posted
Ok , who sells the dome kit? I gotta have it.
-------------------- Ken McTague, Concept Signs 57 Bridge St. (route 107) Salem MA 01970 1-978-745-5800 conceptsign@yahoo.com http://www.pinheadlounge.com/CaptainKen
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"A wise man once said that, or was it a wise guy?" Posts: 2425 | From: Salem, MA | Registered: Apr 1999
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posted
Ken, call the Zs. Rememeber at mass mayhem the meet stickers, hot rod & that harley tank? They did the doming. Jay said they have tried a couple different ones, didn't like 1, liked another one. We never got a chance to play with it.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
If you're the adventurous type you can build your own doming kits, all you need is the urethane resin and dispensing bottles with needle tips.. or if you want to get real slick you can buy empty dual syringes with dual mix needles that mix the resin within the needle itsself so you avoid trapping air in the resin along with avoiding contact with it. Then if you really get into it, there's the automated meter mix systems that do everything for you.
You can check out all the "hardware" at http://www.cammda.com/ There are other places you can get it too, that's just the first place that showed up in a Yahoo search.
I've been using Smooth-On Crystal Clear urethane resin for casting lenses for automotive lamps, and this stuff would be great for doming.. it's so clear it's like glass and it gets pretty hard so it's durable, but not brittle.. it's also UV stable.. $25 for a small trial kit or $130 for a 1 Gallon Kit... actually it's 1 Gallon part A, 1 Gallon Part B, so you get 2 Gallons worth... that domes a LOT of decals.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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I use acudome to make a lot of domed products... It's especially nice for use with vehicle graphics since the doming stays somewhat flexible... I have had a few issue using it on SignGold, but I have gotten past those issues... great stuff... trial kit is $99. easy to use, no muss no fuss.
-------------------- -------------------- Dave Cox C2 Media Services (Formerly That Sign Guy) dave@c2mediaservices.com -------------------- Full Color Printing Posts: 295 | From: Sacramento CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Want to try doming and make money? Don't spend a fortune on resin. Go to AC Moore or equivalent art & craft store. You can buy Envirotek resin for about $7 for about a halfpint. This stuff is great, mix the 2 parts and pour onto your edge printed decals. We buy it for $40 per quart and it does a LOT of doming. You can use plastic syringes, squeeze bottles or pour out of yogurt containers. If you trap lots of bubbles in the resin by vigorous stiring (I always do) it's not a problem. Just wave a torch over the resin and the CO2 will pop all the micro bubbles.
ernie
-------------------- Ernie Balch Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 518-885-9899 Posts: 405 | From: Malta, NY | Registered: Jan 2003
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Doming is applying a clear (or colored) resin dome over decals and graphics to make a 3D appearance. Check out the link below, this is regular chrome film with a resin applied over the top:
posted
Mike, Sorry I only read $130 per gallon kit and didn't realize it's $16 per quart.
I'll give your stuff a try.
thanks
ernie
edit.................. I just talked to Diane and she said our kit is 1 quart of hardener and 1 quart of resin. $40 is the list price but they have a 40% off coupon in the paper every week so she paid $24. Bringing our cost to $12 per quart and no shipping.
[ July 24, 2003, 07:18 PM: Message edited by: E. Balch ]
-------------------- Ernie Balch Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 518-885-9899 Posts: 405 | From: Malta, NY | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Here's a quick shot to show ya how clear the resin I use is.. this is a custom LED bucket/lens assembly I make for trucks.. the lens on the right is almost invisible!
posted
The last time I used Acudome (3 yr ago) - the shelf life was so short that after the first try, by the time I tried it again- it was hard. Has the shelf life improved? Gene
-------------------- -------------------- Dave Cox C2 Media Services (Formerly That Sign Guy) dave@c2mediaservices.com -------------------- Full Color Printing Posts: 295 | From: Sacramento CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
We did a helluva lot of domed Edge stickers when I was working in the marine graphics industry. One suggestion is that the curing area needs to be as dust free as humanly possible, for obvious reasons.
Just as a hint, the boat and RV consumers love the look of domed stickers....so there's one market for you to look into if you're wondering.
posted
Anybody have a fail-safe method of pricing doming work? By fail-safe I mean not losing your profits in a job on the labor/time of applying the resin.
