Indian Tank Decals in place.....now what?

[bdawson]

I am hoping that someone can educate me on what I need/could do next. My tanks are already painted and cleared, and cut/buffed. I have a '32 Indian Chief that has the script letters of "Indian" across each tank. I installed the water slide decals this past weekend. They turned out great with no bubbles within the Indian letters themselves....but there is a border that is about 1/4" wide that surrounds the actual "Indian" letters all the way around the decal. Kind of a border of the decal I guess. Anyway, the 1/4" space between the letters and the outside edge of the decal is thick in some places, doesn't have smooth edges all the way around, and you can definitely see/feel the edge of the decal around the circumference of the decal. I have been told that Indian never put clear coat over the top of their decals, but I would like the decal to look at least a little better by trying to eliminate the outside uneven thickness of the edge and try as best I can to eliminate the edge from sticking out and being easily seen.

I am wondering if anyone has some thoughts on how to smooth the decal edge, or feather it away somehow? Should I put clear on over the top of the decal and sand it down to remove the decal edges? Should I just use some 1500 sandpaper and lightly smooth out the decal edges and not put clear on at all? Not sure if sanding the decal edges prior to putting clear on over the top is something that is done or something that is absolutely not done. Not sure what to do at this point, so if someone has some thoughts I would appreciate hearing them. Thanks, Brent.

[exeric]

The late Toney Watson had a collection of original paint Indian gas tanks and you could plainly see (as he pointed out) a varnish over the pin stripes and decals. I've had o.p. Excelsior, Henderson, and H-D painted parts and you could see the yellowed varnish on decals and stripes. I can't say this was always done on every stripe, and all decals, but varnish is what I have seen, however I have NOT (by any stretch of the imagination) seen everything. I'm just saying that manufacturers were always aware of protecting decals, and stripes on top of difficult to apply fender, and tank paint jobs (going way back to the early days), and used a varnish to protect decals, and stripes in high wear locations.

I have seen original decals from that period, and they are exceptionally thin and delicate. No tank decal can withstand rubbing of cloth covered thighs, and knees and you can see that on o.p. gas tanks, but a varnish, shellack, or clear coat gave, and gives a lot of protection.

From a restoration point of view, I would use a high quality sable hair brush with high quality copal varnish over decals, and stripes to be historically correct, but for a bike I want to ride, and store in all kinds of climate, and for many years I use modern high quality automotive clear coat. Modern decals are thick by comparison to ancient decals and their margins will be noticeably obvious regardless of any coating. I wet sand the bumps out with 1,500-2,000 paper and then cut and polish. I'm not trying to fool anyone with my paint finishes because original paint is impossible to mimic.

I know exactly where you are at Brent and I struggle with wanting to replicate what I think is right. However, we are never going to get it 'right' and that leaves us with doing the best we can do, the best we can afford, and a deep respect for the beautiful work the ancients did with far less than we have today.

[otis71]

As discussed previously water slides react to clear coats in some cases so approach with caution and test first. Also if the decals are left with nothing, the first spilled gas will probably eat them up.

[bdawson]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

[pisten-bully]

I'm not certain what copal varnish is, Eric! I can look it up on the interweb of course, and I find references to specialty varnishes...even varnishes for dental work, but so far nothing specifically identified as copal varnish, or even showing copal as being in the mix.

I'm interested in this because the fellow who did the paint on my Scout said he would want to lightly cut the paint to "give it some tooth" before applying clear coat. But then I understand that waterslide decals don't behave well on surfaces that have been sanded.

So maybe a light coat of varnish over the decals is the way to go?

[tomfiii]

I heard something about sign varnish.

[exeric]

Vintage Grumbacher Artists Copal Painting Medium 587 74ml 2.5 Oz | eBay

I believe copal varnish is used by artists over oil paint. I would bet that it's not easy to find, and pricey when you do find it. A concoction like copal varnish was probably a lot more common in the old days before complex modern chemical coating were developed. I had a friend that was a luthier and he used traditional varnishes that were made from bug guts.

[exeric]

Amazon.com: GRUMBACHER 5878 8-Ounce Copal Painting Medium Can

Here's a better deal, and a good description.