custom decals builds

i may or may not splatter paint on the enclosure too.... depending on how far i get with these decals. splatter first
 
What sort of decals are you folks using? I tried waterslide before, but didn't get along with it. I've got some small clear decals I had printed years back, but that place closed. I mostly do hand-painted/labelled, but am curious about the options decals would open if I could print my own, etc.
 
HELL YES! that looks great! that might be one of the cleanest looking waterslides ive seen in a while. no bubbles or warping. nicely done! not too bad for a 20 hiatus hahaha
 
drgonzo1969 said:
HELL YES! that looks great! that might be one of the cleanest looking waterslides ive seen in a while. no bubbles or warping. nicely done! not too bad for a 20 hiatus hahaha
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Thanks. But we’ll wait to see what happens. That picture was fairly shortly after it was put on. As it is drying I’m not sure if there is some unevenness just because it is still drying or because of the decal wants to silver. I’m applying this to a sanded aluminum case – as you know, decals really want to be on a perfectly glossy surface and, although this enclosure is pretty smooth, it’s obviously still got tiny sanding marks. So if it starts to silver when I check on it in the morning I’ll try some Microsol and if that doesn’t work, I guess I’ll just take it off and clearcoat the actual enclosure to try to get a glossy surface and try again. Was hoping to not actually have to clear coat bare aluminum because I don’t know what can of worms that might open.

Mike
 
I dont normally clear coat bare enclosures when i do waterslides. I havent had any issues. They seem to adhere just as well and you save a little clear coat.
 
Kliche Mini I built earlier this year using Sunnyscopa Film-Free Waterslide Decals. I got the idea from some other clones out there, plus the gold colored 125B enclosure looks like a gold brick. The "Archer" at the bottom is both a nod to my favorite electronics store as a kid and the archer on the original Klon pedal. I just hope I don't get a cease and desist letter from Tandy corporation! ;)

IMG_3212.jpeg
 
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drgonzo1969 said:
1590BB?
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Yes, actually a 1590BB2/BBS -same footprint but deeper like a 125B.
drgonzo1969 said:
I dont normally clear coat bare enclosures when i do waterslides. I havent had any issues. They seem to adhere just as well and you save a little clear coat.
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I did end up having to redo this. The decal silvered because the bare metal enclosure had some (intentional) sanding lines because I wanted to retain a brushed look. Even though the enclosure was (I thought) smooth enough, it was still not “glossy” enough for the decals to not silver. So yesterday morning I went out and bought some automotive clear coat and sprayed the aluminum enclosure. It came out wonderfully (I did have to do some minor sanding and use of rubbing compound to smooth out some dust nibs, just like the guys in the auto painting shops do). After that, the decal laid down perfectly and, six hours later, no silvering. Pictures attached.

As far as clear coating the decals – I use a laserjet so I shouldn’t need to clearcoat them before applying them. However, one or two tutorials here said to clearcoat them nonetheless – in my view, bad idea. I like to use Microsol to get any odd spots to conform, and the clearcoat blocks that from working. So when I redid the job today, I did not clearcoat the decals before putting them on. I certainly understand clear coating the decals AFTER they are on to protect them – but I don’t even think I’m gonna bother with that. I don’t gig and I’m pretty easy on my pedals. And, given my experience with clear coating the enclosure, I think it would be a complete nightmare to try to get any dust or dirt nibs out of clearcoat that has been laid over a decal. That’s just a “me thing”.

Mike

IMG_9216.jpeg IMG_9218.jpeg IMG_9219.jpeg
 
And all finished. I’m leaving the white washer on the footswitch for now until I’m more comfortable with the metal nut touching the decal face. And then a picture of it nestled into my board – I actually daisychained it to the pedal on the right, which is a MBP Current Lover, so we got all of the Electric Mistresses in da house.

Mike
IMG_9226.jpeg IMG_9229.jpeg
 
mkstewartesq said:
Yes, actually a 1590BB2/BBS -same footprint but deeper like a 125B.


I did end up having to redo this. The decal silvered because the bare metal enclosure had some (intentional) sanding lines because I wanted to retain a brushed look. Even though the enclosure was (I thought) smooth enough, it was still not “glossy” enough for the decals to not silver. So yesterday morning I went out and bought some automotive clear coat and sprayed the aluminum enclosure. It came out wonderfully (I did have to do some minor sanding and use of rubbing compound to smooth out some dust nibs, just like the guys in the auto painting shops do). After that, the decal laid down perfectly and, six hours later, no silvering. Pictures attached.

