Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with decal

Vintage water slide decal adhesive

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:48:44 -0800

What is the adhesive that backs water slide decals made of? I've been collecting vintage water slide decals for a while now, and some work beautifully.

Some very old ones crumble and flake apart when they go into the water, and then there's this third problem: decals that seem to just not adhere. They stiffen as they dry, and don't just fall immediately off the surface I stick them to, but they also don't lay flat enough that the clear part stays clear. It definitely lifts a little bit, not even in bubbles, just in a crackly-looking air matrix. I think the problem is the adhesive, because I successfully took them off with hot water and then repositioned them, paying more attention to smoothing them out, thinking that leaving too much moisture beneath them caused he crackling. No luck, they still dried "up" a little.

Maybe these particular ones never had adhesive. Wikipedia informs me that it is optional. I think the way they are, they would do alright on a matte wall, but I'm putting them on a metallic purple bottle, but I'm applying them to a metallic surface, a lot like I did here, this time to a Sigg bottle, so the littlest bit of opacity throws off the look altogether.

Can I try a little adhesive? What kind do these use originally? What would be water soluble, super thin, and perfectly clear?

HALP!

Help me decorate my wall!

pinksoftsoap — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:02:36 -0800

What sites offer awesomely cool, giant vinyl wall art? I have one huge blank wall in my living room that I'd like to display some large vinyl art on. I have perused etsy but everything seemed so girly- flowers and butterflies and vines. Blik is better in the art and geek factor for me but still, nothing suited my taste. I know there has to be more sites out there with large designs. I'm looking for something that's more like a huge picture than something simple where the design is up to me. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Where online can I buy a cool laptop skin for a HP DV5000?

remcobron — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:27:53 -0800

Where online is a good place to buy a decal skin for my laptop? (HP DV5000). I want something to make my laptop look cool. I've checked out Decalgirl.com and liked their designs. Are there other places I should be looking?

Custom vinyl decals online?

Jimmie — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 17:48:31 -0800

Where can I go online for custom vinyl decals? Looking for reasonably priced vinyl decals. I only want a small quantity of small (5x5 in) decals, based on a custom logo I've designed. File format is not an issue, and I can output to various raw router formats. Would prefer to use an online service.

Sites like cafepress and bountee don't do these sorts of things (right?).

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance :)

AntiqueTractorFilter: Find my dad a decal!

Alterscape — Sun, 13 May 2007 12:09:17 -0800

Please help my father find as-original decals for the 1955 Ferguson 35 Deluxe tractor he's restoring! My father's retiring this year, and one of the projects he's looking to take up is the restoration of his TO-35. The tractor is in very good shape mechanically, with low hours on the engine. He's already started what little mechanical work the beast requires. However, it's been around the block a few times and is in need of a new paint job and some body work. Part of that will involve removing and replacing the decals on the hood. He's been able to find "Massey-Ferguson 35 Deluxe" decals straight from Massey-Ferguson, but he'd really like to find somewhere to buy them as-original, without the "Massey-" prefix -- the tractor was built before Massey-Harris and Ferguson merged. Googling around has turned up nothing, and nobody at the tractor shops in his area has any idea. I'm thinking his best bet is to ask around at antique tractor shows, but since several folks were talking about Fergusons in that thread last week on brush-clearing, I thought someone here might have a lead.

I'm not sure if these are actually made anymore, or if he'd have to have a set custom made by someone in the graphics biz. I'm linking to two photos of the decals that're currently on the tractor: The big long "Ferguson 35 Deluxe" decal and the smaller "Ferguson System" decal. (Flickr self-links for convenience, if Jess/Matt/Cortex would prefer I'll try to find some more anonymous way to host them). I'm not sure if the red-on-silver color scheme is how they originally appeared, or what they've weathered to.

Any thoughts, hivemind?

Applying letters to book board.

Sreiny — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 14:34:54 -0800

I need to apply custom type to Davey Board (bookbinding board), is screen printing my only option? I am putting together a portfolio book and case, the main material will be exposed Davey board
and I was wondering if there was a cheaper, and easier way to apply words to the board other than screen printing. Rub-on letters won't work because it is a customized set of letters that I am producing in Illustrator™. Could I get customized rub-on decals made? Is there something like this
that I haven't seen yet, that isn't so expensive/complicated? Thanks for your suggestions.

The reason I am trying to stay away from the whole screenprinting setup is that I'd only apply it at most 4-5 times. So it just doesn't make sense to buy all the supplies for that few times, seems a little inefficient to me. But if that's the best option, that's what I'll do.

Reviving cling decals

jjg — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:07:56 -0800

Is there any way to recharge electrostatic vinyl cling decals? You know, the kind that stick to glass without adhesive.

Hawkman Car Decal

COBRA! — Thu, 04 Mar 2004 12:10:54 -0800

I keep seeing a weird decal on cars- it's a circle, maybe 8" diameter, with this weird hawk-man thing inside flexing its wings/arms and screaming. This is in Minneapolis- I don't know if this is purely local, or nationwide. Does anyone know what the hell it signifies? Is it some sort of hawkman army planning a violent revolt?