Framebuilders - Decals or Painted on?

I am looking for advice on what is the best way to do the decals on a frame. I am a new builder and have just been using a high quality decal on my frames however it is fairly thick as compared to frames I see in shops. When I started, I was getting the painter to clear coat over the decals and that worked well enough except for a couple of times when small bubbles appeared under them. Then i got a couple of customers who wanted the decals on top of the clear coat and that was easy enough and saves a lot of time, if they want new decals or a different color they can just peel them off, a little tougher than it sounds. I also know people paint there names on, looks good, feels smooth, how hard is it for the painter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

On the "Show us your bikes" thread, the Sanner frame with the 2-color powder-coat, is the name powder-coated as well and how difficult is it to do that with powder, how do they tape it off? It looks sweet Sanner.

I am looking for advice on what is the best way to do the decals on a frame. I am a new builder and have just been using a high quality decal on my frames however it is fairly thick as compared to frames I see in shops. When I started, I was getting the painter to clear coat over the decals and that worked well enough except for a couple of times when small bubbles appeared under them. Then i got a couple of customers who wanted the decals on top of the clear coat and that was easy enough and saves a lot of time, if they want new decals or a different color they can just peel them off, a little tougher than it sounds. I also know people paint there names on, looks good, feels smooth, how hard is it for the painter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

On the "Show us your bikes" thread, the Sanner frame with the 2-color powder-coat, is the name powder-coated as well and how difficult is it to do that with powder, how do they tape it off? It looks sweet Sanner.

Most experienced bicycle painters will make and use a stencil mask to paint your decals onto your frame. There is substantial extra cost to this procedure. My painter charges $75.00 a frame, just for the down tube logo. Anything more than that gets uhhhh, redonkulously EXPENSIVE!

Are you using dry transfer decals or vinyl decals? Dry transfer decals work and look the best in my opinion. They are designed to be clearcoated over so you never get cracking of the decals or bubbles when you use them. They are also VERY thin. A good painter will be able to clear over them and you shouldn't be able to feel the sticker under the paint. If you are a builder, you always want to at the very least clear over or paint your downtube logo. It's like your signature on your product. Without it, there's no proof that it's your piece of artwork. :thumb:

While I don't manufacture my own frames, our bikes are custom painted, spec'd and built/custom fit for each individual customer. The frames are spec'd and carbon lay-up, materials to our liking at the factory. I don't have any bikes built up yet but should in the next week or two.

If you would like more info on the dry transfer decals, drop me a PM. :)

Thanks for the info. I believe I am using a vinyl decal but it is good quality and doesn't fade or get brittle under the clearcoat but you can feel a small edge on it. Thanks again and I may be contacting you.