Pedal Finishing- T shirt transfers?

[beexter]

I want to try and tart up a BYOC Large Beaver. Has anyone applied iron-on t-shirt transfers to a pedal with any success? If so, any tips would be welcome as this will be my first attempt.

[WRGKMC]

I wont work. Transfers use copier toner to get the image.

The transfer has wax paper as a backing that melts and the only reason you can get

the transfer off onto a T shirt when its heated is because the cloth has many fibers thet help pull it off.

 

On a flat surface like a box the toner has nothing to cling too. You would never get the box to heat up

hot enough to transfer the image either. The temp of the box woud need to quickly go to 250 degrees

or more so the toner would melt and adhere to the box. Thets enough to scorch the paint off the box

and since the box is smooth, the toner wont leave the transfer paper.

(I've repaired copiers over 30 years for a living so I know all those processes extremely well)

 

What you want to use is a waterslide decal:thu:

[SDshirtman]

You could only to this if the printer used to do the transfer uses sublimation ink and the finish on the pedal has a polyester finish which I doubt.

[Belva]

You can get waterslide decal paper. I've tried it with an inkjet and wasn't happy with the results. I've heard that lazer waterslide decals are the way to go. It just depends on what type of printer you have.

[doug deeper]

If you get the stuff thats meant for dark fabrics it will work.

All the early mid-fi electronics graphics were done this way.

[WRGKMC]

 

If you get the stuff thats meant for dark fabrics it will work. All the early mid-fi electronics graphics were done this way.

 

 

Dont buy it man. I been working with those transfer sheets for decades now.

I spent years visiting commercial artist businesses. Theres no way in hell you can

get an iron on transfer to stick to a metal box, painted or otherwise.

[Consume]

Why not do your artwork up on the PC, and then hit a local silkscreen company? have them make you a a screen, and you can even get the Pedal printed in Glass Ink - which is what they use on Stop Signs so that when your headlights hit it, it shines.

Tons of stuff is silk-screened - like CD's that are Replicated are actually silk-screened.

(My Dad's brother owned on of the most successful silk-screen companies in the USA for 25 years. He even invented some of the Plastic Inks that are used.)

 

What is your case made out of? I'll send him an E-mail and ask him what type of ink will work the best for it. (For example, if you were to use a Plastisol Ink - it has to be heated enough to melt the ink and activate it as a plastic. That is why T-shirts don't crack anymore like the did in the 70's - the ink is plastic these days, and it binds itself to the weave of the shirt when heated.)

 

 

Ed

[doug deeper]

Dont buy it man. I been working with those transfer sheets for decades now. I spent years visiting commercial artist businesses. Theres no way in hell you can get an iron on transfer to stick to a metal box, painted or otherwise.

 

Yeah don't listen to me, It only worked about 200 times.

[WRGKMC]

I've repaired copiers that print the things for 30 years and work in commercial print shops nearly every day.

Its what I get paid to do and I am expert at what I do. The iron on transfer paper has a wax coating on it and you print a

reverse image to the paper from a a copier machine.

When you iron them onto something, the toner on the paper which is a polyester plastic powder melts the tiner and the wax on the paper

and with heat and pressure applied the melted toner cling to the fibers of the cloth (hopefully) .

 

If the toner on the paper doesnt reach about 500 degrees farenheit, the toner wont melt nor cling to the fabric

and it surely wont adhere properly to a smooth metal box at room temp.

If you could get it to stick you could probibly scratch it off with a thumbnail. Clear coating it would be an even bigger issue because

most clear coats will cause the toner to disolve instantly.

 

This is especially true for the newer color copiers most Kinkos use that use a toner that contains wax in it. (My company provides the Color copiers for Kinkos)

The wax has replaced the silicon oil used in the copier heating systems to prevent toner from sticking to the heat rollers.

Both silicone oil and the waxed toner that coat the paper are one of the biggest factors in getting toner to stick to a smooth surface like a pedal.

Unlike paper or cloth that has a grain for the toner to cling to, the pedal surface being smooth will naturally dispell the lubricant first and do what its

supposed to, repel the toner from sticking properly. That is what prevents the toner having any perminant bond.

 

There are some copiers made specifically for iron on transfers that provide a much thicker layer of toner for better density, but

the principals used and temp requirements are exactly the same. Transfers are not silk screening which is a whole different process

nor are they the same as other wax based iron on decals which melt at a lower temp and cling to just about anything.

[musicdog400]

I used to print circuit traces on waxed or clay paper with a laser printer, then use a clothes iron to transfer the toner to the copper board. It worked ok, I usually had to do some touch-up.

[WRGKMC]

You were probibly able to get the board fairly hot with an iron so it would stick.