Real Gold Lettering for Firetruck? Help!

[Creative Soul]

Hey guys, we have to letter a couple firetrucks and they need a metallic gold material that we can print black on, laminate, contour cut and install. Does anyone have experience with this? The client is unhappy with the last company as the product did not hold up. Fellers has a product from this company http://www.quick-signgold.com but it's super expensive. Just want to know what has worked before.

Any help Appreciated

Stephen

 

[yukon]

SignGold works fine but use the "SolGold" which accepts inkjet printing. We then cut our laminate seperately with 0.20 offset in order to seal the gold edge and apply it after installing the gold.

-Yukon

 

[letterman7]

Any gold metallic "regular" vinyl will eventually turn color over time. Talk them into the printable SignGold - both you and the FC won't be disappointed.

 

[Creative Soul]

Thanks Yukon, I like the idea of printing and cutting the material in one shot and then applying the lam when on the truck to seal. What kind of lam would you use for this? We do a lot of wraps and some cut vinyl but are new to this type of install? Would the lam cut ok in the plotter on it's own?

Thanks again.

 

[jfiscus]

Actually, this process needs to be done with an Gerber/Edge machine setup.
It is a thermal printer which prints/transfers a solid color foil onto the vinyl. Then you cut it to shape of the lettering, then laminate the piece, then cut the laminate to its shape (larger than the lettering to seal the edges).

Companies like Leo's Gold Lion & a few others sell specialty materials for projects like this. What type of gold did they specify in the quote?

Do you have color charts to match up to the other vehicles in the fleet?
Or, can you take a picture and post it here? I should be able to identify the material or a close match.

We do this a lot, as we are also the regional dealer for both a firetruck and ambulance company, so if you have further more specific questions, pm me.

 

[Gino]

If you really want 'REAL' gold, why not use real gold ?? 23kt or 23-1/2kt gold leaf.

No matter what these advertisements read.... they are not real gold leaf. Real gold leaf... applied correctly, will last 25 years. This stuff, SignGold is said to have a 14 year durability, but I've yet to see it last more then 5 or 6 years. You might find an occasional longer one, but I highly doubt it is the norm.

 

[lexsigns]

real gold leaf is the way to go

 

[TammieH]

We use to use Sign Gold...it fades as well, at least use to.

 

[jfiscus]

I try to stay away from Sign Gold. We use products form Leo's Gold Lion & FirehouseDecals.com for our main offerings besides the standard 3M reflective.

"metallic gold" is VERY vague when it comes to gold lettering on firetrucks. Most either have engine turn, brushed, florentine, etc, etc.

 

[ucmj22]

Thanks Yukon, I like the idea of printing and cutting the material in one shot and then applying the lam when on the truck to seal. What kind of lam would you use for this? We do a lot of wraps and some cut vinyl but are new to this type of install? Would the lam cut ok in the plotter on it's own?

Thanks again.

If you are using a roland (and probably others) you can complete an overhanging laminate job before you leave the shop. setup your file twice, one with the cut line where you want it for the gold and another file with the cut line where you want the laminate cut. send the first file as print and cut but make sure you check the box for "Crop marks for print and cut alignment" then weed the excess making sure to trim around and leave the crop marks in place. next, laminate the print and put it back in the printer. send the second file as cut only and make sure the same crop mark box is checked. it will read the crop marks you left, and make a new cut for your laminate.

 

[Rickey J]

SignGold works fine but use the "SolGold" which accepts inkjet printing. We then cut our laminate seperately with 0.20 offset in order to seal the gold edge and apply it after installing the gold.

-Yukon

We do a ton of fire apparatus and this is the same process we use. We are also contracted to do warranty work for them as well because it's the same process the factory uses too.

 

[yukon]

We use 3m 8518 laminate over the gold. We cut the laminate separately on our plotter (not the printer) and apply by hand over the gold after it's on the vehicle. But I like the idea of laminating the print and having the printer cut the offset contour cut using the cropmarks. I will try this!

Yukon

 

[jfiscus]

We use 3m 8518 laminate over the gold. We cut the laminate separately on our plotter (not the printer) and apply by hand over the gold after it's on the vehicle. But I like the idea of laminating the print and having the printer cut the offset contour cut using the cropmarks. I will try this!

Yukon

That makes it 100X easier to install.

Just always be sure to go over all of the edges of the laminate to be sure it is seated down, then hit it with the torch or heat gun to set it.