galaga side art mess up

saleem

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i tried applying newly acquired galaga side art today to my cab,mess up galore.i have never seen so many creases and bubbles in my life,its as if the art was being applied to a cab side that was not leveel,so the art kinda folded on itself.needless to say both sides are now residing in the bin.

what is realy the best method,i was tacking it in place with tape,i removed a bit of backing at the top and stuck that down,that wasnt so bad but,it wasnt perfect but the more backing i removed and the more vinyl went on the cab the more it was messed.

i used just a sponge to smooth it out,yet the guy with sf2 art just used his hand,all i got to say is you had it good with such a small piece.

any points,dos and donts for next time?

thanks.
:)
 
I bought a j-roller at Lowe's. I recommend picking one up. Arts/Crafts stores probably sell them also:

920.jpg
 
I recommend getting the gold squeegees from 3M. That is all that I use when doing my vinyl work. When doing the Galaga side art, since it is not that wide, but long. I recommend getting it in place exactly where it has to go, then taping either the top or bottom in place with blue masking tape so as not to leave residue. Make sure it is taped down good, then hinge it over upon itself, peel a little bit of the backing paper off and then hinge it back keeping it tight. Squeegee it back forth side to side keeping the entire thing tight as you go. Peel more backing tape off as you need. If you want you can use some Rapid Tac application fluid to keep it from sticking instantly since you are new to installing artwork.

Hope that all makes sense.
 
Did you tape it horizontally across the middle... remove the backing from the top down to the tape... then work back and forth upward... then remove the tape and the remaining backing and work back and forth downward?
 
i have never seen so many creases and bubbles in my life,its as if the art was being applied to a cab side that was not leveel,so the art kinda folded on itself.needless to say both sides are now residing in the bin.

Have you seen pictures of the Noice CC Mopet? I use a roller that I made with half a skate truck and one wheel, used this when I worked in a skate shop back in the day gripping boards. The best advice I can give is to take your time.
 
I use an automotive pin-striping tool wrapped in a soft cotton cloth to do my vinyl burnishing. It's kinda like a stiffer bondo spreader. You gotta lay down only 2-4 inches at a time (starting from top, bottom or center vertically, depending on where you lay your tape hinge) and work from the center out horizontally. You can't just lay it down and burnish any old direction. I do screw up from time to time, but it's usually because I am in a hurry. As to the creases, bubbles, ect. All totally preventable. If you are using NOS art though, storage creases can cause the adhesive to dry up in those creases and they will never go away without adding extra adhesive.
 
I taped the art in place with cab stood up,i then bent the top back and peeled the backing off,used scissors and then folded it back to cab.i was using a dry sponge,just a small one.

I then removed all the other bits of tape that were holding it in place,i slowly peeled the backing off the art from top down.as i was doing that i had the sponge to smooth it out but it all bollocksed up.

Only after i remembered i had a laminate roller in a cupboard.pissed as i am in uk and i bought it from usa and cost me a bit for all art and i got customs charge so i lost around £50 worth of art.the cp was cool and the front art was a doddle.i live and learn.

Thanks
 
What caused that was that you didn't have it on straight and it had a buckle somewhere in it when you started out. The bad part is you wouldn't have never knew that until it started wrinkling. The key to put it on is to make sure it is laying flat on cab. And has no buckles or whatever you want to call it.

Best of luck
 
I've put on lots of sideart, here's how I do it for a Galaga cab with the cabinet standing upright:

1. Cut 3 small V shapes out of tape about an inch long

2. Position the sideart with the backing still in place on the cab

3. Place one V to mark the top edge of the artwork

4. Place two V's to mark the back edge of the artwork, using two will keep it aligned vertically

5. Peel 3" to 5" inches of the backing off the top edge of the artwork and position the art using the previously applied tape V's

6. Hold the art at a 90° angle to the cab and begin gradually pulling off the backing with one hand while smoothing the artwork with the other. As you pull the backing, press the backing against the cab which pulls the artwork flush with the cab.

7. When you're done, remove the tape V's from the edge of the artwork and use a soft towel to burnish the artwork adhesive to the cabinet.

