Face plate graphics

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dlazzarini

Well-known member
Hey guys I was just looking over some of the finished pedals that have been submitted and they’re awesome. I’ve only done 3 pedals so far but haven’t got into truly finishing the face plate. What are some of the methods you guys are using? Are you making decals? Silk screening? This world is all new to me so any advice would be greatly appreciated
 
I’ve seen several people that use the water slide decals that turn out great but I’ve never had much luck with them. I typically use vinyl decals cut out with a Cricut. The 1983 pedal was just the vinyl decal right on top. The cyclone pedal was an attempt at a film free water slide decal. The avalanche pedal was a vinyl decal then I spray painted the enclosure and then peeled the vinyl off to reveal the pink powder coat. I’m trying to get better at the water slide decals because there’s obviously a lot more you can do with them.
 

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thedwest said:
I’ve seen several people that use the water slide decals that turn out great but I’ve never had much luck with them. I typically use vinyl decals cut out with a Cricut. The 1983 pedal was just the vinyl decal right on top. The cyclone pedal was an attempt at a film free water slide decal. The avalanche pedal was a vinyl decal then I spray painted the enclosure and then peeled the vinyl off to reveal the pink powder coat. I’m trying to get better at the water slide decals because there’s obviously a lot more you can do with them.
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Ok thanks. I guess my question is where does one acquire these decals and such?
 
dlazzarini said:
Ok thanks. I guess my question is where does one acquire these decals and such?
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I design mine in Illustator, but there are several free programs to use as well. Then I take that file, upload it into the Cricut software and cut it out. For the water slide decals, I design in photoshop and then print on laser film free water slide decal paper.
 
thedwest said:
I design mine in Illustator, but there are several free programs to use as well. Then I take that file, upload it into the Cricut software and cut it out. For the water slide decals, I design in photoshop and then print on laser film free water slide decal paper.
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Thank you. Not sure if I’m ready for that yet lol
 
I've never had the best luck with the water slide decals. I usually end up either spray painting some splatter patterns, etc. or hand painting, then do some minimal labeling with paint pens.
 
I usually use waterslide decal or a label maker with clear tape (there's several examples of people doing that on here).

The waterslides are tricky, especially with an inkjet printer. I usually print out a few in case I mess up, but so far I've done several all with good results (none perfect, but all pretty good). Plenty of instructions/videos on the web.

For designing the graphics, I usually just cobble it together in PowerPoint (or sometimes have my graphic designer buddy work something up for me, like this example).
 

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phi1 said:
I usually use waterslide decal or a label maker with clear tape (there's several examples of people doing that on here).

The waterslides are tricky, especially with an inkjet printer. I usually print out a few in case I mess up, but so far I've done several all with good results (none perfect, but all pretty good). Plenty of instructions/videos on the web.

For designing the graphics, I usually just cobble it together in PowerPoint (or sometimes have my graphic designer buddy work something up for me, like this example).
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That looks great! Is that film-free or regular waterslide paper? And do you drill before or after applying the decal?
 
I hand paint everything, mainly because I am a complete noob to using graphics programs. As I type this I have a printer, new printer ink, water slide decals just giving me the death glare and I am still too hesitant to dive in.

My process is reverse of most, i think. I pick the enclosure and knobs and build the pedal and then set with it, graphics-less, for quite some time before I work up the idea for what I think would be cool to put on it. Most of the time my five year old son picks and then I take the pedal apart and paint it then epoxy it. After that, I put it back together and cringe at my artwork because that is what I do.
 
thedwest said:
That looks great! Is that film-free or regular waterslide paper? And do you drill before or after applying the decal?
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It's regular waterslide, the film is still there. You can barely see the line around it but it's not very noticeable. that particular one was on a laser printer than my friend printed for me. I've gotten good results on my inkjet too but for what it's worth I think the laser printer comes out clearer.

Definitely drill the holes in your enclosure first. After the decal is dried, you can cut out the holes with an exacto knife, then clear coat it for protection.
 
phi1 said:
It's regular waterslide, the film is still there. You can barely see the line around it but it's not very noticeable. that particular one was on a laser printer than my friend printed for me. I've gotten good results on my inkjet too but for what it's worth I think the laser printer comes out clearer.

Definitely drill the holes in your enclosure first. After the decal is dried, you can cut out the holes with an exacto knife, then clear coat it for protection.
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How do you dry it once its on the enclosure? I've tried the oven but it seems to crinkle up even if i've gotten it smoothed out completely before putting it in the oven and then inevitably some areas of the graphic wont stick and get peeled off.
 
Hmm i haven't tried an oven, I just let it air dry for around 24 hrs.

Mine usually have a little bit of bubbling in a spot or two even though I try to smooth is out when it's still wet. So I may not be the best person to answer... Still mine always seem to adhere fine and the final result, while not perfect, is plenty acceptable to me.
 
I love the hand painted stuff just cuz it looks more personal but I have zero artistic abilities. Acid etching completely escapes me but I really like how it looks. I use water slides and to get bubbles out I use an old credit card as a squeegee. Most cards have a rounded edge on the front and a sharper edge on the back and the rounded edge doesn't knock any of the laser toner off the decal. Just don't work it too much or too forcefully.

Phi1 I love that clipper ship graphic. How do you get water slides to go around corners like that? It looks flawless.
 
Thanks! I only wrapped it around the radius part. (I don't usually do that, and also my graphics usually aren't this involved). This is just my best example.

For wrapping it over, I just cut it to the right size and rounded off the 4 corners with scissors. I made little 45degree cuts at each of the 4 rounded corners of the decal, so that they could kind of fold over each other when going over the radius part. Hope that made sense.
 

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Devoureddeth said:
Are you using toner transfer? I find I don't get great detail with that method. I used to use the UV photo resist material with better results.
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PNP Blue sheets and a laser printer yeah. Sometimes it works out well sometimes not. Haven’t got it down to a science yet.
 
Nostradoomus said:
PNP Blue sheets and a laser printer yeah. Sometimes it works out well sometimes not. Haven’t got it down to a science yet.
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It looks really good, etchings such a commitment. I have only had good results like you with stuff chemically similar to the PNP. I now just do subpar toner transfers and stamp letters in.
 
I started using Lye and water as the enchant and it usually turns out pretty nice. Much better than the nasty acid mix I was using before. Then I wipe it down with acetone, spray paint it black and sand it with some 12-1500 grit sandpaper to bring out the etch.
 
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