dash decal application

[Martin 2,133]

just finished applying the dash decal i got from terry on the 1057 dash panel. was the first time doing one of these dash panels, it went ok and i learned a few things along the way. like i said, first time with one of these, did the 1054 dash which was similar but those sharp bends across the 1057 one gave me fits getting the decal to look right.

terrys workmanship on this is a1 and my problems were nothing to do with the way the decal was made at all.

i used the windex method as ive done before with all the 1054 decals and positioning went well and got all the air out from under it, then the problems started, because of the decal still being slippery and not sticking to the dash, it was coming up, expectedly from the tight bends and wouldnt sit down no matter what i did. so i kept working it and trying to get it dry as possible. then i found the adhesive not sticking at all. so i thought about using some heat to see what it would do. good idea it worked out, not only did this really dry out and rejuvinate the adhesive, it softened the vinyl enough for it to conform to the bends in the metal. just dont get carried away with the heat, im sure it would stretch or damage the decal. there is one area on the upper part just above the throttle position that the adhesive layered up under the decal from me messing with it too much when the thing was starting to dry, and thats really the only area im not happy with, hardly noticable though and it was part of the lesson this thing taught me along the way. i think my next one will be better....like they say, practice makes.....?

one other tip, after getting the thing looking good, i had a few small hazy scratch marks from working it with fingers and a wet towel. a quick once over with the heat gun brightened the vinyl colors up considerably and the scratches/ scuffs disappeared!!!!

heres the product of my frustrations.......

so i guess i would like to hear from anybody who has done these before, once or many times, have any tips, techniques or whatever that you use to make these decals go on easier. just to help out the next guy....

oh, just thought id mention, that i did search a fair bit on here before tackling this little 'project'...

also saw a few youtube vids on applying vinyl decals.

edit... just noticed a dog hair sitting on top of the decal right above the 2 gear pattern position, yes we have dogs.......

[AMC RULES 37,144]

Well...this is a timely post Martin, as I just finished blasting my Commando Eight dash hood at work last night. Major difference being my dash plate came off in two pieces though, PO must have tweaked the bend, causing it to crack laterally, and ultimately break in two. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to tack it back together upon reassembly, or leave it seperated, as you can't tell once it's back in place in the hood. I'm thinking it might make it easier to work the decal, by cutting it into three pieces. The silver top section, the black bottom, and the middle(raised)strip...choke, lighter, ignition, throttle. I think I'm going to paint the dash panel before decal application, silver top, black bottom, then lay the decal down on top of the paint. Wondering if you painted your dash plate first?

Your dash looks really good Martin, stop nitpicking it. :teasing-poke:

[Martin 2,133]

yes i did paint it first. this dash was really rusty and had a lot of rust pitting. it was a lot of work to get it smooth. i grinded the metal to remove a lot of the pitting. then powdercoated it both sides and sanded it with 220 to get it flat as possible and then powdered again over the top. front was still not as smooth as i would have liked so i wet sanded it with 800 and cleaned it off before applying the decal.

hey, good luck with applying yours, i think that center section is going to be a real bear to get right being that narrow......

heres the back. i wanted it red......

it would be better black from the front in case the decal is short anywhere it wont show as much as the red would.

[Fun Engineer 859]

Martin

Great post. It looks great.

Craig

I just finished painting my Commando dash to get it ready for Terry's decal. I won't be able to apply it for a couple of weeks but will enjoy hearing from others and their success. How is your's coming along?

[AMC RULES 37,144]

My Commando is in slow motion FE, trying to not get carried away, and just detail the dash a bit before the big show.

Martin, while sanding yours, did you also see the underlying copper color in it come up? If you look closely at my picts, you can kinda see what I referring to...wondering what that's all about...were these dash plated, originally chrome finished, or something similar? :dunno:

[Martin 2,133]

mine was bead blasted first. no remains of any of the original dash on it, just brown rust, somebody had painted over the rust with black paint......

[Martin 2,133]

.were these dash plated originally chrome finished, or something similar?

i think they had some sort of chrome or nickel type plating on them, my 875 looks plated from looking at the front and back.

[kpinnc 13,436]

I've done three of these now, and had similar problems the first time. As has already been said, the problems are in no way because of anything Terry has done. The quality of his work is what makes this possible to begin with!

I've found that cutting the decal in 3 pieces, just as Craig did, it goes on much easier. This also allows for the decal to be pressed into that hard little turn from both sides separately without stretching the vinyl and damaging it. Terry makes these decals slightly oversize to allow for trimming, which comes in quite handy here.

I cut mine on an office paper shear, so I get a perfectly straight line. Then apply the black half first, then the center section, with a tiny overlap being made with the chrome side so there is no chance of water running into the seam. Repeat for the top part- small overlap after getting the seam squeezed in nice and tight. Never had any problems so far!

[dclarke 4,055]

Martin, I had trouble on my 857 dash. This will really help when I do my next one. Thanks, A LOT!! :thumbs:

[Martin 2,133]

Martin, I had trouble on my 857 dash. This will really help when I do my next one. Thanks, A LOT!!

denny, over the past year ive read a little on applying these style dash decals but do you think i could find the info i thought id remembered reading? no way!!! so i went sort of blind into it, looking at the profile of the panel, it should have been obvious, but not having done any decals for at least 6 months id sort of forgotten a few things.

1054 rebuild was the last time, im now remembering the few hassles i had with that dash panel, the bend that runs across that one and into the steering wheel hole was a pain, the 1054 dash is still not really right, but unless you know what to look for its ok.

i should have thought about the heat before, as ive done a bit of auto trim work on cars ive build back home and thats the only way to get interior vinyl trim to go around bends and stretch and shrink to conform.

im happy with it for the first time with this design. next time i will hopefully have this thread to fall back on! :)

[tomr406 4]

Where did you get the decal?

[Martin 2,133]

Where did you get the decal?

hey, tomr406,

redsquare vendor vinylguy makes them.......

heres the link in his store.....

http://www.redoyourh...H-DECALS/Detail

terry (vinylguy) does an awesome job on all his decals.......

[CasualObserver 3,410]

Martin... here's a very old post on it.