Screenprint On Headstocks?

[Billy Bones]

Hi Folks,

I'm trying to figure out how to screenprint on guitar headstocks. Possibly even on the bodies of Teles or other flat bodied guitars as well. I'm thinking about trying One Shot as the "ink" to see if the opacity's high enough and if it will stick ok. If there's anybody here with experience in this department, I'd sure appreciate hearing from you. Decals seem like a good idea untill you've got yourself a black headstock. I'm going to try some stuff out today I think, but it's all experiments.

Billy Bones

[thegarehanman]

this is covered in the tutorials section of the PG homepage. you just have to get one of those gel pens(ordinarily silver or gold, but i'm sure there are other colors) and fill in the clear spots. presto, now you can iron it onto a black headstock.

[TenderSurrender]

this is covered in the tutorials section of the PG homepage. you just have to get one of those gel pens(ordinarily silver or gold, but i'm sure there are other colors) and fill in the clear spots. presto, now you can iron it onto a black headstock.

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Link 1

I Beleive ^^ That ^^ is the link your looking for

Good luck and show us some pictures when you give it a go

~~ Slain Angel ~~

[Billy Bones]

Yeah, I read that tutorial, but that's not what I'm looking for. A black outline on a black headstock loses something, even when it's filled in with gold or silver. I know that logos have been silkscreened on guitars for years, but I don't know what kind of inks people use. I've got my screen made up now, and I'm just thinking through jigging the guitar.

I will post pictures if I can make anything work out.

Billy

[Billy Bones]

No camera here to take pics, but I tried out printing the logo on the headstock. The One-Shot is really nice and opaque. I'm used to printing shirts,and haven't printed on anything else, so I'll need to work out my technique, but I think this method will work well. The logo that I put down is useable, but I had a little too much squeegee pressure, and my lines fattened just a hair. I'll bring a camera in on Monday and get take some pictures.

Billy

[electric_extremist]

Hey,

By screenprinting, are you talking about silk screening? I searched up screenprinting guitars on google, and all I got was stuff on silk screening. If it's not the same idea, could you explain to us what you mean by screenprinting?

[Billy Bones]

yeah, exactly the same.

Billy

[j. pierce]

Billy -

What type of ink/paint is this One-Shot? How's it working out? I do a little bit of screenprinting, and I tried using some acrylic based screenprinting inks on wood once and didn't have too much luck. Did you seal off the wood first or anything?

[marksound]

This is the only 1-Shot I've ever heard of, and I've only ever seen it used in sign painting and pinstriping. But I don't get around much any more.

[Billy Bones]

Yeah, that's the same ONe Shot. That's what I've been using for pinstriping on the guitars. I phoned around a bit to see what I could come up with for printing a nice opaque white on to a painted wood surface. Nobody had any good real answers for me. So I took a look at this one shot. It's a little thinner than I've printed with before, and It might turn out to be too runny. I've only done the one test and it's ok, but not 100% crisp. I might have just had to much pressure on the squeegee tho. I haven't cleared over it yet, and I'm a little nervous that it's gonna be a bit thick and a pain to clear over. I'm gonna be looking into water slide decals this week too.

Billy

[thegarehanman]

Just do an inlay. Inlays are better anyhow, more "high-end."

[Billy Bones]

Doing "An Inlay" is cool. Looks better, and cooler, and more "hi end". I'll agree with you. If I was doing one guitar, that's what I'd do.

[electric_extremist]

You can screenprint inlays?

[Billy Bones]

Nope, you can screenprint your logo on the headstock, as opposed to putting it on with a decal, or inlaying it.

Billy

[GuitarGuy]

Billy-

What kind of clear do you plan to use? Because if its 2 part urethane it will craze and lift over oneshot. (not sure about laquers) Actually one shot does not need clear at all. Also if one shot is to thick you can thin it with kerosene.

[ryanb]

Make a vinyl (or other) mask and just paint it with the same lacquer (or other finish) you are already using for the headstock ... appropriately tinted.

[Billy Bones]

Make a vinyl (or other) mask and just paint it with the same lacquer (or other finish) you are already using for the headstock ... appropriately tinted.

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I don't follow you. do you mean like a stencil? I'm trying screenprinting because I want to do a bunch, and stencils can take forever, and if you've got more than a couple, the stencils break down, and you can never get em right. But maybe I don't understand what you mean.

I'll find out what the brand is on the clear. I have used it over One Shot and it's been all cool. Lacquer (man I can not spell that word) over one shot gave me a big surprise! I'm glad I was doing test stuff. I'm not usually that kind of guy

Billy

[Guest gsr-guitars]

Look up dry-transfer decals, that should do it. Been playing with them here and managed to get to this...

...not bad for decals at all.

They're available in clear/white same as waterslides. The above is clear, but we've done full headstocks using these too...

(excuse the wallpaper )

But, as you can see - not a bad result again. And you can clear coat over them.

Hope that helps,

Gary

[Scott Rosenberger]

You CAN screenprint on a Guitar's headstock we do it all the time at the shop. However it's a 2 person job and very difficult. Try searching locally for a screenprinter willing to make a small screen for you 5" x 7". using large tshirt sized screens is next to impossible due to their size

[ryanb]

Make a vinyl (or other) mask and just paint it with the same lacquer (or other finish) you are already using for the headstock ... appropriately tinted.

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I don't follow you. do you mean like a stencil? I'm trying screenprinting because I want to do a bunch, and stencils can take forever, and if you've got more than a couple, the stencils break down, and you can never get em right. But maybe I don't understand what you mean.

Billy

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Billy,

Yeah, I meant a stencil ... I forgot you were talking about doing many guitars. Sorry.

[Billy Bones]

That dry transfer brit flag looks great. Was it one sheet that covers the whole body? I've got some water transfer samples to try out to see if they work with the clear I'm using. Know nothing about the dry transfers. Will look it up now.

Billy

[Setch]

Like Scott says, screening onto a guitar headstock will be a nightmare. To do a good job, the mesh must be suspended approx .5" above the surface to be printed. You'll need 10 pairs of arms to hold the guitar, the screen, the squeegee and apply and spread the ink at the same time.

A smart person would screen print onto the decal paper *then* apply the decal to the guitar...

[Billy Bones]

The test logo I printed on the one headstock looks OK. I also tried a test piece of water transfer decal stuff, and cleared over it, and it looks like it will work too. The lines on the edge of the clear decal cover up nicely. I was worried that maybe the material in the decal would react to the 2-part clear. I'm just learning this stuff. I've had the one-shot "craze" up on me when I've sprayed lacquer, but we let it sit for a couple days before clearing, and it has sat down real nice.

Haven't learnt anything about those dry transfer decals yet. Are they easier to apply than the wet ones? What are the advantages with em?

Billy

[Billy Bones]

So here's a picture of what the logos look like screenprinted on the headstocks. Sorry it's a bit fuzzy. I think this is gonna work fine. I haven't cleared over em yet. I was sketchy about a jig to hold the guitars in place, but I rigged one up that seems to work just fine.

Billy