Problems with Waterslide Decals on DIY Pedal Projects

Hi everyone,

Tried searching TDPRI (and the web) for help on this one but can't seem to find anyone experiencing the same issues.

I have finished several DIY pedal enclosures in the past and always used the same method: sand the aluminum box, spray with self-etching primer, colour coat with Dupli-Color lacquer, spray with Dupli-Color clear lacquer, apply waterslide decals (typically Testor's ink-jet waterslide decal paper) which have been sealed with mist coats of same said Dupli-Colour clear lacquer, bury decal(s) with lacquer coats, and wet-sand to final finish.

This method has worked on my pedal project as well as several guitar headstocks.

I am currently working on 4 pedal projects and followed the same routine on all four but I just cannot seem to bury those decals! As I'm shooting the clear, the edges APPEAR to be buried but once that coat dries, there is a sharp edge where the decal ends. I spray another coat...the edge appears to be buried...and then it dries with a sharp edge.

When I wet sand the pedal face, the edge disappears and I can get a pretty nice, flat, uniform looking surface but when I come back the next day, the decal appears to have "swollen" higher than the surrounding area. More wet sanding will make everything flat again but after some time, the decal appears to sit higher than the surrounding area again.

I've read that it can take a LOT of coats to bury these decals but, as I said, I have NEVER experienced this with any of my other project and I swear I've spray 1, 1.5, maybe even 2 full aerosol cans of clear onto a couple of these pedals and I still can't bury the decals.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas on what might be happening and/or how I can overcome the issue?

Any help would be MOST appreciated!

- brad -

 

Thanks everyone!

Nofrets' comment about the block got me thinking a little. I always use a block but for single sized stomp boxes my "block" is typically a small "pink pearl" eraser. It's a little old so it's pretty hard but I wondered if it was still flexible enough to prevent me from really "levelling".

I piled on a few more coats of clear lacquer over the weekend and I have a feeling that Keyser Soze is probably right...either the solid content is low or I'm just being impatient and not spraying enough coats. I'll keep on spraying and keep you posted!

In the meantime, I'm definitely considering the fact that poly finishes might be a better option for stomp box projects. I suppose the only issue is finding a compatible product to use for the base colours since I don't think I can poly over a lacquer base...correct?

 

Well...I have added a lot more coats to one of the pedals and it appears to be SLOWLY getting there. Sanded back to flat yesterday...completely flat...and this morning I can see the decal outline again (sigh).

I did a couple other pedals on the weekend and followed some advice I read about cutting the decals "full-face" (i.e. the decal covers the full face of the pedal so the edges line up with the edges of the pedal). So far this looks like the best solution and, if I think back to my previous succesful pedal projects, I think they too were "full face" or at least closer to full face than what I am currently trying to do.

As a result, I have more than a sneaking suspicion that I will be doing a lot of sanding this weekend as I try to start these 2 or 3 trouble makers all over again!