Tonight I thought I'd share with you the fiddly (and often stressful) process of applying the decals to pedals. So I had the missus take some photos while I worked on the current batch.
At this stage in the process, the boxes have already been painted and had at least 2 coats of lacquer - you need a high-gloss finish to apply them. They also have the side holes, for jacks and power supply drilled. I then apply the decals VERY CAREFULLY (see pics below), brush with a setting solution and leave to dry overnight.
Once they are dry, I search for any air bubbles, pop them with a scalpel and apply more setting solution. Leave to dry overnight again.
Only then can I seal the whole thing with a coat of gloss lacquer and finish with matt, satin or gloss lacquer. Drying time for lacquer coats is approx 2-6 hours per coat, depending on whether I use acrylic or enamel.
Once ALL that has been done, with the associated drying times, the pedal box faces can be drilled accurately for all the knobs, sockets and switches. The rest of the internal build can then begin.
So if you've ever wondered why it takes a long time to produce a hand-made pedal, you now have a little insight into what's involved just in making them look nice.
At this stage in the process, the boxes have already been painted and had at least 2 coats of lacquer - you need a high-gloss finish to apply them. They also have the side holes, for jacks and power supply drilled. I then apply the decals VERY CAREFULLY (see pics below), brush with a setting solution and leave to dry overnight.
Once they are dry, I search for any air bubbles, pop them with a scalpel and apply more setting solution. Leave to dry overnight again.
Only then can I seal the whole thing with a coat of gloss lacquer and finish with matt, satin or gloss lacquer. Drying time for lacquer coats is approx 2-6 hours per coat, depending on whether I use acrylic or enamel.
Once ALL that has been done, with the associated drying times, the pedal box faces can be drilled accurately for all the knobs, sockets and switches. The rest of the internal build can then begin.
So if you've ever wondered why it takes a long time to produce a hand-made pedal, you now have a little insight into what's involved just in making them look nice.
Trim the decal (not your fingers).
Soak in water for a minute.
Carefully remove from the backing paper.
Apply to the pedal and position carefully.
Brush with setting solution.
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