Rice paper "decals" under glass?

[Fitz]

So, I'm building a kayak, (I guess I prefer "decked canoe"), for Mrs. Fitz. I wanted to add some decorations to the deck and folks mention using an image printed on rice paper under the glass. The rice paper reportedly gets wetted out and disappears leaving the image.

A local stationary place sold me a Japanese sketch pad as "rice paper". The paper is very thin, but I'm wondering if it is thin enough.

I'm experimenting. The decals below are my test run. The one on the left was epoxied face down in case of running colors. The one on the right was epoxied face up. No problem with running colors, but as you can see the paper does not completely wet out or disappear. It will probably work, but will require me to neatly trim the image.

http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/43380/2131004580054321892S600x600Q85.jpg

Any experience out there? Should I look for thinner paper?

Here is a picture of the project too.

http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/41849/2226618870054321892S600x600Q85.jpg

Thanks in advance.

Fitz

[Uncle Duke]

There are few options, some pretty nifty. Modelers, for example, often print onto tissue paper taped to regular paper through the manual feed on your printer.
Tailspin has a short write-up here (http://tailspinaviation.com/html/printing_decals_on_tissue_pape.html).

Piano refinishers use (or used to use...) something called "duplex paper", which was a similar process to the above, but automated in the sense that the tissue/actual paper bonding was pre-done. No idea where you get that stuff, though.

Good luck!

[DGentry]

Keep it simple and just trim the excess paper from your design - that's two minutes of "effort."
Boat looks good!
Dave Gentry

[Todd Bradshaw]

There are hundreds of different weights and textures of rice paper and they will have varying amounts of transparency when saturated - from pretty much invisible to rather cloudy. The thinner weights with less obvious fiber texture go the clearest, but are usually pretty fragile when wet. Heavier stuff is easier to chase the bubbles out from underneath because it's a lot tougher, but it tends to be less clear when saturated.

My father is a watercolor painter and paints on rice paper, so I usually snatch any samples of it that come in and use them for projects. I have run it through my inkjet printer and some printed just fine, but the ink bled a lot when saturated. If it's sturdy enough to bind into some sort of sketchbook, it's probably about twice the weight that would be ideal for clear decal work. I think your best bet if you can't find thinner paper is just to trim it close, try a test sample and see if you like it.

Here is a fish print being mounted (just find a big bluegill that happens to have ink all over one side of him and slap him down on a sheet of rice paper). This is pretty heavy paper, so the clarity won't be perfect, but it will work for my purposes. Here is the print.
http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/fish1.jpg

I'm going to stick it down to a sheet of 1/8" Lucite acrylic sheet, so I start saturating with a brush and chasing out bubbles by stippling them out to the sides. The paper backing is still on the back side of the plastic. I'm just using Captain's varnish, since I don't need the strength of epoxy, glass, etc. for this. The nice thing about the heavier paper is that it's pretty tough and not likely to tear while you do this. We have also mounted them on wood, using lighter paper for better clarity and you have to be pretty careful not to poke it too hard while removing the bubbles. All in all, it's not terribly different from fiberglassing.

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/fish2.jpg

The bubble aft of the tail is very persistent, and I'm suspecting that it's a fingerprint that I missed when cleaning the sheet. I'll have to go out every five minutes or so and stick it back down until the varnish finally gets stiff enough to get a good hold on it and will keep it down. Cleaning twice, just to be sure, would have been far less hassle.

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/fish3.jpg

After it dries, I'll probably add another coat of varnish, then cut it neatly into a rectangle and clean up the edges. It should have a sort of frosted glass look with this particular paper. There is a certain amount of detail and contrast lost when the background turns clear, so I'll probably back-paint the acrylic with some sort of white or light-colored paint. A fun, cheap, non-critical project that may turn out suitable for framing.

[Todd Bradshaw]

....and here's your master class in painting on rice paper.....

This one is unframed while it's getting new plexiglass.

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/painting%20001.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/painting-004.jpg

[Arko]

Sure it is OK. Lotsa people do it. Take a look at Nick Schades Guillemot kayak forum.

[Flying Orca]

Just out of curiousity, why not use veneers? Dad did that on his canoes and the effect is nice.

[Captain Intrepid]

I've found the best way to neatly trim something like that is with the corner of a razor blade. It's very easy to follow complex curves with it.

[Fitz]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm going to experiment with some thinner paper and let you know how I make out. I would just trim it, but I like the way the grain shows through the lighter colors, so if thinner paper accentuates the grain, great.

Todd, did you catch the bluegill today? Actually, I really like the "fossilized" image. I had some trouble with bubbles under the paper today too. I poked them with a brush, but I think a roller may help squeeze them out. Thanks for the creative advice!

Veneers - I was going to try some veneers, but I wanted a more colorful option. I'm going to paint the hull and varnish the decks on this one, mostly because the ply I used on the hull was stained. So, I thought some colorful decals would be the way to go.

Cheers,
Fitz.

[Todd Bradshaw]

Nope, no fishing today. My wife found the bluegill print between those two sheets of cardboard in a drawer last week. It's been sitting there for at least 25 years (me? a packrat?...never). Someplace I have another bluegill and a big crappie that are mounted to wood, but I have no clue where they are. My folks have a muskie up at their place that I mounted to a big slab of weathered cedar. We used to do quite a few when we were kids. It was a cool way to keep a record of good fish that's not as tacky as stuffing them.

[S B]

Use "onion skin"if you can find any, replaced by mylar in the trades. First thing to do is find someone who knows what onion skin is. Good luck.:)

[Fitz]

S B:

Funny you should mention that. I went to a large office supply place and asked if they had onion skin.

You should have seen the look I got!!

Fitz

[Bob (oh, THAT Bob)]

Use "onion skin"if you can find any, replaced by mylar in the trades. First thing to do is find someone who knows what onion skin is. Good luck.:)

Oh yeah? Try to find drafting linen anymore.

[Captain Intrepid]

S B:

Funny you should mention that. I went to a large office supply place and asked if they had onion skin.

You should have seen the look I got!!

Fitz

They have it at staples in Canada. :p

[S B]

They have it at staples in Canada. :p
No sheet! I'll have to stock up.

[mcdenny]

This works great, made just for your purpose.

http://www.papilio.com/inkjet%20rub%20on%20decal%20decal%20transfer%20pap er%20media.html

Just remember most printers don't print white.