holding decals on plastic tanks

[suzuki447]

just thought someone mite be interested in the way i put stickers on plastic tanks .i smear a thin layer of clear silicone with 2 inch putty knife on to tank where stickers going .then do same to stickers ,thin layer on both than place in position  on tank and gently press out silicone  .till sticker sits flat on tank .my rm and yz tank decals have been on for five yrs and look great .it works .i have punched some tiny holes with leather punch to let them breath .like mxm decals. try it .

[gettinold]

Thanks for the tip. When you say silicone do you mean  as in a silicone spray?

[VMX247]

Glad the silicon has lasted for you !! .    we just use clear contact over the 79 RM decals and change when needed !!
cheers A

[mick25]

sounds like clear silicone hardware type (roofing stuff etc) must leave a thicker gap from sticker to tank to stop blistering
handy hint

[LWC82PE]

Question suzuki447 - Acid or neutral cure?

[suzuki447]

i,m a builder so i use clear glazing silicone it does nt have acid .i found this method one day in shed when i was looking for some to get the black engine high heat silicone offmy hands after using it to seal around exhaust flange.i grab,d some petrol to wash it off thinking it was like washing off grease but it just smudged it on my hands and i thought hang on petrol doesnt affect silicone so try,d it on tank decals and worked ,just get a tube in a gun ,but i always punch holes about 2-3mm in decals to let breath and smear silicone very thin and even .then gently with wet rag or turps wipe out excess till sitting flat .it works great and they dont come off.

[LWC82PE]

Ok thanks. So that would be the neutral cure stuff that does not make gavinized iron roofing go rusty.
One guy who used to race KDX's and PE's in the early 80's said to me he used to use 24hr Araldite to glue the stickers on like you do and they never came off.

[frostype400]

This would be intersesting to try it is more that you are trying to seal the pours of the plastic with the silicone than anything you would think maybe you could restore a tank and maybe apply a few coats of silicone spray and then apply your decals and then you can get silicone cleaner from any plumbing store to remove the rest off the tank.