Terry-Re: Your Dial

[Stewart Schooley]

Terry,

I was thinking about your decal and I have another suggestion. First, I wondered if the numbers are raised, can you paint around them with black paint?

If you can't do that then using decal paper on silver can be another option. I actually like it better than printing on plastic that I mentoned.

I cut a small piece of decal paper and soaked the film off. Rinsed it under water to remove all the glue that held the film to the backing. I put it on a gold jar lid and brushed on a coat of Microscale's decal setting solution. After it dried, I had to hold it at angles under a light to tell there was a decal there. The gold looked just as good and I could read the writing on the lid just as clear.

To do this, it would be best to use decal paper made for laser printers because you wouldn't have to worry about water bothering the ink.

If you use ink jet decals, use a larger piece of silver than you need and have the decal film go out on all sides around the actual printed area. I would say at least an inch or more. This is to give the water less of a chance to seep back under the decal and affect the ink. You can trim it after it is dry.

Let's go back over some things, remember that you want a black decal with the number areas blank;

You need an editing program so that you can duplicate your dial in black outlined letters. You use ink or markers to blacken all the space around the letters. I 'm not sure about simply scanning your dial and correcting the damage.. I don't know if the silver will print as a grey or not. It would be worth it to give it a try and see what happens. I mentioned about doing any "art work" as large as possible and the reducing it to the correct size. If the silver does show grey, maybe it would be easier to use white paint and a very small pointed brush to make it white.

Now, about the decal. The film is weak and can be fairly easily torn. Doing large sizes can cause problems in getting it spread out evenly. And sliding a decal off the backing does not get rid of the glue.

Print your dial image IN REVERSE and put it UPSIDE DOWN on the silver. Brush water on the backing until you can lift it off. Brush clean water on the decal and blot it off to remove the glue. You will be using the brush to smooth out the decal as well as cleaning it. Use the decal setting solution so the decal will stick. Always use a very soft brush and don't hurry anything when working with decals.

At this point you can decide if you want to put Krylon clear over your decal to protect it. It would probably be best to do a test piece first.

Now the bad news. Decal paper sold in hobby stores is 8 and 1/2" x 11". If your dial is longer than 11", I don't know if longer decal paper is available or not. Have to check the Internet.

I'll leave you with some good news. If your dial is small enough that two copies will fit on the decal paper, the color copier can be set so two images will print on one page. You get two for the price of one.

Stewart

[tschw...@aol.com]

Stewart, thanks for all the great ideas. I do think they would work, as
your tests have shown. I've been in contact with Mike at Rock-Sea and
he seems willing to take on the dial, so I'll probably go that route.
That way he'll have the dial in stock for others as well, it won't be
an expensive one-off dial just for me.

He's a pro, the results will be amazing, I'm certain. I could spend
lots of time and money experimenting and -maybe- come up with a decent
dial, but Mike and his staff will get it right.

Again, I appreciate all the suggestions.

Terry.