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Complete Shadow - Backbox Decal

The bolts really came up a treat ...

image.jpg

The woodwork has required far finer finishing than anything I have done before. The sanding block above for instance is the standard type, so in common with many it has ridges in the base. This sort of tool is unsuitable for 400 grit work
 
@carl lawrence

My top tip would be to find a way to stop the grain rising when you paint it. This added an enormous amount of work. It may be that my primer was crap, so i will try the simoniz next time
 
As this was my first time, I thought I would pass on a few observations/ tips to other noobs.

  1. as you have never done it before, it is hard knowing when you have done sufficient prep - so use offcuts from the decals to see how smooth your wood really is
  2. You do not know how the decal will behave when you apply it - again test sticking it down and repositioning if need be with an offcut
  3. Buy plenty of everything -,sanding media, primer, paint ... you will want to cut corners, running out of stuff will give you an excuse
  4. Buy a wide range of sanding media 40 through to 400 grit. Trial and error will tell you when to us it
  5. Buy a smooth based sanding block. This 3m brand one is good ...image.jpg
  6. Use green frog brand masking tape. It is excellent and a small part of the job cost. It did not lift my fresh paint, nor did it damage the decal. You need good masking tape to achieve this whilst adhering to newly sprayed paint. http://www.frogtape.co.uk
  7. Sand it outside when you can
  8. Sand down the wood as little as you need to, be careful not to curve the edges
  9. Be extremely careful when sanding the filler. It requires much less sanding than the wood. Real care needed if you use a machine to do this
  10. You need very strong lighting to review the finish. Things you cannot see will show under the decal
  11. Some gentle graining is invisible beneath the decal - it is paint spots, joins between wood and filler, dust spots that are the real danger
  12. A felt edged squeegee or car wrap squeegee made applying the decal an absolute doddle...image.jpg
  13. If the front of the backbox has damage, you have to fill it. This means you have smooth filler next to endgrain ply. This means you have to smooth off all the front edge to match the filler
  14. You need to tack cloth and ought to blow air over the plywood surface and the rear of the decal before you apply it (i did not do this thoroughly enough)

My job is not perfect. Maybe 5 specs are under the decal. The decal itself had imperfections in the vinyl. You would never notice when playing or viewing in a line of games. The edges where filler meets wood are not all perfect. But this all represents less than 1 percent of the damage there was before

So it looks miles better. But i do not believe you can get ever plywood as crudely manufactured as this perfect
 
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Great job, lots of good information for others to follow. I know I will be when I do mine, I dropped the back box and could see how yellow the cabinet should be. Thank you.

Ps when will you be doing the cabinet?
 
Hi. I only had backbox decals. They came with the game as the previous owner never got round to fitting them.

My shadow had been extensively renovated, so i wonder whether the head was from another game as the cab was in much better shape
 
Outstanding work, looks fantastic. Well done! :thumbs:
 
DRD said:
@carl lawrence

My top tip would be to find a way to stop the grain rising when you paint it. This added an enormous amount of work. It may be that my primer was crap, so i will try the simoniz next time
Click to expand...

I think your primer was ok, but more like the ply too dry ,meaning its 20 +years old and its lost all its moisture.Maybe PVA to seal it first,but this could react to the primer,So its a case of try it and see what happens :hmm:
just need to get some back box decals first !! (should of bought them when Phil had them for sale .....Do 'h )
 
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