[pianotech] Soundboard decals

[Ed Foote]

It is tricky, but with a soft touch,can be done. I used a slightly evaporated spar varnish( not poly).  Coat the back of the decal with a very thin coat, making sure that all the edges are covered.  Wait until the varnish becomes tacky enough to stick to your nose( you might want to have a test portion to ascertain this). 
    Apply this to the board, rolling out from the center to avoid air bubbles. Use a slightly warm damp rag to loosen the paper and then carefully peel the paper off withe least amount of upward pull. It helps to start the peel from a part of the decal that is the least delicate. This helps avoid lifting the small fine parts. 
Give it just enough time to grab,but not enough to harden, then very softly, with a rag that is  barely damp with mineral spirits. You don't want there to be so much thinner that it lifts the edges as you clean up the overage that you painted on the back. It is important that the varnish was laid out past the edges to prevent the clean-up solvent from getting under the decal during this step. 
     I was never able to be more than 50 percent successful with this method, so good luck!
Pax, y'all

On Oct 27, 2011, at 4:40 AM, "Claude Harding" <charding88 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Hey, Guys & Gals,
>  
> I need to apply a varnish-transfer soundboard decal, and it has been years since I last did this.  The decal is expensive, and although I
> have two of them in case I screw up the first, I would like to get it right the first time. The instructions I have
> received with the decal fill me with more trepidation than confidence.
> It seems that the last time I did this, there was another, more user-friendly, way of applying the decal, even though it is designed to
>  be applied with varnish.
>  
>   Any counsel would be appreciated.
>  
> I'm in the shop this morning; I'll check back later.
> Thanks.
> Claude Harding
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