-
I have 4 parts build guitars I put together from about 2011 to 2014 ish - thing is, all but one used necks that were nicely pre-finished, and I've never liked the idea of putting decals on the headstocks and then finishing over with a clear coat, because I would almost certainly not get as nice a finish result myself.
What I think I might like is just to have my 3 initials, roughly in about 1cm or 3/8 inch high raised lettering - black, or possibly some sort of metal finish. So I've searched online for self-adhesive lettering, or just something lettering-wise that could work for what I want, but in vain. There are metal-look letters done for car use, but always seem too big for my purposes. Anyhow, just in case anyone on here knows of something that would work, or any ideas, thanks.
-
02-17-2018 09:02 AM
-
I found this - you have to provide the text and they print it on 3 decals for you. There were results on google searching for “decal lettering for guitar headstock” and that was the first one that allowed for custom text. Your Custom Signed Name Personalized Guitar Headstock Waterslide Decal - 3 PACK
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
I actually etched my name onto a brass plate, the screwed it onto the headstock.
The name is becoming easier to see from a distance as the brass tarnishes.
It's not that hard. If it's something you want to know more about, ping me and I'll point you to a couple of youtube vids.
-
Do appreciate you taking the time rio, but (as I did say in my original post
Originally Posted by rio
) I'm specifically not wanting to go the decal route, since they need to have finish applied over the top, which I wish to avoid.
-
Thank you - I like that, and something like this could be a way forward for me indeed. I'll send you a PM re the Youtube vid recommendations, cheers again. Originally Posted by Boston Joe
I actually etched my name onto a brass plate, the screwed it onto the headstock.
The name is becoming easier to see from a distance as the brass tarnishes.
It's not that hard. If it's something you want to know more about, ping me and I'll point you to a couple of youtube vids.
-
I realize you desired metal but another option would be a custom carved raised letter wood key fob.
Made in Missouri by PantherRunWoodcraft on Etsy
-
Cool. I'll be happy to help. Originally Posted by Meggy
-
Look up your local sign makers, they should be able to cnc any material, steel, ally, acrylic etc and back it up with a bit of thin clear double sided tape. You can also get the guys that cut the keys in shopping centres to do something the same.
-
Whoops, sorry I misinterpreted that as not preferring decals and not counting them out entirely. I have had a couple of guitars where people had put decals on over the finish and got some pretty seamless results (also after hearing that the method of putting them on and the quality of decals made a big difference) but I understand if you just aren’t interested in that way of doing it. Good luck in your search. Originally Posted by Meggy
Do appreciate you taking the time rio, but (as I did say in my original post ) I'm specifically not wanting to go the decal route, since they need to have finish applied over the top, which I wish to avoid.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
-
Thanks! - interesting, and something I would never have thought of, will certainly consider. Originally Posted by rob taft
Will PM shortly! Originally Posted by Boston Joe
Thanks! Good thinking, and again stuff I would not have come up with myself - I will investigate local businesses re these ones. Originally Posted by johnnyjazz
No need to apologise, I do appreciate your input, and actually fair enough - maybe I was too hasty re decals - certainly if it's possible to avoid doing a full finish layer over the top. I will give it some thought anyhow, and perhaps look at a few Youtube vids re different approaches used. Originally Posted by rio
Not sure if it's for me, but thank you for the idea - certainly an option, and yet another one I would not have thought of, cheers! Originally Posted by jads57
-
I know you wanted to avoid applying finish to the headstock but I thought I would show you a parts caster where I simply painted the headstock signature with a liner brush and put a few coats of varnish over it. I lightly penciled in the letters and then carefully painted over the lines with a liner brush and acrylic black paint. I then applied finish over that with multiple coats of clear waterborne varnish. I was in a hurry and I thought it would be an interesting experiment and it looks OK even up close.
-
I considered going the wood burning route. I think it would be a very cool look. Ultimately I didn't trust myself with something that I couldn't start over if I screwed up. But for someone with actual artistic skills I think it would be awesome. Originally Posted by jads57
I also considered trying to make sort of a branding iron out of a coat hanger, and branding a logo onto the headstock. Again, that seemed beyond my meager art skills, but I saw a couple of videos where the makers got very cool results .
