Having Difficulty Applying Waterslide Decals. .

[DaveGrima]

So I put on my waterslide decals on a Strat neck a few days ago. The backing is still really opaque meaning it didnt become clear and it still really stands out against the wood of the headstock. According to the directions it said to let it dry for 24 hours and the backing would look opaque until the laquer is applied. Ive put about 5 coats of laquer over it and let it dry for a couple of days and it still is opaque.

After I first applied the decals I mopped up the excess water and smoothed it out with my finger per the instructions. After about 20 min the decals were curling up and coming undone so I put a thin coat of laquer over them right after I smoothed out the decals. DId this cause it to not dry properly? Do I need to redo it? Why were the decals drying up and curling off? Can someone with experience applying these please offer some advice? Thanks.

[mike42]

Couple of thoughts. You didn't put the decal on bare wood did you?. They have to go on a sealed, finished, surface in order to stick. Second, However you put it on, I suspect it was nowhere near dry, and you sealed moisture in under the decal when you finished over it.

[Belva]

 

Couple of thoughts. You didn't put the decal on bare wood did you?. They have to go on a sealed, finished, surface in order to stick. Second, However you put it on, I suspect it was nowhere near dry, and you sealed moisture in under the decal when you finished over it.

 

My guess too.

[DaveGrima]

I put it on a couple of thin coats of laquer. Yes I think the laquer prevented it from drying completely but the only reason I laquered over it so quick is because it kept curling up and coming off. How do I prevent that from happening?

[mike42]

well assuming you're putting it on a flat, smooth, clean surface, (not bare wood or something porous), any decent decal ought to lay down okay. I haven't used any guitar-specific decals so I don't know who makes them. You do occasionally run into decals that are such poor quality they're pretty much useless.

 

I would try experimenting with what you have. Cut a small piece of the film and try it on a piece of smooth plastic. If it lays down and adheres, then I suspect the problem is in your base finish on the guitar. If it won't stick to clean plastic I would guess you've got bad decals. You could try adding a small drop of dish washing detergent to the water as a wetting agent, but you really shouldn't need to do that for the decal to lay down on a flat surface. What kind of decals are we talking about here?

[Belva]

How long did you let the lacquer dry before putting the decal on? And how thick did you put the lacquer on? I'm guessing you went too thick with the lacquer. It dries fast, but if you put it on too thick it will stay soft forever and keep out gassing. So you have fumes trapped under a decal trying to escape. To be honest, I'd try taking some lacquer thinner and getting it down to bare wood. Then about 3 very light coats of lacquer followed by a week dry time.

[DaveGrima]

Ok I used 2 very light coats of nitro laquer and let it dry for about 48 hours which is what someone here recommended. I then lightly sanded it with 1000 grit. ^^To answer your question, they're just some Fender restoration decals i got from some shop on Ebay. Ill try that trick with the plastic. Im definitely gonna have to redo it because it looks like crap.