Transparent stickers on stompboxes

[DaKurt]

How can I put f.e. a black text on my box so that the non-text area is not white but transparent. I usually iron logos and things on my boxes, but there are always white borders...I hope you understand my problem

[kroushl]

There are several ways to do this, all of which are covered thoroughly in the thread archive. The most popular are screen printing, t-shirt transfers, and decals.  You can use the search function at the top to find out more about those things.  

I've been using decals from smallbear on my last few pedals.  They look good, but the outline of the decal is somewhat annoying.  Screenprinting totally avoids this.  Also a tip if you use smallbear's decals: make sure you spray the sheet with a clear coat of paint after printing them...otherwise you'll have quite a hard time with them (I did, until I read that you have to spray them...then I had great results).

Anywho, look through the archived threads, you'll find great ideas.

Brad

[Mark Hammer]

You can buy packages of clear laser-print sticky labels.  I've used them successfully.  Note the following, though:

1) They are intended for brief use on packages, etc., and are not intended to encounter feet on a repetitive basis.  Consequently, while the toner sticks to them and they print out nicely, you will need to lacquer them if you expect any sort of lifespan out of them.

2) While you are lacquering, note that the lacquer can make the toner run, so start with some lightly sprayed lacquer and dry it off quickly with a hair dryer or the lowest heat setting of your heat gun.  Once the initial lacquer spray has dried it will prevent subsequent coats from dissolving the toner.  You can NOT stick these things into a toaster oven for baking and expect them to survive!

3) The edges of these labels are plainly visible, unless you use a thick coat of lacquer.  I find that satin/matte finish clear lacquer tends to make the edges of both rub-on letters and clear labels less apparent, partly because of the way that light is reflected differently, and partly because of the way that the stuff seems to fill in the gap between the edges of the labels/letters and the surface of the box.

[Hungeryhippie]

Which clear sticky labels did you use successfully? I tried the one's Avery make but when I peeled them off the backing I found out that they weren’t transparent but opaque. I was disapointed by this.

[smoguzbenjamin]

I read a while back about using a piece of cheese as a template, then you spray the cheese with your pedal under it. However my guess would be that the paint would run like mad under the cheese... :roll: I donno I haven't tried.

[claydavis]

the water slide decals from small bear work great. i use the laser printer decals. the decals blend in much better if you lightly wet-sand with 300-grit or so after lacquering/clearcoating, and then spray it again. you may have to sand and recoat a couple of times, but it'll look nice. just be careful not to sand to deep, or you'll rub the labeling off.

also, when you cut the decals out, round off all the corners. it makes the outline of the decal less noticeable.

[Alex C]

I read a while back about using a piece of cheese as a template, then you spray the cheese with your pedal under it. However my guess would be that the paint would run like mad under the cheese... :roll: I donno I haven't tried.

Here's a photoessay using that method.  http://home.zonnet.nl/osbruil/fuzzfacetour.html

It looks good, but not very precise.  Has a very authentic "DIY" look though.      Oskar has updates with different (better) methods for painting.  

Alex

[petemoore]

Doing the cutouts from the American Slices is the hard part/
 I went for a 'design' look, making 'cutting the cheese' as I went...lol...moving the piece to two different angles only for digging, just going as consistantly as possible, trying to make the letters evenly sized.
 If you want perfect script or 'square' letters, this may not be for you and experimentation helps you get the hang of it and see what it does.
 The suspended oils in the cheese do a great job of cutting the straight line...heres an idea...
 Typing helps me think...often I'll be typing a problem and think of the solution...
  Anyway, if you could find a good substrait like paper...but something that would tend to stay flatter...do you stencil cutouts to that, then with the sheet withthe letters or designs cutout of it, get hot butter in a pan, dip your piece in it, drip the excess butter off and let the rest solidify.
 Cleanup your edges somehow...maybe a hairdryer...so that there's only a thin amount of butter right where the edge cuts are...use a straight edge taped to your box so you can apply it accurately and drop in it place the first time without smudgeing where you want the paint to stick...
 This should give a clean, sharp, accurate line like the oil in the cheese but more precise...try it on a sheet of garbage!!!
 I haven't even tried it but hey, it's a great idea and I just painted base [blue and red] coats and clear [sanding and finishing] coats...should be dry enough for application about now...

[smoguzbenjamin]

Sounds good. Cardboard should be OK I guess. I'll have a look in my local art store

[yano]

What about inkjet transfer decals, i would think that laquering them might cause them to run too...i haven't tried it, but anyone have experience?

[petemoore]

I did a VBG template for my Booster/FF knobs on Black BondoRACO.
 The tempplate part  looks like it would have done well with spray paint with thin coats.
 I used regular printing paper, sprayed [we have a reloadable food oil sprayer] it with olive oil, let it soak/drip for a time, then aligned it on there and only had to touch a couple places, the oil took turns the paper to flop except for the two dimensions you want, and the line of oil looked promisingly clean.
 Might be tricky to get it perfect, but at this stage it looks like I was able to get a pretty good resolution...hopefully...it's WHITE on Black !!!

[bwanasonic]

Watching episodes of American Chopper has given me some ideas for painting methods using either *Detail* tape or self-adhesive vinyl for masking. A sample idea: Paint primed pedal enclosure yellow. Apply tape or vinyl design (in *positive* rather than the *negative* of the cheese or stencil method).  Apply coat of <darker than yellow> . Carefully remove tape/vinyl. Voila, yellow letters/designs in the background color of your choice. Time to get reaquainted with my old friends the X-Acto knife and the airbrush.

Kerry M

[gez]

I've always wondered if this stuff could work:

http://www.decalpaper.co.uk/tattoo_paper.html

You could have one pot called 'MOM' and another 'DAD', perhaps label the effect 'Born To Fuzz'?