Decal Pro Clear Coat

pmccoy · #1 12-14-2009, 10:54 AM

I bought a Decal Pro kit for making dry-transfers. I plan to use it for labeling on my panel.

I was wondering if those who have gone before me have any ideas on how to clear coat the results to improve the resistance to scratches? The dry transfers hold up ok to fingers or general rubbing, but anything with and edge (fingernails) goes right through the material and causes a nasty scratch.

So, is a clear coat the way to go? If so, what brand did you use and was there any special methods for application.

Of course the last question would be, how have your labels held up after using clear coat?

WingsOnWheels · #2 12-14-2009, 12:43 PM

It might be worth taking a look at the type of clearcoat they use on motorcycle helmets. The helment graphics are decals with a clearcoat that is tough as nails...

dedgemon · #3 12-14-2009, 12:48 PM

Peter,
I used decals and clear coat on the panel labels for my '8.

Not exactly the same though. I made decals used a laser printer on a sheet of lacquer decal paper (think good ole plastic airplane decals). So now you have a lacquer based decal on water soluble paper with the lettering in laser toner.

I sprayed the panel with PPG 2021 clear. This is a standard automotive clear. The results were very good.

Wish I could tell you how the dry transfers will act. The only way to really know is to make a test piece.

I know that Stein uses a "similar" approach so maybe he can tell you more.

RVG8tor · #4 12-14-2009, 12:53 PM

I used rustoleum "painter's touch Ultra Cover, with a matte finish. My panel is an enamel the color of the powder coated parts and I did a test of this and one other clear with a satin finish. I thought the rustoleum product looked better. The other seemed to darken the base color a bit. I also used Decal Pro for my labels.

Like most of the clear coats, this one is non-yellowing and UV resistant. I really like how the matte finish turns out, absolutely no reflections from the surface.

pmccoy · #5 12-14-2009, 03:07 PM

Quote:

I used rustoleum "painter's touch Ultra Cover, with a matte finish. My panel is an enamel the color of the powder coated parts and I did a test of this and one other clear with a satin finish. I thought the rustoleum product looked better. The other seemed to darken the base color a bit. I also used Decal Pro for my labels.

Like most of the clear coats, this one is non-yellowing and UV resistant. I really like how the matte finish turns out, absolutely no reflections from the surface.

Mike- how have they held up over time? Have you had any scratches?

SteinAir · #6 12-14-2009, 03:44 PM

We use a standard PPG clearcoat on all the panels. Typically we have a bit of flattner added to it in order to end up with a satin/semi-gloss finish that isn't too shiny. We don't use the decalpro system because it was a royal pain in the rear for the volume that we do. That being said, all of the pro panel shops do use decalse, just a much more industrious type that is printed on a fairly expensive printer. We and our colleagues are able to print white labels directly (or metallics or whatever).

Cheers,
Stein

RVG8tor · #7 12-14-2009, 07:44 PM

I am not flying but I have handled my CB panel a lot, putting it in and out and taking it to an EAA chapter meeting, the clear seems to be very hard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmccoy

Mike- how have they held up over time? Have you had any scratches?

Camillo · #8 12-21-2009, 05:10 PM

I don't want to highjack the thread, but since DECAL PRO threads are rare, I would like to place my question here.

I can't get the Mylar foil stick to the custom graphics. I followed the instructions and the stock graphic went perfect, yesterday. But this evening...nothing. Didn't stick at all. Neither a letter got stick to the Mylar foil.

I just wrote an email to decal pro customer service. Do you have any idea?

Thanks.
Camillo

pmccoy · #9 12-21-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

I don't want to highjack the thread, but since DECAL PRO threads are rare, I would like to place my question here.

I can't get the Mylar foil stick to the custom graphics. I followed the instructions and the stock graphic went perfect, yesterday. But this evening...nothing. Didn't stick at all. Neither a letter got stick to the Mylar foil.

I just wrote an email to decal pro customer service. Do you have any idea?

Thanks.
Camillo

Camillo-

One of the issues I had was getting my laser printer set properly. I had to adjust the paper stock to 'Heavy Card Stock', and I adjusted the toner to max density. After that, I had much better results with the transfer being able to stick. These were settings in the menu of my printer, which I had never touched before this project. For me, following all the steps after getting the image on the special paper was also working just fine on the samples, but until I made the changes above, my own graphics and text would not work. I kept loosing parts of text and borders.

N427EF · #10 12-21-2009, 06:28 PM

Camillo,

I've had good success with this system but did run into a few problems.
I found that each foil reacts a little different to the process.
I used black, blue, silver and gold with great results.
Using the white foil all the letters fell off the mylar. The dipping water looked like alphabet soup.
The biggest problem by far has been the application process, nothing to do with Decal Pro. Applying any kind of decal or lettering in a straight and aligned fashion is a challenge.
Directing your question to Decal Pro will result in a prompt answer.