The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Waterslide decals...

I'm posting this here and I also posted in the 60s truck section. Don't know where it should go, but I think this information about making your own waterslide decals might be worthwhile. It isn't difficult, either. The basic image manipulation program in Windows 10 (called "edit 3d" but you'll need to do it in 2d) is plenty to let you get started and there are free programs like GIMP and Inkscape and even free font creation programs for the advanced person. These decals can be made in nearly any color (not silver nor gold) and could be used for gauge restoration, radio dial restoration, clock restoration, pillar decal duplication, engine decals, whatever.

Anyhow if you are interested, here is what I know about the process condensed as much as possible:

1. you can buy 8.5 x 11 inch sheets of the waterslide decal paper in either laser or inkjet styles. Buy these on Etsy. Some sellers offer free shipping.
2. you can have FedEx (the old Kinko's) print for you using a color laser printer. You will need to convert your files to pdf format first, and this is easy as pie. In Windows 10, select the image you want, choose "print" and when you do this, choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the option. It will convert your image to a pdf file and you can then print and adjust the size if needed.
3. IMPORTANT NOTE: please remember only very specialized printers can print in white. Kinko's doesn't have them and I suspect you don't either. So, if you need white letters, etc, purchase white waterslide paper or use clear paper applied over a white painted base. You can get paper in white or clear in either laser or inkjet type. The original poster in the 60s truck section wanted a decal which was black with white letters. Using white paper and a common laser printer, these are dead easy to make.
4. make sure your base is sanded or cleaned very smooth. Even a tiny dot of dust will show through when your decal has dried.
5. once your decal image has been printed (either by inkjet or by laser) coat it with Krylon or Rustoleum clear spray. Inkjet images will dissolve in water and you can scratch laser print images with your finger while working with them. Plus it will help your images resist humidity, fading, etc.

When you have found or created an image (I use jpeg images) and you are satisfied with it, you're ready to go. This could be a jpeg file of any time...photo, drawing, computer generated, etc. And you will find you can stand on other people's shoulders as many of these decals have already been made or you can find and save them on websites. As for applying the decals, this is an acquired skill and you'll get comfortable with it pretty quickly.

So, if you're interested you can see some of the stuff I've done recently. First is an electronic speedometer conversion I've made for my pickup. You may have seen this in the electronic section. I've tried to keep it looking as original as possible. Next you can see a temp gauge register I've re-done. And there is also a watch dial I created. This watch (a 15 jewel Swiss movement) I could repair, but the dial was so bad I could not read anything on it, so I was left to create my own. The dial was painted light yellow and the decal was printed on a laser printer using clear paper. Easy as pie. So now I have a watch which looks brand new...despite the fact it was made during WWII.

Good luck. If you have questions, please send me a PM or email.

Additional note: in number 2 above I mentioned the ability to change the size of the image when you have it printed. This is actually sort of important. Please let me explain. For reasons I don't quite understand, a file on one computer when transferred to a memory stick and then printed on another computer can change size a bit. So, when you go to a place like Kinko's (or any other place that can print on a color laser printer for you), have them first print your image on a piece of plain paper. Normally they won't charge you for this. Measure that image with a ruler and be certain it is the size you need. If it needs to be altered, in the Acrobat reader program, the "print" screen has a place to alter the size. Alter the size until you get what you want and you'll be good to go. Also have Kinko's or whoever print using the photo paper or specialty paper selection on their printer. It will give you the best results. Fed Ex (Kinko's) usually charges me $1 or $1.25 to print a single page.

Coming to the top in case anyone considering the stick-on decals needs this...

Jon, my digital skills are adequate for most things I tackle. They've helped me put food on the table for many years of working with gis programs in the pipelining world. That said, no way I'd have ventured down the path you've detailed above on my own. Thanks for taking time and helping those of us who need help. I'm now looking for a reason to try making decals.

RonR

Thanks, Ron. I've got to give thanks and credit to the guys and gals in the world of Linux. That's where most of the brains and creativity in the digital world really are. Their generosity in sharing their work lets people like me and others stand on their shoulders and do stuff like this.

When I studied computers (NTSU), the work was relegated to an extremely cold room in the basement of the business admin building, punch card machines, arcane flow charts, a surly chain-smoking operator and a computer roughly the size of a VW Van. Probably was the same at U of A or ASU.

Well, Jon, as the song goes, you are "talkin' 'bout my generation" and . . . . . "Yeah, I hope I die before I get old"

Tim, I'm afraid by some definitions I've already gotten old so at this point I'm hoping I stay alive as long as possible. I've actually wondered if I could enter the next winter Olympics. From what I've read there isn't an age limitation unless the monitors of a specific event have set one. I think I could manage that event where you ski really fast down two grooves in a hill and become airborne at the bottom. The landing of course would be the challenge, but the way I have it figured I couldn't lose. If I landed and lived I'd be famous even if my jumping distance didn't win anything. If I landed and for whatever reason didn't live, I'd be the first person to ever die in this event. And it would probably provide great comedy for everyone...no matter what the outcome and might revive global interest in our generation.

