sciencemonster

My paints not so bad, but all my decals have faded to nothing.

Can I just get new ones from that Australian guy and slap them on there? Do I then have to 'clear coat' them, whatever that entails? Is that hard/tricky? Would I have to scrap off the old ones, or can I just slap new ones over the old ones?

Or should I not worry about being all flashy...

mkeller234

I think it would be fine without clear coat. I don't know that every single bike had the decals clear coated over to begin with (but I am no expert). I would remove the old decals before installing the new ones, a hair dryer might help. I bought the cyclomondo decals for my Raleigh professional and just left them raw. The decals look great and I haven't had any issues, of course I do not ride that bike very much.

wtgrantham

Those decals do not need to be clearcoated and are much more durable than original decals (which usually were not clearcoated). They can also be "wet" applied so you can get them into place without the "one chance" method.

randyjawa 

I have used this fellow's decals and they are not at all difficult to install. You do have to be careful and follow the included instruction sheet. As for clear coat, I did not use it on my PX10 but doing so would not hurt.

If you would like a bit of advice for removing old art you might find this article on removing stickers worth a moment of your time.

https://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...d_Stickers.htm

Hope this is a help.

shrinkboy

i recall a long time ago using carbon tetrachloride to remove decals-- seems i remember that they simply dissolved and came off in the rag-- can anyone verify?

sced

Nail polish remover does a good job. You can get vinyl decals that might be the most durable. Spraying a little slightly soapy water on the spots where a decal is to be applied allows the decal to be moved around before it sticks.

Grand Bois

The only bike I have with clearcoat over the decals is the one that Dr. Deltron painted.

markk900

I guess one question though is: will you be happy doing just the decals. Not sure what bike you are cleaning up, but bear in mind the decals could run you $40-50.....if you put them on and then decide they look too nice and now the paint needs doing (etc....) you may have wasted some money....

Perhaps some photos to show the relative degradation of the decal vs the paint would be good (alway like pictures!)

Mark

RobbieTunes

Yes. No clear coat required, and the new decals seem to be better quality, as far as material and adhesive, than the originals.

I used X-treme Goo Gone and a rag to get rid of the decals. There were no stickers, but a hair dryer works fine to heat/peel.
After that, I cleaned it well with mineral spirits. Some touchup if you need it, then some rubbing compound to smooth up the touchup.
Clean it well again, then apply the decals. If you just stick them on, be right the first time. If you want to adjust, use water.
I did not clear over the decals, just applied a couple coats of paste wax. I expect to get a little patina on the bike as I use it.



Now, you can always go the clear coat route, but in that case, you should wet-sand the bike before applying decals, so after you apply decals, you can have someone shoot clear over them. This requires stripping the bike of it's components, for the most part.

sciencemonster

You've all seen them before, but here goes:



The paint shines up with a little WD40 wiped on, so I don't know that I would complain. I thought I could just dab on the clear coat over the decals themselves - no way would I strip it down and take it to a frame painter. If i did that, I'd have them paint it, too.

luker

I use clear from a spray can, sprayed into the lid or another small container. I use a fine small brush and clear just the decals - I think you could tell they've been cleared if you use a magnifying glass...but otherwise they look original and last much better. Another trick, for waterslides, is to clear the decal on the sheet before you soak and slide it onto the bike. I did that with home-printed decals on my wife's klein, and they haven't faded at all after three years.