tiger1964 

I probably should have long ago ordered decals for my projects, but I wanted to see results from the powder coating first. Two key providers I knew about are both through eBay, Cyclomondo and Velocals; I had experience with the former for my wife’s Windsor and was happy enough with the results. Anyone try both and can relate which is better? Also, searching old BFD topics, I see there’s at least one other seller, Bicals… are there yet more sources?

Good to see these are available at all. I see good matches for my Falcon and my Zeus, and there are Gitane sets but none dating back to 1961 so the newer foil set might be my best choice. Plus I need tubing-set decals, Columbus seems readily available but Reynolds tougher especially older styles, I see BiCals has them but those are water-slide, I wonder if mixing types of decals (adhesive versus water-slide) would appear odd. I was told that my Gitane is 531 straight gauge main tubes and Durifort forks/stays, that combo might be nearly impossible to replicate… or just leave the tubing decal off.

Moreover, three bikes have chrome rear stays, I see some choices in “transition bands”, not sure what to get (I see Italian bands which might be OK on the Palo Alto even if they were not there originally… but the Drysdale and the Zeus, I should be searching for simply monochromatic bands). I think I'm heading for a lot of mix-n-match here.

Marylander

Don't have anything to compare but the h lloyd decals, including a Reynolds one, seem very nice to me.

3alarmer 

...it's been a while since I ordered them. I have gotten decals/stickers from both Cyclomondo as well as Velocals, H Lloyd, and some mysterious E-bay sellers (of which there are a lot now. If there are any quality differences between the two you mention, I have not noticed it. Mostly the differences are who has what available for sale at the time.

Something you ought to consider for a powdercoat restoration is that clear coating over the decals on a powdercoat finish is a little problematic. Most spray finishes won't adhere well to powdercoat without roughing it, and you don't really want to rough it when it looks all nice and shiny already. So for such an application, the 2 mil vinyl reproductions, with the special stuff to make them UV resistant to fading is probably the best choice.

Those might or might not be available from both sources.

One set of the e-bay decals (for a Ron Cooper) worked fine. But they are overcoated with clear 2 part Urethane as a finish coat for the entire bike. The others, on a lesser Raleigh Sports project, had some issues with adhesion, even though clear coated with a clear enamel overspray. So in your situation, you're better off sticking with the two you mention. Their vinyl adhesive is pretty good stuff.

Transition bands are difficult to apply and get durable results, because of the smaller surface area of the adhesive. They work best under some kind of clear urethane finish. Some people use paint pens to apply a band at the transition, which is a little more durable, but still fragile.

tiger1964 

Thanks. UK based, I presume and the selection seems Anglocentric. Good to know they have Reynolds.

Sounds promising and if you've had no problem with either, I guess I might be more comfortable and, yeah, it's partly about can-I-get versus I-cannot -get.

With a good coating of high quality wax I might be satisfied. I do not ride on unpaved roads nor (unless I get caught out) in the rain. So maybe damage is not a super priority. THAT SAID, I thought about putting something like 3M "clear bra" automotive product on sensitive areas like the underside of the down tube, bottom bracket shell and chain stays. And/or did I see where someone makes a kit for that? The good news is that the coater gave me good info on the supplier for the powder and they make touch-up paint to match! I even have the color code.

Hmm, I'll think about paint pens. There's some significant overlap powdercoat-to-chrome, thus a little ridge line and not right at the transition... not sure what if anything to do about that.

markk900

Couple of thoughts - I worked with velocals to take some of his standard decals and making some tweaks that better suited my build; he was great about it and the decals (in this case vinyl) were excellent. For the utmost in decal work though Gus Salmon is a great resource especially for interesting and hard to find/need to recreate decals. His work is outstanding, but I will say cost is commensurate with the work done.

BlueDevil63 

I have used both extensively. I have had no real problems with either and they seem to be similar quality. I favor Velocals since they are US based and shipping/mailing a little less dodgy but Cyclomondo (Australia) is great and Greg Softley the owner is great to work with. Both also have websites besides their Ebay sales. Both Velocals and Cyclomondo have pretty extensive selections of tubing decals, including lots of Reynolds options. Be sure and check their websites not just Ebay. The Bicals Reynolds decals are vinyl not water slide by the way.

SurferRosa

In my limited experience, H.Lloyd is of equally good quality (and customer service) with G.Softley (Cyclomondo).

H.Lloyd also parted-out one decal from a set, which I appreciated.

randyjawa 

I have used Cyclomondo stickers from Australia and found them to be very good, easy to apply and as durable as the originals...


Gus Salmon was good enough to make me a set of water slide decals for my late fifties Rabeneick. Lovely work but the water slide decal system demands a clear/protective top coat...



And I plan on ordering a set of stickers from Velocals for this old Torpado project which is underway as I type. I cannot comment on the quality of Velocals, never having used them myself but I have heard good things from other collector/restorers...


As for Lloyds - nothing on Earth would get me to buy another decal, sticker or water slide from them. The stuff they sent me for this old Legnano was pure poorly made did not stick worth a darn product. Simply put, the down tube decal was crooked. The head tube and seat tube stickers did not stick. The seller suggested that I get some kind of glue and glue them in place. Forget about that. My Legnano was completed without the mentioned decals and Lloyds is off of my supplier list.

tiger1964 

That's really good feedback. Hmm, I need to do some searching for non-eBay sites, in particular I thought that Cyclomondo had inadequate Reynolds offering for my needs; I must recheck.

Thanks for that input, (a) I do have a bike that I need custom decals for but have been given a lead for a source, (b) pretty sure I won't be doing a clear top-coat... but I am reading all this closely.

Wow. And, not part of my current multi-bike project, a friend said he's giving me his 1974 All-Campy-except-brakes Legnano and decals will be required.

3alarmer 

.
...I think all three mentioned have Legnano decals for sale (or at least they did back when I was restoring a Legnano). I have not noticed any differences in ease of use or results with the H Lloyd stickers I've used here, but I clear coat everything with urethane now. So if you do that, it will pretty much hold anything in place on the bike with reasonable results.

BlueDevil63 

cyclomondo.net

tiger1964 

You do this yourself? If so, via spray can, or other equipment? Or take it to a prfessianl? And on the decals only or the entire frame? And, I'd have to get it to stick to powder coat which, as has already been stated, might present other problems.

Thanks; I need to get a move on; I recall last time shipment from Australia took a while.