Self Stick Letters/Numbers

Wildman Rocketry
rocket sok
madcow rocketry
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
JERRYR708

JERRYR708

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
576
Reaction score
48
Location
Apple Valley, Ca
After repainting my Patriot including the roll pattern, I decided to go with self stick letters. I found almost a perfect match of black letters to replace the stock U.S.ARMY stickers that were starting to peel, crack and get dirty underneath. I went to Hobby Lobby and found 1/2" Self Stick Letters and Numbers in helvetica style font that were a good match.
They came in a single sheet in all black *Permanent Adhesive *Indoor/Outdoor Use *Multi-Surface Application *Total Characters:354 *Includes Misc. Symbols: .,$%/!)("
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2280.JPG
    IMG_2280.JPG
    75.8 KB · Views: 86
  • IMG_2240.JPG
    IMG_2240.JPG
    93.4 KB · Views: 84
  • IMG_2249.JPG
    IMG_2249.JPG
    75.1 KB · Views: 83
  • IMG_2248.JPG
    IMG_2248.JPG
    71.6 KB · Views: 83
  • IMG_2251.JPG
    IMG_2251.JPG
    107.8 KB · Views: 87
  • IMG_2253.JPG
    IMG_2253.JPG
    101.1 KB · Views: 85
  • IMG_2256.JPG
    IMG_2256.JPG
    133.1 KB · Views: 86
  • IMG_2258.JPG
    IMG_2258.JPG
    121.2 KB · Views: 84
  • IMG_2259.JPG
    IMG_2259.JPG
    151.6 KB · Views: 76
Overall I'm pleased how the letters turned out. There are enough letters on a sheet to replace them many times over if they ever need replacing.
I decided not to clear coat because I don't know if the letters will have a reaction. Also, not sure if the white paint will yellow later on and I like to be able to match up paint more easily without clear coat. The good thing about them is that they can be adjusted or easily removed if I decide to paint letters later on.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2260.JPG
    IMG_2260.JPG
    103.3 KB · Views: 73
  • IMG_2273.JPG
    IMG_2273.JPG
    142.3 KB · Views: 72
  • IMG_2268.JPG
    IMG_2268.JPG
    35.8 KB · Views: 70
Last edited:
JERRYR708 said:
Overall I'm pleased how the letters turned out. There are enough letters on a sheet to replace them many times over if they ever need replacing.
I decided not to clear coat because I don't know if the letters will have a reaction. Also, not sure if the white paint will yellow later on and I like to be able to match up paint more easily without clear coat. The good thing about them is that they can be adjusted or easily removed if I decide to paint letters later on.
Click to expand...
If the letters are a similar vinyl like you get at Fast Signs or other shops, I've cleared them for years, with automotive clear paints. If you plan to use spray cans, Krylon clear would work. Try a test with a few clears on a letters stuck to a piece of plywood.
 
I too tried the self sticking letters from Hobby Lobby on a scratch build Juno/Jupiter C last year. Not a perfect match, but I was satisfied. I did purchase 10 sheets of water slide decal paper to print some decals but have yet to take the time to size the graphics for a rocket to one or two pages so I don't waste the sheets. Anyone have experience with making their own graphics for printing on water slide paper? I'm finding it difficult to cut and paste graphics into one sheet while keeping the scale i need accurate. MS Paint is tough and I don't know how to import or paste individual graphics in/on one page. Same thing with the sticky paper like accur8 sells. I purchased some of that too, but fall short in scaling the decals to one .jpeg .pdf etc. My efforts are tragic.
20180809_175549.jpg 20180809_181753.jpg 20180809_181811.jpg
 
ToneDeafJunior said:
I too tried the self sticking letters from Hobby Lobby on a scratch build Juno/Jupiter C last year. Not a perfect match, but I was satisfied. I did purchase 10 sheets of water slide decal paper to print some decals but have yet to take the time to size the graphics for a rocket to one or two pages so I don't waste the sheets. Anyone have experience with making their own graphics for printing on water slide paper? I'm finding it difficult to cut and paste graphics into one sheet while keeping the scale i need accurate. MS Paint is tough and I don't know how to import or paste individual graphics in/on one page. Same thing with the sticky paper like accur8 sells. I purchased some of that too, but fall short in scaling the decals to one .jpeg .pdf etc. My efforts are tragic.
View attachment 378703 View attachment 378704 View attachment 378705
Click to expand...
What I meant to say was not creating my on graphics, but 'Jonesing' them from other sources like paper kits etc. That's what I did on this Proton, but I wasted a ton of sticky paper. I will not do that on the more expensive water slide paper. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
20180301_175545.jpg 20180301_175554.jpg 20180301_175603.jpg 20180301_175545.jpg
 
Inkscape can import scanned decal images, then you can combine different decal sheets onto one page, and size them so that 1” on screen is printed 1” on the paper.

If the scanned quality is not that great you can redraw them in Inkscape high quality vector graphics that will look good when you upscale.

https://inkscape.org/
 
I use Paint.net and recommend it highly. Paint is garbage, although it does have one benefit in its ability to print at 100%. Paint.net inexplicably lacks this feature. For me it doesn't actually matter so much because I do my actual printing at home on my Mac, where all apps I use support 100% printing.

You just need to keep track of your DPI in your different images. If your master sheet is (say) 300dpi, then either do all your scanning at 300dpi so you can do easy copy and paste, or scale your new stuff to 300dpi first and then do your copy and paste.

Also, you don't need to fill a complete decal sheet for printing. You can print part of it, cut it off, and then tape the remainder to a piece of plain printer paper if needed to facilitate future printing.
 
Last edited:
I also have used sticky letters from HL. I also use my computer to create graphics and print them at the local office supply store on clear labels. Practice at home get it right take a flash drive and have them print it. If they need the clear label they carry them on the sales floor. I have tried the inkjet ones also but laser ones are more durable
 
JPalmer621 said:
I also have used sticky letters from HL. I also use my computer to create graphics and print them at the local office supply store on clear labels. Practice at home get it right take a flash drive and have them print it. If they need the clear label they carry them on the sales floor. I have tried the inkjet ones also but laser ones are more durable
Click to expand...
The HL sticker sheets gave me the instant gratification that I wanted to make the rocket look complete when trying to meet deadlines with launches coming up. They also buy you a little time for somebody learning the ropes on the whole printing process or waiting for the right equipment or supplies. I just received a dozen sheets of clear decal paper in the mail for inkjet printers which aren't as good as laser printer decal paper plus right now my printer is getting low on ink. I want to use up the old cartridge first which low ink is not good if you want rich black decals.
This will give me a chance to put some miles on these new stickers to see how they hold up. You can feel the raised letters when you rub your fingers across them, what a drag.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top