Prep surface for decal?

demogo

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Hi folks,

I have a Gauntlet Legends that some idiot kid stuck gum on long ago followed by someone else that attempted to pick off the gum and decal, leaving a torn and damaged decal for the front of the cabinet. I'm not sure what else happened; there was thick adhesive and even bits of plywood that was stuck there. I just removed the decal and used goof off and an exacto-knife to remove the adhesive until it's nice and smooth there again, and then I wiped it down several times with a wet paper towel.

It's a painted metal surface; how do I prep it for my NOS replacement decal?

I'm thinking let things dry for an hour and then wipe it down with denatured alcohol, let that dry for a few min, and then just line up the new decal, peel off a bit of the non-adhesive backing, and carefully apply it, peel off some more backing, apply, etc.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
 
This is NOT the decal involved, but it's a long and somewhat thin one that goes under the CP, and it's shaped something like this:

1719097568012.png
 
Sorry, this was Goo Gone that I used, not Goof Off.
 
It's a painted metal surface; how do I prep it for my NOS replacement decal?
  • Wash, dry with rag
  • Wipe with lint free microfiber + high percentage alcohol ( 70 or 99) OR acetone
  • Let dry a few mins
  • Line up decal
  • If its big, clamp an edge of it in place
  • start adhering from middle to outside
 
There are a few different home made recipes for Rapid Tac
I used this for the first time on my Donkey Kong restore to put the giant side decals on. Zero bubbles..
Worth it..

Your decal should be easy - but I'd never install again w/o it myself.
 
Wood is tricky.. it doesn't like to get wet and Rapid Tac has water in it.. Over wood - as long as it is sealed from the water - I think it will work fine. But disclaimer, I've never used it like that. To seal wood - I'd use a full polyurethane and sand it smooth. Then water intrusion would not be an issue..
 
Kind of what I thought. I wasn't sure if this was some kind alcohol with a surfactant that wouldnt raise grain, if thats even a thing.

Sounds like a test is in order.
 
Cleaning with alcohol will not raise the grain.. that's fine.. Loose dirt/dust is the only real issue with decals. the surface doesn't need to be operating room clean. Rapid Tac allows you to float the decal into position.. No alignment issues or bubbles once you squeegee the decal. Problem is the water in the Rapid Tac, so you want the wood to be sealed as much as you can..
 
It went on perfectly. I did use the denatured alcohol to prep the surface because I found a message from Prok about 15 years ago suggesting that I do that. I knew that I'd heard that somewhere!

Unfortunately the plastic top came off my can of denatured alcohol so I'll be damned if I know what I'm going to do with it now. I set it beside my house because I don't want to store it inside with a cap that won't go back on. I guess that's what happens when you keep denatured alcohol for 15 years.
 
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