Headstock Decals

A couple of years ago, if you needed a replacement headstock decal, you either bought one from the Original manufacturer or one of the early copy decals available through the internet. These copy decals are obviously cheaper than the originals but came with a few problems. There are now a number of versions available, all of which I’ve tried, so for your benefit I would like to share my experiences with you.

The first decals available were the ‘Patch’ type, where you have the logo only. This came as a clear waterslide transfer with the logo printed by an inkjet printer or a computer cut self adhesive vinyl. Once applied you simply sprayed lacquer over the top and ‘bury’ the logo. The only problem was the early waterslides tended to be quite thick so always showed a protruding edge around the cut out. The vinyl’s were even thicker and tended to melt if you used a cellulose based lacquer, which most restorers/finishers do.




Vinyl Type

The early waterslides were very delicate, and if the ink was not ‘fixed’ could run when the backing paper was soaked off, they also curled up if left in the water too long and shriveled up if one was too impatient with the lacquer. As they were ‘patches’ if you had more than one decal to apply then obviously they came separately and so presented positioning and lining up problems.

The current waterslide patch decals are much better. The transfer is much thinner and pre-coated with a thin layer of nitrocellulose lacquer. This fixes the ink and makes them easier to handle, less likely to curl up in water and being less delicate, are easier to position once on the head stock. I would recommend this form of decal and not the vinyl type for your headstock, but ok on your amp or case, anywhere that you are not going to lacquer, although they do take varnish.

This is my ES335 using patch decals

This is the only type of decal that I now use. These and many other designs can be obtained from GLEN just click on his name to email your requirements

NEW TYPE
The new generation of HS decal is known as ‘the full face’ type. Again these are waterslides and are designed to cover the whole headstock. The black area covers your old logo and brand name. This saves on sanding off the old logo and respraying it also does away with the tell tale edges around the patch decals. The name & logo are printed as one so there are no alignment problems. However some are inkjet printed and some laser printed. Go for the laser.

The adverts for these claim that “this whole headstock approach makes it easy and quick to get professional results.” What they don’t tell you is that they are very difficult to position, you can’t see the headstock underneath the black paper, so it’s hit and miss as to whether the logo will be central and once applied it’s very difficult to slide about without wrinkling, also difficult to get rid of air bubbles although the instructions claim that once dry the bubbles can be got rid by pricking with a pin. However when applying the lacquer it manages to soak into the pin pricks and raises the areas.
They also shrink when lacquering so trimming has to be timed carefully. One I tried recommended leaving the trimming until after the lacquer had dried; the result was the edges curled downwards and adhered to the headstock edges and I had to sand them off and respray the paint adding about 3 weeks to the project.
The other I tried suggested trimming and clearing the tuner holes after the misting layers of lacquer had dried, then flood fill. It shrank leaving and edge around the complete HS.
These full face types also come in two versions, one printed on a clear background and one printed on a white background, these tend to be the inkjet type. Avoid the latter, if you mark it at all the white shows through. They recommend touching up with a black marker, however I used a permanent CD marker and melted through the mist layers of lacquer wherever I touched, I have had to strip this head completely and going back to patch.

There are vinyl veneer versions of these available which are a lot easier to apply and are much more durable but won’t take cellulose lacquer, however they are very glossy so don’t need lacquer but the logos are very metallic. This is the one type of full veneer that came out right first time, however I prefer not to use these on genuine restorations although the reults are very pleasing. I would recommend this type for the inexperienced restorer.

For a good supplier go to HEADSTSOCKDECALS for all types

Full face vinyl veneer