As far as clear coating the decals – I use a laserjet so I shouldn’t need to clearcoat them before applying them. However, one or two tutorials here said to clearcoat them nonetheless – in my view, bad idea. I like to use Microsol to get any odd spots to conform, and the clearcoat blocks that from working. So when I redid the job today, I did not clearcoat the decals before putting them on. I certainly understand clear coating the decals AFTER they are on to protect them – but I don’t even think I’m gonna bother with that. I don’t gig and I’m pretty easy on my pedals. And, given my experience with clear coating the enclosure, I think it would be a complete nightmare to try to get any dust or dirt nibs out of clearcoat that has been laid over a decal. That’s just a “me thing”.

Mike

View attachment 52515View attachment 52516View attachment 52517
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Barry over at Guitar PCB swears by using Armorall to seal decals
 
T-Go said:
Kliche Mini I built earlier this year using Sunnyscopa Film-Free Waterslide Decals. I got the idea from some other clones out there, plus the gold colored 125B enclosure looks like a gold brick. The "Archer" at the bottom is both a nod to my favorite electronics store as a kid and the archer on the original Klon pedal. I just hope I don't get a cease and desist letter from Tandy corporation! ;)
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That looks awesome. One question, if you don’t mind, about the film free decals. They seem interesting but how do you personally cure them? I know the instructions say you can use a hairdryer but for best results to put it in an oven at 250° or similar for some amount of time. Will a powder coated enclosure hold up to that kind of heat?

Mike
 
mkstewartesq said:
That looks awesome. One question, if you don’t mind, about the film free decals. They seem interesting but how do you personally cure them? I know the instructions say you can use a hairdryer but for best results to put it in an oven at 250° or similar for some amount of time. Will a powder coated enclosure hold up to that kind of heat?

Mike
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Thanks, I used a hot hairdryer on high for 10 minutes (begin with low for first minute to be sure transfer sheet doesn’t move) at close range on the transfer sheet with very slow movement. After peeling the transfer film off and cleaning up, I put the pedal in the oven for about 30 minutes at 230 F.

The powder coated enclosure came from Tayda and I had similar questions, so I emailed them and this is what Hugo Tayda said:
Paint will be damaged if you apply heat more than 120 Celsius (248 F). 200 Celsius (392 F) is very very high. We cure them at 180 Celsius (356 F) for 10 minutes.

There's an excellent tutorial on the Madbean pedals forum (click the link, but you may have to register to see the post). Thanks to Thewintersoldier for putting that helpful info together in an easily digestible format!

Best of luck to you!

Tom
Edit: Changed hair dryer setting from low to high.
 
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T-Go said:
Thanks, I used a hot hairdryer on low for 10 minutes at close range on the transfer sheet with very slow movement . After peeling the transfer film off and cleaning up, I put the pedal in the oven for about 30 minutes at 230 F.

The powder coated enclosure came from Tayda and I had similar questions, so I emailed them and this is what Hugo Tayda said:
Paint will be damaged if you apply heat more than 120 Celsius (248 F). 200 Celsius (392 F) is very very high. We cure them at 180 Celsius (356 F) for 10 minutes.

There's an excellent tutorial on the Madbean pedals forum (click the link, but you may have to register to see the post). Thanks to Thewintersoldier for putting that helpful info together in an easily digestible format!

Best of luck to you!

Tom
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Hey, thanks a lot, sincerely!. I am a member over at MBP so I bookmarked that tutorial and threw some of the film free in my cart at Amazon.

Much appreciated,

Mike
 
that is a great tutorial. I may try this eventually. I guess i need to buy a cheap used toaster oven first haha. But this seems like a pretty good option for builds where you dont want the little halo of the film on the decal.
 
I still need to put clear on top of these once they dry. I also need to trace the edges of the decals on the black enclosures with black sharpie so the white doesnt show (i used white back waterslides on the black enclosures and clear waterlsides on the green). aaand the clipping diodes for the holy driver are going to light up the demon eyes if all goes to plan.
 
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