Need ways to weather & age old window decal.

I have a reproduction state inspection decal I would like to weather to make it look like it was on the window for decades. Any ideas??

It is paper and sticky on the front just as they came from the state. It is not a water decal.

I'm looking for yellowing, peeling etc.

I remember reading about a vinegar conconction that yellows and fades but cannot find it on the web.

Thanks for your help.

 

You might try tea. Maybe orange peacoe (sp). Try it on paper first.

 

Stick it on, drive it to Phoenix, AZ. right now, It will look ****py and old in two months!

 

Yes, tea, that is what I now remember. Thank you. Antiques Roadshow had a show on fakes and how people used teat o age do***ents where even the experts had a hard time proving if they were real or not.

 

Coffee grounds,burnt sienna oil paint,shoe polish,latex craft paint...

 

You are in WV. Just to note. If you are running this car with regular plates you have to still have a sticker. Any old stickers must be removed.

You may find an obliging agent and you may never get h***led, but that's the law.

IMO anything like vinegar or tea is going to mess with the glue.

 

In the old days, when I lived in NY and we had those paper stickers in the '70s, Windex used to beat them up pretty bad (and we weren't trying to weather them).

 

You could scan it, 'age' it in Photoshop or some similar tool, then print new copies onto labels or water transfers. This would get you the look you want without messing with the adhesives, plus you'd have an endless supply of stickers in case they eventually peeled off.

 

i agree.

 

Very fine steel wool, lightly rubbing, not too hard will get a sand blasted used effect. Then add some color. Usually black/brown water based paint diluted in water as a wash to get a patina. Repeat after drinking one beer. Do this often!

 

Jim

Here is a link to the repo sticker site. The decals are top notch. In the scans it appears there are print lines in the decals but they are not there in real life. His scans don't show how crisp the printing is. I compared it to an original, I stupidly removed because I thought it looked old and weathered LOL and the gl*** was bad , and it is exact in color and size and details. Most repo decals are off (print poor, colors bad etc) but these are dead on accurate. Even the backside facing the interior is printed up like the originals.

Here are the W.Va ones. Oh BTW I live near Wheeling.

http://inspectionsticker.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=48

 

Have to admit, that is a cool website. I remember the first Indiana inspection I got at age 16 for my 1955 Ford F-100. It was purchased from a local garage with the truck being sight unseen. Of course, there was a slight tip given for that privilege!

 

That's funny right there....

After you peel the it off the backing, is it clear?

 

No it is paper just like the originals. You peel off a clear "cover" and the front side is sticky and you paste it on the inside of your windshield just like the State Trooper Inspection team would have done.

 

Id airbrush it so u can make it look perfect

 

Thanks for the information! They look great and are reasonably priced. I'll have to get an order ready!

Jim

 

To be extra accurate when you punch the hole make sure it is off center and not perfectly centered. My original was hitting two blocks...but more in than the other. I don't think state employees were concerned about punching it out perfectly centered.

 

LOL. And probably need to put it on the windshield slightly crooked!

Jim

 

Being paper I guess they were just designed to last one year. It's going to be hard to weather it much since the side you want weathered is actually the "Sticky Side".

I've done a couple of the clear type with a heat gun and WD-40. I cracked the rear window in my '34 truck with this little trick too. Felt like a dumb***!