xiaoman1 

zandoval ,
I am really interested in your addition to the thread. I have never used "HT" tape, does the adhesive still work after the tape has been submerged in water?
Best, Ben

zandoval 

Yes it does. The main reason I use Helicopter Tape is because of its durability of Urethane type plastic and longevity of its adhesive. I use regular printer paper for the transfers as the paper fibers almost dissolve away from the adhesive leaving the Toner Ink in place. On my latest repaint of my 81 UNIVEGA I had placed Helicopter tape on the Chain Stay and other areas of common damage. That was ten years ago and still the tape and adhesive were holding well.

The last time I ordered 2" Helicopter tape the vendor sent me Frost King T94H Plastic Weather-Seal Tape at half price and it too has lasted just as well as Helicopter tape.

chip.hedler

hey, I'm rehabbing a 61-62-ish Geminiani, not a restoration, but the previous owner had eschewed all ornamentation. My goal is to bring it back to the pervious owner's state but with just a bit of identification. The various incarnations of the original Geminiani head badge seem a bit cheesy so I'm thinking of re-interpreting it:

screen grab of commercially offered badge on left, new version on right

I worked the new version up in Photoshop, 2764px x 3532px.I can use Inkscape to produce an SVG version of it. Will that be suitable to create a decal? Ideally, the sort-of-gold color would be metallic or even a gold mylar background for the rest of the design.

xiaoman1 

zandoval,
Many thanks for the information.....it is very useful and a technique that I will try!
Best, ben

zandoval 

WOW! That's some real nice work!!! I would definitely consider this for a Bumper Sticker Print then just cut it out. Its gonna be hard to match that font for the down tube. Here is one made in Libroffice and InkScape useing the "Dolly Script Personal Use" font. It's not much of a match...

chip.hedler

There are a number of sources for the script on the down tube but I think I'm going to limit the decor to the head badge and maybe some Reynolds labels. The bike was not in its original trim when it came to me--the previous owner had displayed it in the window of her bike shop in what was probably its original trim which I am fairly sure included cottered Stronglight cranks. She had it painted yellow, left it free of any decoration, and upgraded it to alloy Stronglights and NR derailleurs so she could take it out on the road. A few years later when she sold the shop I successfully lobbied her to let me buy it (which was fine with her, because she had acquired a fire-engine red all-Campy Lejuene). I maintained it as my #2 bike until a housemate in Philly borrowed my #1 which was a Frejus and got that stolen. Over the years, this Geminiani has been my all-purpose ride, with fenders to make rainy days suitable. But it's taken a few mild knocks and scrapes and it's time to deal with flaking paint and rust here and there. And it seems appropriate to at least give a hat-tip to the brand name.

chip.hedler

In this thread there are some beautiful decals that do not appear cut out but have a clear background that shows the underlying paint. At the same time, there are white areas within the design (such as the interior of outlined letters or a multicolored stripe). Which decal creation methods work for this kind of effect?

zandoval 

Here's a close facsimile. Certainly not exact but it will allow you to make a decal using the Helicopter tape transfer...



Cannot attach .pdf file???
Saved the .pdf to google drive, here's the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ji9...ew?usp=sharing

frankalin45

Well, I guess it's nice to know that my decals will stand the test of time...or at least until someone else needs them! As for the art printers, I'm pretty sure they'll do a better job than my old bumper-sticker printer. I mean, it's not like I want my decals to peel off after the first rain, right? And thanks for the tip on vector files - I'll be sure to use those for my next project. Who knows, maybe I'll even start my own decal empire!

royalsteelmonograms.com

zandoval 

Here is a late 80s TREK logo. The font is not an exact match but very close. I had a hard time getting the notch at the bottom of the K and the fatness in the R. The files are sized for a Bumper Sticker print out. Checked around and still found Build-A-Sign as the printer for the best price in single prints. You can also print out the logos yourself and use the Helicopter Tape transfer method for the decals. Remember this is not the exact logo but rather my representation to be used as a bases for an individual to create his own decal for his own bicycle. Like a fair priced dry wine in a box... they will do...


https://www.buildasign.com/bumper-stickers

Trek Bumper Sticker Down Tube:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SW0...usp=drive_link

Trek Head Badge:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uyc...usp=drive_link