Decals for vintage bikes

[woodbutcher]

Had a reply from Gil already, he doesn't have the decal but he says that with the right info (dimensions etc.) he could draw it and reproduce it !
Sounds good but may be a bit pricy, we will see .

 

[woodbutcher]

There is a way you could get round the problem if your search comes to an end.

Dont be a tease !

 

[Oldfentiger]

I bought a set of Imichrome (sp?) decals for a Carlton Truwel from H Lloyd. I recall that they were not in the catalogue so they had to produce them from photos I sent. Five decals plus some Italian bands cost me 50 quid.
Imichrome are on foil, I believe.

 

[woodbutcher]

I don't know about "Rodney, you'r a plonker" it should be woodbutcher you'r a plonker. I just checked the bike and it has already got the KG243 decal
It is the much easier to source Columbus Neuron frame decal that is missing.......a bit like Rodney my brain cell

 

[Illaveago]

Dont be a tease !

If you have access to an original example so that you can either take photos or measurements you may be able to make a replica. The foil bit may make it a bit more difficult, but there are always ways of getting around things.
One method would be to print the transfer onto a clear adhesive medium using a laser photo copier. Photo copy shops used to be able to print onto clear adhesive plastic film for you. I made some butterflies which I stuck on some glass years ago. Then if you could find some adhesive foil stick the image onto it and cut it to the right dimensions.
Another way would be to use clear transfer paper which you can buy online for inkjet or laser printers. My inkjet printer ink doesn't dry on plastic films so you may need a laser printer. The transfer would need to be coated with acrylic lacquer from aerosol before it could be fixed to the foil.
If you do not have a copy to photograph you may have to resort to making a copy on your computer, finding what fonts were used and colours.
Another way would be to use whatever you can and draw or trace the image out, enlarge it and true up any discrepancies and then colour it in. The image could then be reduce to the correct size for printing.
Fun isn't it!
I'm still playing at looking at ways of doing things. My last attempt at screen printing wasn't too successful, but it is early days and a bit of a steep learning curve!

 

[Illaveago]

I don't know about "Rodney, you'r a plonker" it should be woodbutcher you'r a plonker. I just checked the bike and it has already got the KG243 decal
It is the much easier to source Columbus Neuron frame decal that is missing.......a bit like Rodney my brain cell

Have I just wasted half of my life writing that essay ?

 

[midlife]

Possibly

 

[woodbutcher]

If you have access to an original example so that you can either take photos or measurements you may be able to make a replica. The foil bit may make it a bit more difficult, but there are always ways of getting around things.
One method would be to print the transfer onto a clear adhesive medium using a laser photo copier. Photo copy shops used to be able to print onto clear adhesive plastic film for you. I made some butterflies which I stuck on some glass years ago. Then if you could find some adhesive foil stick the image onto it and cut it to the right dimensions.
Another way would be to use clear transfer paper which you can buy online for inkjet or laser printers. My inkjet printer ink doesn't dry on plastic films so you may need a laser printer. The transfer would need to be coated with acrylic lacquer from aerosol before it could be fixed to the foil.
If you do not have a copy to photograph you may have to resort to making a copy on your computer, finding what fonts were used and colours.
Another way would be to use whatever you can and draw or trace the image out, enlarge it and true up any discrepancies and then colour it in. The image could then be reduce to the correct size for printing.
Fun isn't it!
I'm still playing at looking at ways of doing things. My last attempt at screen printing wasn't too successful, but it is early days and a bit of a steep learning curve!

Have I just wasted half of my life writing that essay ?

I deserve a good telling off....but on the other hand your essay on reproducing images for bike decals etc will no doubt be useful at some point. Not only that but it was a very interesting dissertation !

 

[carpenter]

As Woodbutcher says - useful ideas for others to try out.

Any ideas on what thickness of film is suitable?

 

[Illaveago]

Here are some of my attempts. I had to do these by hand by tracing over an image as I discovered that the inkjet ink wouldn't dry on my lacquered gummed paper. The other problem is that you can't print white and gold an silver are also difficult.
The Holds which was an experiment to see if the gold paint was suitable for making a Holdsworth transfer was fixed on a steel bar test piece. I wasn't sure if the paint would react once the lacquer was applied to seal it.
The Flying Scot transfer was also made in a similar way except that several transfers had to be made and laid over one another. It is a bit fuzzy as I haven't developed my technique yet. It would be much easier to start off with a gold and white background and then apply another transfer with the details over the top, possibly done with the aid of a printer.
All of these experiments led me to the idea of screen printing. This would require several screens made to do the various colours. Not a simple task but would enable multiple transfers to be made. The idea was there but it didn't work out as planned. I thought that a pair of my wife's discarded tights might provide me with the screen. I had already made a small frame.
This project was done with what I could find lying around. I found some old model dope to block out the screen by tracing over the image. The failed attempts are illustrated. I learnt a few things from the experiment. The idea sort of works. The paint has to be the right viscosity. The paint also has to be compatible with the lacquer and the mesh has to be fine enough to take the detail.
The pictures show the various stages, from screen to discovering that the paint was too thin. The blue was sprayed on and the red was some acrylic spread on.
I saved myself a lot of money in this experiment by not rushing out and buying a silk screen kit and then finding that it wasn't suitable.
I need to do some more experimenting.

 

[woodbutcher]

Here are some of my attempts. I had to do these by hand by tracing over an image as I discovered that the inkjet ink wouldn't dry on my lacquered gummed paper. The other problem is that you can't print white and gold an silver are also difficult.
The Holds which was an experiment to see if the gold paint was suitable for making a Holdsworth transfer was fixed on a steel bar test piece. I wasn't sure if the paint would react once the lacquer was applied to seal it.
The Flying Scot transfer was also made in a similar way except that several transfers had to be made and laid over one another. It is a bit fuzzy as I haven't developed my technique yet. It would be much easier to start off with a gold and white background and then apply another transfer with the details over the top, possibly done with the aid of a printer.
All of these experiments led me to the idea of screen printing. This would require several screens made to do the various colours. Not a simple task but would enable multiple transfers to be made. The idea was there but it didn't work out as planned. I thought that a pair of my wife's discarded tights might provide me with the screen. I had already made a small frame.
This project was done with what I could find lying around. I found some old model dope to block out the screen by tracing over the image. The failed attempts are illustrated. I learnt a few things from the experiment. The idea sort of works. The paint has to be the right viscosity. The paint also has to be compatible with the lacquer and the mesh has to be fine enough to take the detail.
The pictures show the various stages, from screen to discovering that the paint was too thin. The blue was sprayed on and the red was some acrylic spread on.
I saved myself a lot of money in this experiment by not rushing out and buying a silk screen kit and then finding that it wasn't suitable.
I need to do some more experimenting.

Work in progress , and pretty damn impressive work as well. Thanks lllaveago for your info.

 

[Illaveago]

Work in progress , and pretty damn impressive work as well. Thanks lllaveago for your info.

As l said that it is work in progress . There are things to iron out and different avenues to explore. It is a case of suck it and see a lot of the time.
You can get material for making your own waterslide transfers, but things can become complicated when certain colours are involved. Using a scanner /photo copier / printer is I find an essential tool in playing around with images and text. I'm not very good with computers, I prefer to do things manually.
I will do a bit of research into printing transfers on my own printer using some transfer material to see what the results are.