Hi guys!

First, thanks to the awesome admin/mods for adding this section. It's very much an overlooked aspect of vinyl and inkjet decal biz.

I've been doming about 5 months now, give or take, and I've gotten the process down pretty well.

What is doming?

Doming is just the process of adding a clear, non-yellowing Epoxy resin to your decal using the normal surface tension of thick liquid to 'find the edges' of your decal and make a 'dome' or bubble over your decal. This has a slight magnification effect, catches light better and protects your decal from weather and UV light. It also adds a nice factory look to badges for boats, cars, computer cases, etc.  Doming is generally best applied to small, round decals (no sharp corners), since corners tend to break surface tension.

The first thing I recommend is getting the 'Try It Kit' from Ordway (www.signsupply.com).

With this kit, you get the bare minimum to fully dome a decal...including a mini Butane torch to remove air bubbles. Later, you can buy a much better refillable Butane torch along with some extra fuel for a more permanent and quality setup.

Here are some of my samples, since I am selling these direct and through a local car shop (and directly).



Doming Process: Setupand Supplies

Here's what you need to dome:

Epoxy resin cartridge (usually a double-tubed thing),

Resin gun (this has a plunger which pushes out the resin)

Resin mixer needle (this is like a fat tip which lets the resin 'mix' as it comes out, to activate it). You will need one of these every time you dome, as the resin hardens inside the mixer.

Butane torch. This is how you remove small bubbles which will appear sometimes in your resin doming. Just a quick wave over the bubble and it rises and disappears.

Latex gloves or nice work gloves. Prevents epoxy resin from getting on your skin. Best not to get epoxy on you.

Level surface. Use a spot level or small bubble level and make sure your surface is level. If your work area isn't level, get a nice piece of smooth board, and use gummy erasers, putty or folded paper underneath the new surface to level it. Your glass will go directly on this surface.
 
Cut glass sheets, to fit your work surface. You stick your decals to the glass using repositionable adhesive spray, to keep the decals flat and fromt curling or moving during doming. I have three 12x18 glass pieces on to which I stick my decals. When I fill one glass with decals that are domed and need to dry, I simply stack more glass with spacers and continue doming. The glass on top also protects the bottom decals from dust and other debris in the air. When the resin is dry you can remove the decals and re-use your glass surfaces.

Glass Spacers! I use 1 inch plastic tube couplers from Home Depot from the plumbing area. These separate the glass pieces perfectly. One spacer per corner. When you dome up some decals on the bottom glass, stack another piece of glass (with tacky adhesive) and put more decals on that glass, and continue doming. You just work your way up the stack. As mentioned, the glass also protects the decals from dust in the air which might fall into your resin before it's hardened.

Repositionable Spray Fixative. This is removable adhesive spray (or repositionable adhesive) to spray on glass or some surface (glass is best). This is what you stick your pre-domed decals to, so they don't curl up or move.

Drain cups. These are little plastic cups where you squeeze out your initial resin, just to clear bubbles. Do this when you first apply your mixer and start a new session.

Sharp fixing or adjustment tool. You should get one of these in the Try It Kit. Basically, this is a small knife-like object to retrieve dust or specs in your resin, chop away resin which flowed off the decal or just move resin around to reach the edges.

Good lighting! This is key to see mini air bubbles in your doming. I just applied a small fluorescent light stick over my work surface, otherwise everything was in shadow. This is key, or you might be a frustrated and slightly blind domer!

Doming Process

Before you dome anything, you need a good work area with good ventilation. You generally don't want to breathe Epoxy resin without proper ventilation. A mask of some sort is even better. I have the cheap breathing masks and a good one which I would use for motorcycle painting. I don't know if the mask is critical or required, just probably a good idea.

Spray all your glass pieces with repositionable spray adhesive (available at Ordway and art stores). Apply your decals to the bottom glass and place it on the surface. Store the other glass as stacks using your spacers, tacky side up.

Now, you're ready to start doming.

Open a cartridge, put it on the application gun and open the cap. Put a mixer tube on the cap (it rotates on like a single-turn lock) and then hold the gun up at a 45 degree angle to help eliminate bubbles. Squeeze a little resin out of the cartridge into the drain cup while holding the gun at a 45 degree angle...and do this leaning left and right just to get things going.

