Faceplate - does varnsish on transparent prints work..?

[überfuzz]

I have a homebrew that is going to get a printed faceplate. The idea is to print figures and stuff on adhesive transparent printable paper. Attach this and finish off with some transparent varnish. Has anybody done something similar, does it work?

There are some vendors shipping CLEAR Water Slide Decal Paper on ebay. And then there's thicker adhhesive transparent stickers that are printable. Any ideas of how I should do this..?

[Mick Bailey]

I use Lazertran with a laser printer (there's also an inkjet version) and it works superbly. You can't tell it from silk-screening when shot over with acrylic clearcoat.

Because the stuff is expensive and the printed artwork is often much smaller than a full sheet, I cut a rectangle of Lazertran a little bigger than the finished design and use brown gum strip top and bottom (lick-and-stick) to hold it in the middle of a sheet of paper. Then I run it through the printer.

[überfuzz]

Ok thanks, I guess my idea isn't that wonky after all. The waterslide decal paper is kind of the same stuff you proposed, right? The stuff I found on ebay is pricey, but affordable... I don't get how you use that gum strip, but maybe I'll figure something out if I don't fill an sheet.

About the acrylic clear coat, is that like the stuff to use, or is any clear lacquer ok?

[dmartn149]

I bought clear waterslide at Hobby Lobby. You need to spray clear over the printing before getting it wet with water, then spray over it again after it is in place and dry. The only downside to it is that you can't print white with a home inkjet.

[J M Fahey]

Not exactly the same, but I sometimes print one-off special jobs which do not justify silkscreening, on *any* inkjet, on self-adhesive glossy paper (used for labels).
I clean the aluminum front panel *very* well, I even lightly sand it before with 600 or 800 grit paper so surface is absolutely even, I degrease it with some solvent and only then stick the printed paper slow and careful.
The main problem is air bubbles or wrinkles, so I first run a finger along the middle and then "brush" the sheet "outside" to take any slack.
Be careful because good adhesive paper is *very* sticky, and once it touches something, it stays there, period.
After that I run over it all ways with a clean folded handkerchief, so every little point gets pressed evenly.

Only after the paper is sticking for good I give it 2 or 3 layers of acrylic clearcoat (think Krylon)
Not before sticking because I found the varnish solvents kill adhesive tacking.

Warning:Krylon also has a certain type which is halfway between the fast , solvent only acrylic one and a regular varnish which requires *hours* to dry.

"Fast drying" on the label is not enough, you need practically instant drying (less than 5 minutes)

Apply one light coat, don't be heavy handed, let dry at least 10/15 minutes, apply other, so on until you're happy.

This is one very simple example of that:



I have also printed a full colour background (dark magenta is my "trademark" ) with white lettering which is very easy to read onstage, but in a couple years if a drunk/stoned musician misses the jack hole and repeatedly hits the paper around it he eventually chews the surface colour and the white paper below shows up.

While white (unpainted) background or simply leaving a white rectangle around jacks lasts more.

Once varnished the paper surface stands a moist (not dripping wet) cleaning rag now and then.
It has saved my ass more than once.

FWIW I prefer Epson inkjet printers because most of them can be set to and accept a sheet of paper as long as 44" (not a typo) while all others accept only up to Legal paper (14")

[überfuzz]

I found some transparent water slide decal... stuff on ebay. They were 10€ for 5 pieces. Not cheap but not to pricey.

[Chuck H]

I'll add that while glossy looks cool in some applications, it's not appropriate for this one. The glossier the finish, the more reflection will be visible in surface anomalies. And you will never get enough finish on smoothly enough to make it a perfectly flat surface. So use a satin finish or even lower for the top coats.

[Mick Bailey]

Here's a pedal I built using Lazertran. The front is grey primer with the waterslide applied and clear lacquer over the top (Plastikote). The back is direct to metal. The lacquer completely dissolves throught the decal, so it's permanent. On the back you can see how it's slightly spread the pixellated characters due to too-heavy spraying. I'll re-do this at some point.

[überfuzz]

Very nice!

Ok, easy with the spray you say... So I should just go over it fast the first time?

[Chuck H]

Yup. Fast dry. Several light coats. It's even ok if it's several spotty coats because the idea is that you don't want product solvents to dissolve the printing. So, light and fast. Once you know you have good coverage you can go with more material per coat. But it's best not to go too heavy even then if only because the finish looks better that way.

[J M Fahey]

Here's a pedal I built using Lazertran. The front is grey primer with the waterslide applied and clear lacquer over the top (Plastikote). The back is direct to metal.

Excellent, looks exactly like silkscreening.

Impressive.

[Mick Bailey]

Even more like silk screening when you catch it in the light - the lettering is ever-so-slightly raised.

[überfuzz]

I've tinkered with the water slide decals now. Finished 3 or 4 layers of transparent varnish, semi gloss. Looks very good! I'll post pictures in a day or two.

[überfuzz]

I did some water slide decals and, slid them into place... I'm pretty satisfied with the result. (Don't comment on my camera work.)

[Chuck H]

Way to go! What an eye catcher! Oh... The faceplate looks good too

Is that automotive paint? The look and colors are both cool and different. It can be hard to pull off both, but you did.