# Decals on powder coat question



## olevince (Jun 11, 2017)

Has anyone had any luck with trying to put water slide decals on a powder coated bike? I was told they would not stick. Don't want to waste a set of decals if it's not going to work. Any info or experience would be helpful. Thanks.


----------



## momo608 (Jun 12, 2017)

There are two potential problems with water slide decals adhering. There is a texture or an excessive orange peel in the surface, whether it be paint or powder coat, this causes the decals to lift or "silver" upon drying. The second being the decals are of poor quality, meaning they are old or inferior quality materials . I have had decals work perfect or be total junk from the same source. You can read about a trick in my "how to show quality paint" thread on poorly adhering decals. There is also a thread in the Schwinn lightweight forum with more decal info.


----------



## Jeff54 (Jun 12, 2017)

Can't say if surface is too slick that this will work but, it's what modelers use, and it sure stuck down one I sat on 1980 bike. It emulsifies the surfaces of decal so It practically melts it on. : : Mirco Sol


----------



## Goldenrod (Jun 19, 2017)

Have you tried cutting the paper backing with the decal and then glueing the whole thing to the bike with contact cement ?


----------



## GTs58 (Jun 19, 2017)

Did you check out momo's threads/posts?

http://www.policecarmodels.com/mideseso.html


----------



## Velocipedist Co. (Sep 7, 2017)

I've applied waterslide decals to a custom Schwinn project that had been powder coated with good results.


----------



## acurint (Jan 21, 2022)

Velocipedist Co. said:


> I've applied waterslide decals to a custom Schwinn project that had been powder coated with good results.



Just typical water slide decals from eBay sold for Schwinn bikes and a normal powder coat and it worked?


----------



## Velocipedist Co. (Jan 22, 2022)

acurint said:


> Just typical water slide decals from eBay sold for Schwinn bikes and a normal powder coat and it worked?



Yes.. decals from ebay on metal flake candy apple red powder coating.


----------



## acurint (Jan 22, 2022)

Velocipedist Co. said:


> Yes.. decals from ebay on metal flake candy apple red powder coating.



Very helpful thanks, I've been getting my bikes powder coated for durability and have a complete stingray set coming. I hate to try to install them and have them not work. My guy leaves to finish with no orange pill and pretty smooth so I've been researching it and getting conflicting information. People are saying you have to clear coat on top of the powder coat first, or put the details on and then clear coat over that so mixed answers. Thank you.


----------



## Archie Sturmer (Jan 22, 2022)

I believe that the glue on the water slide decals need a clean surface to stick to, that is neither too smooth nor too rough.


----------



## RustySprockets (Jan 22, 2022)

While this topic is fresh, can anyone state whether or not _clear powder coat _can be applied over decals?  My suspicion is that the decals would not survive the baking process.


----------



## Velocipedist Co. (Jan 22, 2022)

I’m not sure about other powder coated finishes, but mine was a very high gloss, pretty smooth without orange peel, and I don’t believe I used anything other than dish soap and water to prep the surface.  This was my only experience with water decals on powder coat so I may have also gotten lucky with the results.


----------



## Deanmc (Feb 2, 2022)

Just want to share my experience. I have a freshly powder coated frame that I applied water slide decals to (purchased on eBay). They went on nice but two weeks later when I started to build my bike up the decals started to flake off. The bike has a high gloss finish and is very smooth. I messaged the guy I purchased the decals from and he sent me replacements recommending I wet sand with 400 over the area where I will apply the new decals. Not sure I want to scuff up my new paint job. Has anyone here tried this approach?


----------



## GTs58 (Feb 2, 2022)

Deanmc said:


> Just want to share my experience. I have a freshly powder coated frame that I applied water slide decals to (purchased on eBay). They went on nice but two weeks later when I started to build my bike up the decals started to flake off. The bike has a high gloss finish and is very smooth. I messaged the guy I purchased the decals from and he sent me replacements recommending I wet sand with 400 over the area where I will apply the new decals. Not sure I want to scuff up my new paint job. Has anyone here tried this approach?




Other than an inferior product, the installation method can also cause a problem later.
One of the biggest mistakes that I've seen is when the decal is soaked way to long. I learned when I was 12-13 years old that over soaking causes a few different problems. Some instructions will tell you to soak for only 20-30 seconds max fully submerged and then let the decal sit flat on a flat surface until it releases and slides on the backing. One issue of over soaking is the decal will later turn milky underneath the clear. Another issue of over soaking is the glue/adhesive is compromised. After watching a few Youtubers showing you how to, I'm lmao while they slide the decal on the backing while it's still in the bowl. I would use Micro Set when installing decals on powder.

Here's a decent how to vid.


----------



## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Feb 3, 2022)

I had this frame/chain guard/rack powder coated. Put on the water slide decals with no other attention to them. Only a trace of lifting.............but , these were very old decals when I finally used them on this bike.


