Vinyl Decals vs. Airspeed

[kevinkal]

I purchased the vinyl decals that go with my Madcow 4 inch Fiberglass Frenzy XL. I'm about done with the painting and thinking about applying the decals. One thing that has been bugging me .. will these decals peel off at higher airspeeds? On a hot sunny day?

I expect my maximum airspeed to be around 1500 ft/sec or roughly Mach 1.4 or so. Can anyone tell me what I can expect?

Thanks.

 

[rharshberger]

They can, make sure the adhesion area is clean and the edges are fully sealed. Clear coating with something like Future ( wont damage vinyl) will seal too and help prevent stripping.

 

[slaak]

Your milage may vary but on a recent flight of mine I had lazly placed some of that super cheap tan paper masking tape on my rocket to tell me where the e-bay switches are and it looks unscathed after going ~2000ft/s. I would think that a nice sticker on a clean surface would hold on fine.

 

[Cl(VII)]

I have had some damage to Madcow/Rocketry Warehouse decals at Mach 2.1 (same decals unscathed at Mach 1.3 year before), and another rocket with heavy decal damage at Mach 2.3. No clear coat over top of either. They were applied to a polished clear coat surface. I suspect you will be fine, but you are approaching the area where this becomes an issue. Think of speed damaged decals as a trophy.

Pic is post Mach 2.3 flight. They weren't just peeled, but also definitely heat damaged.



Pic post Mach 2.1 flight. You can see some damage to a few of the letters and numbers, but you can also see a small piece of blue tape on the payload section that I forgot to remove that marked the magnet spot to turn on the altimeters.

 

[kevinkal]

Thanks guys.. you've given me exactly what I needed to know.
Love those "trophies"! That tan and blue masking tape is amazing.

 

[OverTheTop]

Flew a Madcow Tomach 54 to Mach 1.8. It had some quite fine decals with the name on it. The vinyl was burnished down well (using the back of a teaspoon before removing the carrier paper) but no other sealing was done. I would guess less than 5% of the decal was affected by the flight.
Here is a pic of "Orange Revolution" to see the fine detail on the decal:

I don't have any pics of it after the flight to show the decal damage.

 

[tim cubbedge]

I usually hit my rockets with clear coat if I use decals. Only 1 flight to a little better than Mach with no decal pealing with several coats of clear.

 

[DeeRoc29]

Decal from Stickershock on the side of my 6" P motor from a few years ago. Mach 3+, burned every speck of paint off the nose cone and upper section, ripped the 1/4" aluminum fin can apart, and shredded at Max Q. Decal held up pretty well.

[video=youtube;kyA0tkwW_LA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyA0tkwW_LA[/video]

 

[Cl(VII)]

Decal from Stickershock on the side of my 6" P motor from a few years ago. Mach 3+, burned every speck of paint off the nose cone and upper section, ripped the 1/4" aluminum fin can apart, and shredded at Max Q. Decal held up pretty well.

WOW! Man I gotta get to BALLS one of these years.