decal advice
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Make sure that your paint is fully cured. It can take up to 30 days for paint to reach full hardness. Installing decals should not be rushed. The paint must be free of all dirt, grease and oils or the decal will not stick properly. Knowing WHERE to place your decals is very important. Guide lines should be penciled onto the hood, side panels, seat backs, decks, blowers, blades etc first.....using measuring tapes or rulers along with straight-edges where required. Like all things, preparation is key.rdrat69 said:
Decals come with a thing called "masking" to protect the sticky side. The biggest mistake people make is to remove the mask too early, especially on large decals. When applying a dash decal, you must work with only one half of the decal at a time. The starting point is the spot where the dash is bent. Cut out the hole for the steering column first. This will allow you to drop the decal into place and line it up. Use masking tape to secure the decal in place. Right now, you can move the decal around on the dash freely to line it up everywhere and make sure that the decal is buried deeply into the crease where the dash changes direction. Once you have the decal lined up and secured with tape. then mark where the crease is using a red China marking pencil. You will want to use those marks to line the decal back up again shortly.
Remove the strips of tape securing the decal to the tractor and then lift the decal off. If the mask on the decal is not slit right at the crease, then draw a line on the mask to show where the crease is. Then... remove only the mask that covers the part of the decal below the crease. You should have a spray bottle of clean water with a few drops of dishwashing detergent in it. Spray the dash area with the soap water. Then carefully slide the decal back over the steering column and line up the red marks with the crease in the dash. Tape the upper part of the decal down for the moment. You must begin AT the crease with a plastic squeegee with downward strokes near the steering column at first and then slowly working your way to either side of the decal. You are trying to squeegee out the soapy water along with any air bubbles. Go slowly and always work from the middle to the edges. Make sure that the decal does not shift from where you had it lined up. Sometimes it is necessary to use a sharp needle to prick a bubble to remove the air but this should be a last resort technique. If you were careful at the start in creating your red lines and then in placing the decal, everything should line up. If you are happy with how the bottom half turned out, then remove the tape holding the top half. Spray the metal with the soapy water now and then remove the rest of the mask carefully so that you do not tear or stretch the decal.
Once again, you should start from crease and move upward... focusing on the center and moving to the edges. You must make sure that the decal is pressed tightly into the bent area of the dash all the way across or it will be suspended above the metal and never adhere. I have seen lots of decals fail at this spot. Only after the decal is fully installed should you use an Xacto knife to cut out holes and slots in the decal for choke, throttle, gauges, ignition switch, bolts etc. Hood decals should be done the same way. Remove only one half of the mask while the other half is securely taped to the hood. Use the soapy water and start from the middle and work your way to the end of the decal while holding it away from the hood until the last possible second. Make sure the decal follows your guide lines on the hood or it will go on crooked. The soapy water allows you to line the decal up prior to squeegeeing it down.. The soapy water interferes with the adhesion until you squeeze it out. Allow your decals at least a month before you wash the tractor and even then....... keep the pressure washer away from them or you run the risk of blowing them off.
Joined
·
160 Posts
this tractor is all apart for painting,so steering wheel is no problem,guess i need to check dates on some pictures to see if paint is hardened enough,i used a hardner agent when mixed will that make a differance on time to wait?well i need to get the china marker and little squeegee,thank you much,will get pictures when applied,Kyle
Joined
·
20 Posts
Just use a mixture of water and small amount of dish detergent, then keep squeegying till all water bubbles areremoved.
Joined
·
164 Posts
Only thing missed, :sidelaugh: is room temperature should ideally be around 70° :thumbsup:Hydriv said:
Joined
·
20 Posts
I have not used Maple Hunters, but I think Steve G. does his this way. I have my own made up. I started before M/H was making them. We put heavy equiptment ones on this way. Use a spray bottle, it really works
Joined
·
2,831 Posts
I recently put one on my 446 with great results from Maple Hunter.
I would not attempt it without a solution of some kind. I use Rapid Tach II solution.
Practice before doing it. Have a plan of the operation in your head before you commit to it. For example keep the dash wet with solution. Be sure the squeegee you use is clean and straight with no marks or anything that will scratch. Slowly squeegee as you work the decal toward the bend that goes down or up the dash taking extra caution to adhere it in the bend and be careful to not stretch the decal when squeegeeing it to hard.
Those are somethings I experienced anyway.
Dash decals are the hardest to install and most noticeable when they are put on wrong so take your time.
We want a pic when its done. :thumbup: Good luck!
I would not attempt it without a solution of some kind. I use Rapid Tach II solution.
Practice before doing it. Have a plan of the operation in your head before you commit to it. For example keep the dash wet with solution. Be sure the squeegee you use is clean and straight with no marks or anything that will scratch. Slowly squeegee as you work the decal toward the bend that goes down or up the dash taking extra caution to adhere it in the bend and be careful to not stretch the decal when squeegeeing it to hard.
Those are somethings I experienced anyway.
Dash decals are the hardest to install and most noticeable when they are put on wrong so take your time.
We want a pic when its done. :thumbup: Good luck!
Joined
·
87 Posts
MJoe has given good advice.
FYI, I also put a Maplehunter dash decal on my '86 446. I used Rapid Tach II solution after seeing MJoe had tried it on an earlier project. You don't need to use much. It works very well and is forgiving, so if you start to lay it down and find it's not quite aligned, you can lift, realign and lay it down again. I personally would not attempt installing a dash decal without a release agent of some kind.
Make sure the dash surface is properly prepped (nice smooth surface). Fill any pits or deep scratches and make sure to remove any leftover bits of old decal. Surface imperfections will show through.
Just take your time, it should turn out great. Good luck!
FYI, I also put a Maplehunter dash decal on my '86 446. I used Rapid Tach II solution after seeing MJoe had tried it on an earlier project. You don't need to use much. It works very well and is forgiving, so if you start to lay it down and find it's not quite aligned, you can lift, realign and lay it down again. I personally would not attempt installing a dash decal without a release agent of some kind.
Make sure the dash surface is properly prepped (nice smooth surface). Fill any pits or deep scratches and make sure to remove any leftover bits of old decal. Surface imperfections will show through.
Just take your time, it should turn out great. Good luck!
Joined
·
352 Posts
The grips on golf clubs are fastened with double sided tape. The tape is put on the shaft of the club and then a solution is applied to the sticky portion of the tape that makes contact with the new grip being applied. I do not know what the solution consists of, but is allows the grip to slide over the sticky tape and can easily be moved to the desired location. When dry, you can not move the grip at all and it needs to be cut off to be removed. Golf suppliers sell this solution by the bottle and I have used it for decal application once with very good results. I think this might be an good alternative to water/soap solution, but opinions may vary.
http://www.golfsmith.com/product/30043603/golfsmith-grip-kit-package
http://www.golfsmith.com/product/30043603/golfsmith-grip-kit-package
Joined
·
160 Posts
Joined
·
160 Posts
thanks Mjoe7 the color is rally red its a ppg product,i know its not an original color but i really like it,a little influence from my grandson,he's all about the red colors and mario,-seems the more we do to these[mantoys] the more we want to do,Kyle
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