----------



## Deanmc (Feb 3, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> Other than an inferior product, the installation method can also cause a problem later.
> One of the biggest mistakes that I've seen is when the decal is soaked way to long. I learned when I was 12-13 years old that over soaking causes a few different problems. Some instructions will tell you to soak for only 20-30 seconds max fully submerged and then let the decal sit flat on a flat surface until it releases and slides on the backing. One issue of over soaking is the decal will later turn milky underneath the clear. Another issue of over soaking is the glue/adhesive is compromised. After watching a few Youtubers showing you how to, I'm lmao while they slide the decal on the backing while it's still in the bowl. I would use Micro Set when installing decals on powder.
> 
> Here's a decent how to vid.



That video was helpful, thank you. In my case the directions for the decals said to soak them for 2-3 minutes. That might have been too long so im going to try again only soaking 30 seconds.


----------



## GTs58 (Feb 3, 2022)

Deanmc said:


> That video was helpful, thank you. In my case the directions for the decals said to soak them for 2-3 minutes. That might have been too long so im going to try again only soaking 30 seconds.




That's definitely too long to be soaking. I'm surprised the decal didn't separate from the backing and was floating around. 🤣 Who did you get those decals from?


----------



## Deanmc (Feb 3, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> That's definitely too long to be soaking. I'm surprised the decal didn't separate from the backing and was floating around. 🤣 Who did you get those decals from?



eBay seller “bicyclebones”


----------



## GTs58 (Feb 3, 2022)

Deanmc said:


> eBay seller “bicyclebones”




That's strange. I bought some Schwinn Varsity decals from Dan a few years back and his instructions for soaking wasn't for 2-3 minutes. 😕 I believe he also had instructions posted in some of his listings at that time. Those down tube Varsity decals were like 16" long so I had to hold them under the water, they like to curl up, and soaked them for a half a minute in pretty warm water. I laid them flat on a wet counter top for a couple minutes before they were ready to slide off. One of my old friends recently did the decals on Brian's powdered 1961 Corvette 5 speed. I'll have to ask him if this was the first time that he did a powder coated frame.


----------



## Deanmc (Feb 3, 2022)

That’s the same sticker I had (on the purple frame). He asked me if my frame was powdercoated when I told him the sticker  flaked off. That was when he recommended a light sanding before application. Now you got me thinking about his instructions though. He may have said to let them sit for 2-3 minutes after putting them in warm water (not soak for 2-3). Whatever it was, I followed them to a tee because I was nervous I’d mess it up.


----------



## Deanmc (Feb 4, 2022)

Checked the instructions and it does say to soak in warm water for 3-minutes, then to let the decal air dry for 2-3 minutes before applicatio.


----------



## cyclingday (Feb 10, 2022)

I just used, Micro Set/Micro Sol for the first time.
Totally the way to go!
Great results!
I experimented with and without out clear coating the decal first, while it was still on the paper, and the clear coat made the decal much more durable.
That isn’t something that you would have to do, if the painted object was going to be clear coated after the fact.
But for those of us, using single stage paint, for an O E M finish, the clear coat before application works very well.
Thanks, for the tips guys!
Mucho Appreciado!


----------



## Schwinny (Feb 13, 2022)

If you let the decal soak too long, all of the glue rinses and wipes off the decal as it is applied, or even before as it sits in the water. Then when it goes on and dries, it will flake and look milky.
Also, being a "water slide" gives the inference that one can just put it down, move it around at will, and done. Not so. The more you move it around, the more glue is wiped off.
There should be just as much prep for getting a water slide decal into place as a vinyl one. Marked off, tweezers etc. They should be put down with only slight movement to place them. They are meant to slide off the backing, not all over the bike tube.
You set the decal Face Down in Distilled Water and watch the edges soak up the water moving towards the center. When the center is soaked, you take it out of the water and start trying to slightly move it around the backing. Usually about 10-15 seconds after fully soaked
The trick is to get the decal off the backing w/o rinsing all the glue off, AND w/o tearing the decal. It is a skill that takes a bit of trial and error.
If you wait till the entire decal is sliding easily off the backing, its too late.
If you slide a long down tube decal off the backing down the length of the backing and onto the bar, the act of dragging it down the backing also pulls off glue.
After ruining many decals over time, I still mess one up occasionally. 
Powder coat is just plastic, its not teflon or any kind of anti-wetting coating. Decals stick to it just fine, in the same fashion as applying them to paint. There COULD be a potential problem with acrylic paint solvents over the top of powder coat. Namely, clear coat that sits on top of the plastic may have issues of adhesion later.
Ive used 2 part plastic epoxy clears over decals over powder coat and it looked completely professional.

This one was black Powder Coat, water slides from Bicycle Bones, and a two part clear in a rattle can from the auto paint store. Frame, fork and guard. It looked way better that original... which can also be a type of problem to some people.
I used decal set when I was a kid on models, but haven't tried it on bike decals


----------



## 4nthony (Mar 31, 2022)

cyclingday said:


> I just used, Micro Set/Micro Sol for the first time.
> Totally the way to go!
> Great results!
> I experimented with and without out clear coating the decal first, while it was still on the paper, and the clear coat made the decal much more durable.
> ...




Micro Set and Micro Sol are two different products. Did you use them both?

There seems to be some overlap in the descriptions of each and I can't really figure out when you would use Set vs. Sol.

Also...

For a larger chain guard decal, is it better to cut and apply it in two sections or just do it as one large piece?

Thanks!


----------