I've applied dozens and dozens of sets of sideart without one issue; keeping it simple has always worked for me.

multigame1.jpg
 
I've put on lots of sideart, here's how I do it for a Galaga cab with the cabinet standing upright:

1. Cut 3 small V shapes out of tape about an inch long

2. Position the sideart with the backing still in place on the cab

3. Place one V to mark the top edge of the artwork

4. Place two V's to mark the back edge of the artwork, using two will keep it aligned vertically

5. Peel 3" to 5" inches of the backing off the top edge of the artwork and position the art using the previously applied tape V's

6. Hold the art at a 90° angle to the cab and begin gradually pulling off the backing with one hand while smoothing the artwork with the other. As you pull the backing, press the backing against the cab which pulls the artwork flush with the cab.

7. When you're done, remove the tape V's from the edge of the artwork and use a soft towel to burnish the artwork adhesive to the cabinet.

I've applied dozens and dozens of sets of sideart without one issue; keeping it simple has always worked for me.

multigame1.jpg

How would you tackle sideart which is larger than the cabinet Mike?

IE: it gets trimmed later once stuck on.
 
I've done full sheet sideart too, and use the same method of peeling either one corner or the top few inches. Holding the vinyl at 90° to the cabinet and peeling the backing is the trick to keeping out air bubbles. You're using the already applied portion of the sideart to hold it in place as the backing is removed, the 90° angle keeps air from getting trapped.

Think of the way band-aids are applied- both backing strips are pulled from the center in a motion that applies the band-aid without touching the wound or adhesive. Same concept, but only half a band-aid.

Not to knock anyone else's method, but sometimes the whole taping/hinging/applying routine tends to introduce creases and bubbles because the vinyl changes when the backing is removed, throwing off the accuracy of the tape hinges installed when the backing was in place.

pac1after.jpg


That front art looks too low- actually the artwork was screwed up and besides being scaled incorrectly, it was cut too short from the vendor.
 
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i ordered 2 more pieces of side art so when i get them i will be taking a few tips.
thanks.
:)
 
Not to thread hijack, but Mike, how do you safely do the front around the coin door since it's recessed 3/4" from the sides?

I have a Galaga mini I'm finishing and the sides are done (a couple bubbles on one side--i need to figure out how to get out, may just pin it to reduce them to a small crease unless someone has a better idea)

Anyway, I have not completed the front because of the recessed area. Is it better to start on one edge even and then try to just cut the other edge, or start in the middle and deal with cutting both edges? Any tips to not have it get stuck to the edges before it's cut but paper removed? I'm dreading finishing this due to this fact.
 
Not to thread hijack, but Mike, how do you safely do the front around the coin door since it's recessed 3/4" from the sides?

I have a Galaga mini I'm finishing and the sides are done (a couple bubbles on one side--i need to figure out how to get out, may just pin it to reduce them to a small crease unless someone has a better idea)

Anyway, I have not completed the front because of the recessed area. Is it better to start on one edge even and then try to just cut the other edge, or start in the middle and deal with cutting both edges? Any tips to not have it get stuck to the edges before it's cut but paper removed? I'm dreading finishing this due to this fact.

For recessed edges like the front of the Pac cabinet, I work from the middle outward on a slight diagonal. One key to a nice job is making sure there isn't anything in that joint between the front and sides. If there is a spot of glue, or frayed plywood, or whatnot, you're going to end up with an unsightly bubble in the 90° joint.

It's very helpful to have a thin plastic squeegee or spreader to work the material fully into the crease where the front of the cab joins to the sides- do this before adhering the material to the small edge where the cab side projects out from the front.

Don't try to pre-cut the coin door opening, it's unnecessary and can potentially introduce alignment problems. I also like to wrap the vinyl over the upper lip of the lower front panel, so there isn't a cut edge for the control panel to rub on. Depending on how well things are going, you can also wrap vinyl over the cabinet edges so it will be covered by the t-molding.
 
I recieved my second set of side art today from same place and applied it.i used tape to hold it in desired posistion and the cut backing from 1 end and stuck it down.i then held the art at 90° angle and used a laminate roller i had and rolled the art into posistion has i removed the backing.

Jobs a good one.

I got my art from nancysgames ebay and its top notch stuff.

So thanks to nancysgames and all those for the good advice.
 
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