Hi There, I have a friend who bought some pre-made decals from Harley Davidson. He has alredy messed up a set, and sent for another. This time he wants me to give it a go since I'm "supposedly" the vinyl expert. I've explained that this particular job is one I've not tried before, and he understands that I claim no expertise. He's OK with that.
Are there any tricks to installing on the rounded surface? Wet or dry application?
Thanks for the Help!
Jennifer
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
Lots of Rapid tac ...
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
trace the shape, lay the trace on your own vinyl, cut through the trace to produce practice "blanks" to play with. See if the flexability & strechability of your material & the curve of their tank make this possible or not. Just because you're the "expert" doesn't make this task possible, so hopefully the decals arn't too big, or the tank too irregular in the area decal is required. If so, some slits may be required & could be hidden in predetermined spots to achieve the "impossible".
Posted by Pete Sharkins (Member # 4525) on :
I do a few Sprint car tail tanks each year, and try to cover as much area as possible with vinyl. They have lotsa compound curves, like a bike tank. I do them very wet, and using a hair dryer (NOT heat gun) lets me slowly run wrinkles and creases off an edge. An OE Harley tank decal shouldn't be nearly as hard as one of these (due to their comparitively smaller size), so that method should work fine, IMO.
Working the vinyl slowly from center outward is key...
Posted by Joey Madden (Member # 1192) on :
Ya know these decals get clearcoated!
Posted by Todd Gill (Member # 2569) on :
I agree with Pete...mostly. Except I'm not sure why you would want to use the wet method/hair dryer combo.
On compound curves on an object as small as a gas tank, I'd personally do it dry and with a hair dryer...doing as Pete suggested - squeegeeing from the center outward progressing in small increments in an ever increasing circular direction. Good luck.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Are they actually vinyl?
The last Harleys I did were a waterslide transfer, which I stuck down with gold size, then after it was all dry, clear coated with lacquer a few coats, sanded the edge/ridge down, and further clear coated. OK they were vintage 1940 & 42 WLAs. The compound curve is never fun, but you just keep hand-squeegeeing the ripples out till it's all down & stuck. They do disappear, even though you have doubts in the beginning.
Good luck!
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
Forget the Rapid Tac on these, they are really too small for rapid tac. there's no need for it.
Posted by Jeremy Vecoli (Member # 2278) on :
On my 2000 Softail standard, the gas tank logo is screenprinted right onto the tank, no decal ridge under the clear. Very slick! My Sportster has a regular decal, you can feel the ridge.
Posted by Jennifer Craig (Member # 3411) on :
Thanks All for the suggestions. I'll be sure to do some practice, and see what works for this particular job. I'll get back to you.
Jennifer
Posted by Ian Wilson (Member # 177) on :
I usually remake them in Avery 900 and use heat gun great stuff
