SMC Discussion Areas

I took my freshly painted Junior to a sign guy to paint the letters. Wow! The quote I got was $400 to $500 for all four sides. Well...that's a little more than I intended on spending on my little box. 

Question. Has anyone here used the decals from FunTronics designed for the embossed Junior? If so, how well did they work out? 

Thanks

I have done two Jrs with the Funtronics decals and they look great, but it is a tedious and time consuming project to get them pisitioned correctly.  I buggered up one of the DRINK decals in the process and Janet helped me with a replacement.  I did one using the dry method and one using the spray solution.  With the dry method, you only get one shot at positioning, so it has to be pretty spot on.  The wet method allows positioning the decal over the embossing, but it takes a lot of patience to get all the solution out and have the decal adhere properly when removing the backer paper.  I found that positioning on the embossing is easier if I trim the backer paper close to the decal before starting.

Keep in mind that there are two different embossing sizes depending on when the box was made.

With the decals, I have to be careful when wiping the box down as the tails of the decals tend to lift easily.

The lady that hand paints the lettering on my picnic coolers usually charges $75 to do them.  She usually has to put on two coats to get good coverage, so its a time consuming process.  I didn't get a quote to do a JR, but I suspect it would be in the $300 - $400 range.

Would you recommend painting the letters? The box is a keeper.

For the cost difference, I would use the decals.  If cost is not a concern, I would have it painted.  I am happy with mine with decals and the other one I did for a friend is also happy with the decals.  Just have to be careful wiping them down. 

Thanks a million for the advice. I have been looking at the brush marks on some hand lettered work done on other machines, and although it is really nice I think I prefer the smooth finish of decals. So I'll be getting decals come Monday morning.

Thanks again.

YW

Paint the white first... apply the decals, paint the red then peel the decals off decals clear coat...
you'll have clean, crisp white letters “painted” on.
I do this, and I believe, Rod at Funtronics does this also.

But how well do the decals work as a "taping" measure?  Does the red bleed into the white?

I did my Nichol Kola cooler this way clean crisp edges.. there is a vinyl I think it was called vinyl masking... not like the strong adhesive
used on vinyl outdoor signs, once that stuff is on it's on.. this stuff is real close but can be pulled off and leaves a super clean edge
my painter then clear coated so it wouldn't leave a lip since the red was another layer.... it is perfect! I've already traced my 7up, Orange Squeeze, Pepsi and Grapette embossing just finishing up the scanning and getting ready to redraw - again since my computer crashed and I lost EVERYTHING!Agghhhhh :veryangry:... ok.. anyway... yes a great way to go and cheaper than paying someone to hand letter I think... Rod uses this and has the vinyl for several Coke embossings....

      Beautiful Eric!   :jawdrop:

Very  NICE!

Eric,

The cooler is impeccable ! ! !
On larger scans, do you have to scan in two halves, re-align and switch it back together as one...?
If so, do you add any extra lines for ensuring accurate re-alignment...?

Yes.. the Pepsi and Grapette were bigger than my scanner so I made marks (Xs) in several
spots then took them into photoshop to re-align to make one image... then I take that
into Illustrator to trace making the vector art for my buddy to run in his vinyl cutting machine.

And thanks.. these have become my favorite coolers to collect... So if you have one to get rid of... :smile: