# Decals on Wood



## SeahawkBeau (Feb 1, 2017)

I've read alot about the procedure for doing decals but they are all on acrylic or PR.  Is there a way to do it on a wood pen and so what would the procedure be or would it be the same regardless of the material.


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## lorbay (Feb 1, 2017)

I do these on wood all the time. I put 5 coats of CA and then polish it apply decal and then more CA. 
Lin


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## jttheclockman (Feb 1, 2017)

It is done all the time. Treat the wood as acrylic in that seal it before you apply the decal. Most people go all the way and do several coats of CA and polish but do not put a plastic polish under it. Blends in better.


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## Rockytime (Feb 1, 2017)

As already posted, it works flawlessly. CA then decal then CA.


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## SeahawkBeau (Feb 1, 2017)

Thanks Guys, now I just have to get better at doing a CA finish.  The decal idea is something I am gonna try out, I have had a friend that has been doing the laser engraving for me but I think the decal idea would give me more options but the person who is interested in this idea does not like acrylic, only wood and she likes the lighter woods so that works out great.  If she likes my ideas she has promised a minimium of 100 pens a year.


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## larryc (Feb 2, 2017)

American Holly works great. It's wood and has practically no grain to detract from the decal image.


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## Skie_M (Feb 2, 2017)

Hmmm ... his lady friend is the one interested, and she doesn't like plastic ...  American Holly, properly finished in a shiny CA finish after buffing, would probably look like a white or off-white plastic.

I might think about asking her if she has a particular preference for the wood species, especially if she wants to see wood grain.  Beech, Maple, Poplar, and Persimmon (white ebony) come to mind.


Also, if the grain interference might be a problem, you could also mention that there's a white background decal paper you could use, in addition to the clear background paper.  In fact, you could possibly make one part of the design using clear, so that you can see the wood grain through it, and the part that needs to show up clearly could be made on white background paper.


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## SeahawkBeau (Feb 2, 2017)

The one she liked was actually spalted Maple, would be very easy to put a decal on.  The few samples I had were not stablilized so they really didn't looke that good.  I just got my stabilization set up today so I will shoot her out some samples.  Thanks guys for all the help.  Any suggestions for a decal program or is that another topic someplace else.


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## Skie_M (Feb 2, 2017)

Any image program should work OK ... it's mostly the printer you need to work the kinks out of.

I use Microsoft Paint.  It came with Windows.

I can get into my printer settings and set up page sizes, but I find that to be a little tedious.

My decal sheets come as a half-sheet size of standard paper 8.5" x 11" .... 2 easy ways around using that setup.


You can simply turn the decal sheet sideways, so that it is entering the printer with the same width as your standard paper .... and set the image printing program up so that the image will be printed in the TOP HALF ONLY of the page.

Or you can TAPE 2 PIECES OF DECAL PAPER TOGETHER FROM THE BACKSIDES, insert just like a regular sheet of paper ....  and make sure that nothing will be printed right in the middle.


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## Math2010 (Feb 10, 2017)

Wich brand of decal paper do you use?


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## jttheclockman (Feb 10, 2017)

Math2010 said:


> Wich brand of decal paper do you use?



www.penturners.org/forum/f14/water-slide-decal-material-141887/



www.penturners.org/forum/f178/paper-printer-choose-140535/


www.penturners.org/forum/search.php...earchinfo=1&photoplog_searchquery=decal+paper


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## SeahawkBeau (Feb 10, 2017)

Math2010 said:


> Wich brand of decal paper do you use?



I just bought Bel Inkjet Decal Paper online from DecalPaper.  I followed the instructions when I printed it up and the detail was amazing.  I sprayed the acrylic spray on it to seal it today and will be putting it on tomorrow.  when I am done I will post pictures.


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