-
If it was me, and these are guitars i’m keeping for life i’d:
A.) send the necks to an Etsy seller who does hand wood burning. there are some real artists on there.
B.) design a brand on your computer (in my case i’d have a graphic designer from etsy make one, again there’s art students etc that won’t charge much). then send that design to someone on Etsy who makes brands so you have it for life.
Obviously i like etsy. disclaimer i had a shop on there for years
-
I know you said decals were not an option, but it seemed like the objection was due to having to apply clear finish over it again.
While most decals today do get a topcoat for protection, Fender used decals on top of lacquer for a a really long time.
If you can source a strong enough decal, it may prove possible to leave it uncoated.
I do lacquer finishing, and have not had to try this myself, but I've certainly seen it (decal on top) on old Fenders.
John
-
If you want to try some press-on letters, Michaels craft stores carry a pretty good assortment in various fonts, sizes and materials.
-
Oh, I just noticed you're in England.....never mind! Originally Posted by Gilpy
-
Thanks for the further replies folks, very much appreciated - as ever, people are so helpful on here, despite my somewhat incoherent opening post. I think I might have been interested in the wood burning idea if the guitars were newer, but somehow it doesn't appeal to me to change them in such a permanent way now, if that makes any sense. Perhaps if I do another partscaster in the future (not unlikely).
Re decals - I do think I may have been too keen to dismiss this. One reason for my reluctance is I did once try a decal on a guitar, using my own design on some decal printing paper, with a matt clear acrylic spray - there were issues shall we say. Also, two of my partscasters have nice, very smooth matt/satin finishes which I think it could be hard for me to replicate, and another has a very glassy mirror-smooth gloss, which again, I doubt I would get as good. But perhaps just applying a small decal, and just a thin finish over the edges of that (but not the whole headstock) would be OK. Also, the decal printing paper I used had a cloudy appearence until finish was applied, and I hadn't noticed that some of the commercial decals for headstocks are much thinner and appear clear without finish (those by Rothko & Frost in the UK for example) - so maybe I could just apply one without finish as you suggest john_a.
Plenty of things to think about anyhow. I don't want the Fender style but with different wording-type logo for my guitars, not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm more inclined to something fairly subtle and low-key - I hope to give a classy, boutique/custom kind of look - so if someone sees me with the guitar, they assume its something esoteric and expensive...
As I say though, loads to consider, and who knows, Michaels craft stores might post to the UK, so not ruling that one out. Cheers again chaps!
-
Meggy, I found some pics that show a decal before and after getting buried in lacquer.
Pic #1 is the headstock with enough lacquer coats to be levelled smooth enough to recieve the decal, which really looks OK even before getting lacquer over it. The decal edges were visible just barely at this stage, although you can't tell in that image. Again, this is decal with nothing over it yet.
Pic #2 is after getting final top coats (McFadden/Seagrave nitrocellulose) and the decal film is invisible.
The trick is to get enough build up around the decal to have the final result level, the risk is sanding into the decal.
Really I prefer to do inlay rather than decal, this is an oversized Fender logo I cut from MOP blanks, inlayed in padauk headstock:
John
-
Super helpful John, thank you for those pics and advice. The inlay with the dark wood looks fantastic I must say. I don't have any particular spraying skills, and my headstocks already have poly (I assume) finishes in place, except for one which has a thin wiped-on Tru Oil finish. With the poly-finished ones, I guess I'd be looking at applying an extra layer of some sort of rattle-can clear over the top, which I am a bit wary of doing. The Tru-Oil one... - there, I suspect a decal, followed by a layer of Tru-Oil, might well work OK, and not risky to try either, since Tru-Oil is very easy to re-do anyhow.
But I may still go for decals after all anyhow, and either leave them without finish over the top, or just apply a little finish only over where the decal is - I think that would look acceptable (to me anyhow!) - I'm only thinking of a small "logo" of 3 capital letters only, so nothing very disruptive.
Many thanks again for your time and help posting above anyhow, much appreciated!
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos