heat with the decal application - but to each his own.

Take care

Heating a pressure sensitive label (peel and stick) softens the adhesive, which is the best way to remove one. Applying heat is a NO-NO!

Scrape it off with a razor blade.

I wrap over stubborn decals. Leave it for a few minutes. Remove the wrap and then epoxy. Never fresh "hot epoxy" and dont use any heat in the area.