Hey, what do you guys recommend for football helmets logo decals? What type of vinyl and what thickness is recommended? Need something that is going to be easy to put on the curve of the helmet, yet strong enough to take the abuse of football. Also, do you recommend a clear vinyl be applied over the decal?
Hey, what do you guys recommend for football helmets logo decals? What type of vinyl and what thickness is recommended? Need something that is going to be easy to put on the curve of the helmet, yet strong enough to take the abuse of football. Also, do you recommend a clear vinyl be applied over the decal?
Thanks
A cast vinyl is a good fit for this application. Use one that is 2 mil with a permanent adhesive. Because of the abuse a helmet takes you'll also want to laminate any graphics with a cold lamination film.
All the decals that i had on my helmet when i played seem to be way stronger than vinyl. almost like a thick plastic and probably printed on a machine like roland versacam or other large format printers
As Josh said, 2 mil cast is the way to go. The thicker you go, though, the harder it's going to be to conform it to the curves. Are you applying them yourself? If so, make sure you've got a heat gun and some patience! From my experience doing vehicle wraps, curves can be tricky; but when they come out nice it's really rewarding.
The easiest way to go around the bends is to on low heat it with a blow dryer, that is how I do it with some the of curves and wraps I have done in the past. Hope this helps....
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I am using a Roland Stika SV-15. Which brand and type of vinyl would I use for a football helmet. Which brand and type of laminate would I use to protect the logo from the wear and abuse?
I don't know what brand was used for the decals I got, I know it's Oracal of some sort. There's really no way to protect these things from wear and tear, I hate to tell ya. Unless of course, the players don't make contact too often. LOL
My son's decal is just about illegible after 8 games. But hey, it looked good for a week or two.
Most helmet decals can be anywhere from 2 mil up to 5 mil. The key to protecting them is in the lamination. Most pro helmet decals have up to 15 mil thick laminates to protect them. Convex is a great material but not necessary for a football helmet. A good cast material decal at 4 inches as mentioned above should have no problems conforming to the curve on a helmet. I have done many decals for helmets and had no issues at the sizes needed for them.
If you are covering the helmet or a large portion of it, then convex would be the choice material. I worked for a while with a Riddell distributor and had the opportunity to produce some decals to spec for them. If you have ever watched any pro football game, you have seen their name on the helmets being used. Riddell uses cast materials and heavy laminates (15mil). If it works for them, it should work for you.