placing decals under clearcoat?

[funkyFly]

im about ready to spray my base/clear and im a bit worried about the decals i want placed under the clear.

I know its a good idea to spray a clear coat right after the base coat has flashed (approx 15-20mins) i have also read that decals need to be scrubbed down before cleared over, if i was to spray the base, then wait 15mins, then lay on my decals and scrub them before i sprayed the clear wouldnt it affect the basecoat cause some of my scrubbing will go over onto the base and wreck it?

Could i instead shoot the base, wait for it to flash then shoot a coating of clear, let it dry over night then lay on the decals the next day and scrub them (clear would be hard by then so scrubbing wouldnt do any damage to surrounding paint) then lay on another couple of coats of clear?

 

[gchagrin]

That would work, but remember to scuff the clear with a gray pad before re-painting.

 

[funkyFly]

Grey pad? red pad?

I have come across these before on the site, im not sure what they are, im guessing i can buy them from my paint supplier, expensive? different colors relate to different grit??

Thanks for you reply.

 

[rex]

I'd rather clear it first to be on the safe side unless you have the time to push the basecoat's open time,which can be 24hrs at 70 degres.Putting the decal on too soon can trap in solvents and make it bubble.When you clear it use the proper amount of coats for that clear,only using 1 coat can wrinkle sometimes when you lay more on it.I prefer to sand my clear with 6-800 grit and then wet scuffy the nooks and crannies with a grey pad.If you use the grey for the decal go extremely light so it doesn't dig in and scratch the colors.A white scuffy is good for decals and is really fine.Red is way too coarse for any of this.Any of these are available at an automotive paint store and one pad will be a couple dimes.I usually cut them into 3 sections and these are even large for bike parts.

 

[fiftyfourd]

When I did decals on a 79 harley shovel head, I based and one coat of clear, let it dry for about 24 hours. Then I 1000 grit it(didn't have any grey scotchbrite) and I wanted to knock out any dirt nibs that I had already. Laid out the decals and cleared over them, as long as they aren't too big of area, I've never had to 'scrub' them. Did the same on a couple crotch rockets and never had a problem with them lifting/peeling.

 

[satatom]

apply base coat then clear coat WAIT FOR 5 DAYS then flat apply decals WAIT AT LEASE 3 DAY, or more if you can ,then clear flash/dust coat first wait till tacky then apply second coat as normal etc etc

this is for 2k paint