[dataway]

This is taking things to the next level. Excellent work.

[Verdoro 68]

'68 emissions decals are up for sale: https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...d.php?t=864808

I'm also working on '65 fan guard, '68 Firebird coolant and jack decals.

Made some good progress creating the air cleaner screens. I needed a bigger piece of glass, as the 8x10 left some edges when I made the exposure. I can touch those up with more emulsion. The plan is to cut these out into strips and wrap them as tight as possible to the air cleaner before applying the paint. I have a feeling the type and consistency of paint is going to be important here.

[dataway]

Couple questions ... can these be used as a spray paint mask? And can they be cleaned and reused if I mess it up the first time?

I know zippo about screen printing

[Verdoro 68]

As a spray paint mask - potentially? The screen is very fine, so it's hard to say whether the paint would make it through without persuasion. I was going to give it a try. If it works, it would likely be less error prone than actual silk screening.

Reusability - traditionally you can reuse a silk screen when doing shirts or whatever, you should be able to do it with these too. I'll try one with enamel and clean it with paint thinner and let you know what happens.

[Verdoro 68]

Afternoon of tinkering told me I have the right idea, but my execution needs some refinement.

I tried the traditional application method with a squeegee, blotting with a high density sponge, dry brushing the paint on and using it as a mask with spray paint. They all gave pretty much the same result which was blurry and globby text. One time I got a half way acceptable AC logo, but overall what I was doing clearly wasn't working. The good news is the screens are totally resuable and wash off easily with some brake cleaner.

After about 20 attempts, I gave up trying to get a clean pull and did some more research. It turns out I'm using the wrong screen mesh. I'm using screens made for t-shirt printing which are pretty coarse (140). I need a finer screen for the detail and the smooth metal surface - roughly double what I was using (305). I may also need a thicker solvent-based silkscreen ink to prevent bleeding ( I was using Rustoleum enamel), but I think the screen mesh is a bulk of the problem. I now know twice as much about screen printing as I did yesterday.

Back to the drawing board...

[Verdoro 68]

Oh yeah, here's the '65 fan guard. Someone on the forum reproduced these as water slides about 10 years ago. Pretty simple graphics that were easy to reproduce, If folks are interested, I could have a few water slides of these run since the current reproductions are way off the mark (shown at top) and the stickers have trouble conforming the to the fan guard.

[dataway]

I've seen some pretty poor OEM air cleaner prints so it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect.

[Verdoro 68]

It doesn't - but it needs to be an order of magnitude better than what I was able to output. It also needs to be dead simple to apply.

[dataway]

Make sure you market these things to the RA crowd ... they are very persnickety about the correctness of things, they would be likely to appreciate your efforts.

[Verdoro 68]

Tonight's project...

This one took some time since I had to redraw the radiator from scratch and fudge a bunch of the fonts. Could probably still use some refinement, but it's close. I don't believe this one is reproduced today.





Here's what's available today. Notice how blown out and poor quality the graphics and text are. I've seen this on most reproductions. The more I look at the repros vs. originals, I'm convinced they scanned and adjusted the heck out of them quickly to drop out any artifacts. Sometimes they're so blown out, it makes fonts almost unrecognizable.

[dataway]

Verdoro ... if you could, include the applications when you post a project ... cause if you don't then I want them all whether they are for my car or not

I'm big on factory decals .. spent forever making replacements for my New Holland tractor.

[Verdoro 68]

The one above is for a ‘68 Firebird.

[spartazoo]

Any idea how these are printed? I own a visual communications company that can print almost anything. I might be able to help.

[gto4ben]

Mr. Verdoro 68,
Do you have any recommendations on how to create an air conditioner compressor decal on adhesive backed aluminum? Reproductions of these are so very wrong.

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by spartazoo

Any idea how these are printed? I own a visual communications company that can print almost anything. I might be able to help.

PM sent!

Originally Posted by gto4ben

Mr. Verdoro 68,
Do you have any recommendations on how to create an air conditioner compressor decal on adhesive backed aluminum? Reproductions of these are so very wrong.

I don't, but I've been thinking about looking into these after I get the air cleaner screens figured out. If I remember right, the originals are relatively thick and the numbers are almost stamped into them. I figure if you could make it 60 years ago, you can make it today.

[Verdoro 68]

I think I cracked the code on the air cleaner screens. A finer silkscreen made a huge difference and is much more forgiving. This looks pretty close to what the factory might have done, it might come out even more clear with the silkscreen ink I have on the way.

[dataway]

Heck, I could live with that as is. Way better than the nothing I have on mine now.

[Verdoro 68]

I could live with this too. The silkscreen ink is thicker so it should blur less. It's acrylic as opposed to oil based but it's supposed to hold up on wood and metal.

[Verdoro 68]

The silkscreen ink arrived this afternoon. The fine 305 screen and silkscreen ink appears to be the magic combo. I missed a few letters on this pass though. I'll let this dry and see how it holds up.

The screens are very reusable and it's pretty easy to wipe off and start over if you aren't happy. My air cleaner has been screened about 30 times now LOL.

[dataway]

Sweet! Very nice.

I bet a bit of clear coat over that and it would last a long time.

Now I'm wanting to screen print things all over the place