Applying water slide decals (originals) to bare aluminium

retro73

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Can anyone give any tips or advice as i want to put the decals on my Kona and it is polished aluminium, what do you cover them with to prevent them being picked at the edges etc .. Hopefully they have survived all these years as they are '97 decals

Thanks Dave :D
 
This ^^^^

Water slide look great under lacquer but on their own they won't last long.

The decals on my ti voodoo are water slide.

You only have to look at them funny any they'll fall off.

Get a vinyl set from Gil_M. They take all the punishment and don't require lacquer.

Just my 2 pennies though.
 
I did wonder about just buying Gil m versions but original or reps .. lol

Ok at least I can choose a different colour scheme as well :D
 
I reckon decals should be one point where you shouldnt be too bothered about repro's. Who is really going to notice? Do you carE? Less hassle.
 
I guess, just annoying when you have the originals sat in a cupboard and you spend £25 on fakes :?
 
...chances are if it's a '97 Kona I already have them on file :)

I am far from looking for work but you will find original waterslide decals hard to fit and far from durable, they are great if you fit them straight away but over time they dry out and become hard to remove from the backing sheets. If they are fitted they will need a clear coat to protect them, without the clear coat they will scratch very easily.

The main advantage is they are very thin and flat back easily when clear coated and can withstand oven temperatures when the clear coat is baked

It makes me laugh when you see sets of 10+ year old original waterslide decals sell on ebay for big money, you know the poor buyer will have a devil of a job fitting them, I know what I am doing with them and it took me well over 3 hours to fitt a set of Original Colnago decals for a friend. He had paid over the odds for them and they were a nighmare to fit and even with a clear coat they didn't look that good...

Just my opinion, but if you do fit them take your time and I hope you have a lot of patience
 
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