I bought a 1988 Pinarello Veneto with really bad decals. I'm going to replace them and have looked at Velocals site. This frame does not have clear coat so I want decals that do not require clear coating after applied. I see that Velocals has these 3 options for my decals and I'm lost on which ones I should get. Anyone had experience with these and can offer any advice, would be greatly apprecitaed.
Here's the 3 choices they give me:



High gloss UV Laminate finish (for finished frame)

Premium Cast 1mil Vinyl

Waterslide

I would think that the waterslide would be what they originally had.

Just want it to look as orginal as possible.

I could use the same information.....

I'm curious about the water slide decals. The original do seem to be water slide BUT are individual letters. How did they keep every letter aligned? Do the new water slides come as one large decal or individual letters? That might get complicated. I have the thin vinyl replacements from Lloyd's on my Montello but would prefer the water slide so they don't look like stickers. I just don't have a clue how the originals were applied or why they peeled and disintegrated so easily.

get the uv laminate for finished frames.

That's a scary scenario. If the letters are even slightly irregular it will look off. I would put a strip of low-tack painters tape along the tube to serve as a guideline. I'd mark the position of the letters on the tape with a pencil to get the spacing perfect. Looking at photos it appears the letters are evenly spaced and not kerned but I would defer to an actual Pinarello owner to confirm this. Even spacing makes the layout easier. Good luck!

Pinarello Treviso I restored a while back, most all the decals are from Velcals, and one Decal from Cyclomondo.

LOL. Mine are gone too with a shadow of where they were. I like the effect!
[IMG]P1010722 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

Besides, restoration isn't screaming at me yet as I think it would be difficult and costly. I have been using it as a commuter lately and love every ride! (Picture is as purchased)

The decals weren't individual letters were they? I assume "Pinarello" decal will be one piece when applied.

Not on my bike. They are individual. This is true on another Pin I have. The smaller decals like the signature are one piece. I think they must have placed them all at once with one backing. How did they do that?

The old Schwinn Varsity's etc. were individual letters as well as other makers. I sure would like to know how they did this.