I was just sittin here thinkin it would be cool to offer it, I've thought about it before.. but the thought of doming cut lettering or even a larger coverage job just seems like it would take more time than you could get for it.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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I dunno Mike, but I do have 1 thought on the pricing subject.
From what I'm seen, read & heard, it's a lot easier & quicker to dome ovals than it is to coax the doming stuff into sharp corners & funky shapes, right? If that's the case, shouldn't the shape be a part of the doming pricing equation? Say you had a 3" circle to dome & a 3" star. Shouldn't the star with the sharp corners be priced higher than the circle?
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Ok, I did some reserch and took into account all your advise, seems there are 2 major brand names accudome and instadome, since I just want to play around a bit and dont really know what the heck im doing I just want a small starter kit. accudome offers a starter kit with 2 tubes of resin and all the other crap ya need for 99 bucks, instadome has a starter kit for about 300 bucks but comes with 40 tubes. seeing the shelf life reply scared me so I got the smaller kit.
-------------------- Ken McTague, Concept Signs 57 Bridge St. (route 107) Salem MA 01970 1-978-745-5800 conceptsign@yahoo.com http://www.pinheadlounge.com/CaptainKen
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"A wise man once said that, or was it a wise guy?" Posts: 2425 | From: Salem, MA | Registered: Apr 1999
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posted
OK...finally something that I know something about
The only obstacle in preparing a design for doming is that any angle less the 90 degrees needs to be rounded to 1/8" diameter. This is all that is required to keep the doming liquid from flowing outside the graphic.
I've prepared Edge artwork for literally tens of thousands of domed decals, so I've got a little experience with this stuff.
The surface tension in the resin keeps it from spilling over and as long as you don't put too much resin down at once, it won't flow past the edges of the cut/weeded graphics.
You can pour it on or use a bottle with a needle tip for more control.
I apply a bead of resin along the perimeter of the decal first then "fill in" the center, always being careful not to put too much on at once.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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If you got the right resin, the chrome would last as long as the dome protected it. I talked to the owners of another local sign shop that have messed around with doming and they didn't have much luck with the resin in their trial kit lasting more than a few months outdoors in the harsh Arizona summer.
I tried a sample kit from Loctite and the resin was too soft and pliable, it wasn't long before my homemade Mazda emblem on my truck's hood was completely hazed and had embedded bugs.
I'm now using the Smooth-On Crystal Clear resin primarily for making custom tail light assemblies for trucks. It seems to hold up like a champ outdoors so far, still clear as a bell after a year on my truck amidst the strong UV and dust here.
I don't know about pricing, seems nobody else here does either cause I already posted that question. My guess: Depending on complexity or size - start at 3X the "normal" cost and see where that puts you on the pricing scale, adjust from there. Dome a number of practice pieces of varying shapes and sizes to give you an idea of how long they'd take you to do.
Maybe someone in Canada can help you on the last question.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
I don't know about normal pricing either but here is what i have done in the past...
I make domed "Badges" for a few different sportscars for use on the steering wheels and wheel caps. I don't have an edge so I go down to the local Signs Now, I am charged $0.75 each for 1" diameter printed/cut circles with the design (logo). I use 2 $8 resin packs to do 100 badges. I sell the badges for $15 each or when 3 or more are purchased $12/ea
just an example, of course car guys are used to spending more than normal folks.
-------------------- -------------------- Dave Cox C2 Media Services (Formerly That Sign Guy) dave@c2mediaservices.com -------------------- Full Color Printing Posts: 295 | From: Sacramento CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Mike, besides Canadian Signcrafters, ND Graphics carries the doming materials (Acudome mfg). Doming is very labour intensive, and we prefer to stay with smaller sizes (1" to 2") because that way the rejects are manageable. A tube covers about 50 sq.in. and once the tube is open you have to use it up.
I dropped Joe Parsons a note to have him call you about AcuDome.
-------------------- Jon Aston MARKETING PARTNERS "Strategy, Marketing and Business Development" Tel 705-719-9209 Posts: 1724 | From: Barrie, ON, CANADA | Registered: Sep 2000
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