Jon
Going after "Eddie the Eagle's" notoriety eh? Or maybe the Jamaican Bobsledders. I'd watch (safely from my recliner in front of the TV).

To get back on topic, I've made some window decals out of static cling plastic stuff. Printed from a photo of an original cracked decal that I patched up in a photo editing program. Don't remember the name of the stuff or where I got it (probably some office supply store). Found it. I was from Office Depot - called WindowDecals. Comes in letter size sheets and works with inkjet printers. I painted the backside white so it showed up like the original.

Jon G, For those of us that have moved on from the Microsoft platform to Apple products. Can you offer up any advice other than buy a machine with Windows 10. I have one but refuse to use it.

If you're interested in learning about and becoming more comfortable with Linux, there is an operating system I've used since it appeared. The name is Puppy Linux and while the originators will tell you they didn't intend it to be an operating system, I can't for the life of me understand why they'd say that. It is a lean system and part of its fame is that it can work on a computer totally lacking a hard drive. In fact, I ran a laptop which had no hard drive for a couple of years using a CD and a thumb drive only. No virus risk and no intrusion risk at all. My favorite version of it is TahrPup 6.0. There are other versions of TahrPup available now, but I haven't tried them. It is compatible with Ubuntu programs and you can run any Microsoft program using WINE (an acronym for Wine Is Not an Emulator). But when you install it, you'll see it comes with word processing, spreadsheet, secure web browser, firewall, paint programs, draw programs...a lot more than you would expect for a small (and of course free) Linux distro. You can add as much to it as you wish. And depending on how much ram you have, it can be fast. This system works by pushing as much of the operating system into ram as possible. So access is faster.

I'm not really a fan of Ubuntu but at the same time I should tell you I'm ok with the system. Bottom line is it has become larger and more bloated and more commercial and that's what I don't like about Windows. I'm not a fan of Apple, either...for some of the same and for some different reasons.

I think it boils down to what you use your computer for, actually. Most people I talk to don't use their computer for 1/10 of what it was designed to do.

Hi Kevin,
Just talking. My wife would no more let me strap on skis and go down that mountain than she'd let me go buy a motorcycle or take flying lessons. And I'm afraid she's right.

I haven't seen the window decal stuff you mentioned but it sounds interesting. The old decals were heavy gelatin based. As I recall the image was applied to a gelatin layer and then coated with another gelatin layer. Today's decal sheets are gelatin based but very thin and very precise. They can be run through inkjet or laser printers and they come in either clear or white. I've used both. The big advantage to the laser printed ones is they are more stable. The inkjet prints have to be coated with clear enamel, lacquer or urethane or they'll vanish in water.

Just thinking... Someone artistic should be able to make a stovebolt decal for a truck's rear window. Download a PDF file, take it to your local Fed Ex (or Staples) for printing and stick it on. Don't ask me - I'm not artistic - I was a COBOL programmer!

If you're talking about the logo that appears at the top of the page, I could easily do one with the static cling material I have. I definitely do not claim to be artistic, but it would be an easy copy (with John and Peggy's permission of course). I could make them available for free to Stovebolt members until the material I have runs out.

Doesn't seem like anyone else is interested.

Computer geeks ...

Well .... *I'm* interested I'd like to try that, too, but in the meantime ... Kevin, if you copy the logo from any of the pages on the site, you will get a low-rez version. I assume you'd want to work with a hi-rez image, ja? Can you resize it downwards to fit your application, or would you want me to do it for you? (if you tell me what dimension to fit).

So a little more explanation on the top coating, please .... After I print my image on my trusty Laserjet 6 (it just won't die ... ), I have to seal it with clear enamel ... does it lose it's flexibility (for application)?

This whole thread might better fit in the IT Shortbus forum ... not that I want to micromanage the moderators or anything ....

break ....

So ... this whole "I started off in a cold basement on a Selectric 2-based terminal, hooked to a mainframe in a sealed room, looking at a green screen and using punch cards/tape to save my work" routine ... is that *your* generation's (not mine ) version of your parents' "I walked to school uphill both ways in the snow" thing??

I’m interested also. I would put one on both of my trucks and one is the four letter “F” word.

Those would make good door prizes at Stovebolt gatherings!

Don

John
Actually, (in advance of your approval ), I tried a couple of logos from the web pages and experimented a bit. I was able to resize them by 400% with MS Paint and it actually improved the resolution, although I don't know what size it would print. If you'd like to e-mail me a higher resolution, an appropriate size would be 8" wide (the attached one), although I could adjust it a bit if needed. 8" wide would get three copies on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of material. Maybe making 4 fit on the 11" dimension would be more "material economical".

If you'd like to try it, the process is to print the image reversed on the back side of the material, then use rattle can paint (white would be appropriate here) to paint over the printing. That leaves the static clingy part of the material to go on the INSIDE of the window. They remain pretty flexible with a light coat of paint, and can be peeled off and repositioned 2 or 3 times.
Kevin