Now, apply your resin to your decals. Think about covering 2/3rds of each decal, as the resin will naturally flow to the edges of your decal and stack up in to a dome via surface tension (yay physics!). Don't put too much, as the resin could flow off your decal. Too little, and the resin won't go to the edges. Liquid seeks its own level, so we're relying on this principle for even coverage. The resin won't dry immediately, so be careful when inspecting the decals that you don't get any dust or anything in the resin. You can wait a few minutes to check for bubbles and debris if everything looks good.

If the resin hasn't flowed to the edges after a couple minutes, use your adjustment tool to push resin to the edges, or add a bit more resin. With vinyl layers, you might need to shepherd the resin to the edges, as the vinyl edges will tend to want to stop the resin flowing sometimes. With an inkjet print, you have a smooth surface and the resin should flow more easily. Don't be afraid to move it to the edges if you need to (like on a round decal). Most of the time, resin should basically take care of itself, and you will get better at applying it to get it right the first time, and with the right quantity so the resin has some momentum to reach all of your edges. Usually, you're going to apply less resin than you think you would need. It generally flows slowly and finds the edges on its own.

Wait a couple minutes, and check for air bubbles. I generally put glass over my decals immediately so I don't get any of 'my' dust into the resin. It only takes a small piece of dust or skin to mar your resin, though if you do get a speck in the resin, you can just fish it out. You have about 5 minutes to get it out and the resin will seal up that area and re-level itself. 

Check for air bubbles. Remove the glass, fire up your Butane gun and wave it briefly over the air bubbles. Don't linger, just wave it until the bubbles rise and go away (more physics!). This is actually fun, but it's important. You don't want bubbles in your doming, especially if these are for paying customers. Make sure you look at the decals from various angles and really check this. You can wait a few minutes to do this (so you don't heat the resin while it's still moving) but make sure you take care of it in the first 5 minutes or so.

Now, put your glass cover on (using your spacers) and let it dry!

Your resin will need 12 hours or so before you can handle it, and days before you can apply it to a car or something. More cure time is better, so be patient, and make sure your work area is a place where you can let domed decals dry undisturbed for days.

After 12 hours or so (I like to wait longer) you can mail these or move them around.

Enjoy doming. There are lots of cool things you can do with this process.

Cleanup

Remove mixer from the cartridge, and reapply the cap. You can re-use cartridges, but mixers are a one-use deal as the resin hardens inside. I usually store my resin guns vertically, and it would be nice to have a little gun holster on your work area, since these don't stand up on their own very well. I use the drawer on my workspace with the handles inside to prop up my resin gun.

Have fun!  

Glad ye like Bill! Yah one good way to advertise your business is to put it into practice. Imagine talking to your customer, pointing at custom wheelcaps you made yourself and going (I made those). People tend to freak out. Doming can be expensive and labor-intensive (when you're learning) but it can really add value to an otherwise inexpensive decal.

Those caps are just layers of vinyl with doming, with a design I made myself for my 'spacepod' car. The red reflective is just vinyl I picked up from Ordway, and rocks in this kind of application since the doming seems to catch more light. 

That silver chrome text is thin like tinsel, so letters can only get so small using that (at least on my LP24). Inkjet printing with contour cut and doming works great for more complex or full-color designs.

That looks great!!!!! I think I will have to try that and see what I can do with it. Thanks for the post
 

Love the post!

very intriguing! where do you get the starter kit?

intriguing! My My, are we speaking the Kings English today as well? J/K Heidi!

Really good info NukleoN.... thanks.

Does the resin just stop flow to the edge of the deal or does it have to be trimmed after? Thanks Michael

Does the resin just stop flow to the edge of the deal or does it have to be trimmed after? Thanks Michael

On a level work area, surface tension means the resin will find the edge of your decal on its own, provided you put enough on (this comes with practice). This principle can be observed even with a glass of water. Fill it past the top on a level surface, and you can see that it will actually go past the lip of the glass held by surface tension. Resin surface tension just happens to be a lot stronger than water.

This is why doming is most effective on decals with round corners/edges. Corners will break surface tension more easily than rounded corners.