Notes: Making Decals for Electronics Projects

Surface Preparation.  Typical metal preparation starts with rough sanding to get the big stuff down to 320.  Decals can be applied to bare metal (usually aluminum).  If painting of the project is desirable, prime with Rustoleum Acid Etch Primer or other primer, light sanding followed by finish coat like Smoke Gray.  Let dry overnight and lightly sand with 200 over area where the decal will reside.

Decal Preparation.  Print design on paper designed for wet transfer with Laser Printer (e.g. Royal Elements Clear Waterslide Decal Paper for Laser Printers).  Print on Shiny side.  Cut paper 10-20% larger and coat heavily with “2X Rustoleum” clear coat.  Allow to dry for a few hours just to be sure.  An example of design made with Word, actual size, is shown below:

Application of Decal.  Soak paper in water a few minutes.  Decal will release easily.  Slide decal on to location.  Drying is not real fast so there is ample time for proper placement.  Work out any bubbles.  Decal typically dries in about 10 minutes.  After the decal is thoroughly dried         (about an hour) coat with “2X Rustoleum” and allow to completely dry for a few days days.

Additional Points. For best final product make decal the same size as the panel.  It can be made smaller, but the edges will be visible although not terribly so.  The decal is very robust and not prone to tearing.  In one case, the decal covered two flathead screws.  When these were tightened the decal tore neatly around the heads.

It is also possible to make much smaller decals, say just for On and Off, or Volume … If this is the case over coat the entire panel with clear coat after the decals have dried.  The edges are visible, but you will have to look hard. 

Be careful to avoid dust during the final clear cut since this will be trapped on the final product.

Printing black on white works best.  Some colors will run when over coated with clear coat.

Example of a Final Product made with example text