egobuster1

sizing a inlay decal

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Im looking for some direction on how to go about getting the exact size for a decal.

My buddy has a GTO and wants to have vinyl inlays inserted into the GTO emblem on the rear bumper but im not sure how i would go about getting the exact size so they fit.

i will attach some images so you can see what im talking about. 

 

51TolMy9z7L.jpg

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Take a good picture with some kind of size reference in the same picture. Say a one inch block or a ruler something that you can use to set the scale correctly. Lets say you used a ruler, now in your program open the picture and then make a box that is one inch long. And then scale your picture up or down until the one inch box fits into a one inch segment on the ruler. Now your picture is scaled correctly. Now just manually trace the GTO and cut it out.

 

 

Easy Peasy.

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Take a good picture with some kind of size reference in the same picture. Say a one inch block or a ruler something that you can use to set the scale correctly. Lets say you used a ruler, now in your program open the picture and then make a box that is one inch long. And then scale your picture up or down until the one inch box fits into a one inch segment on the ruler. Now your picture is scaled correctly. Now just manually trace the GTO and cut it out.

 

 

Easy Peasy.

+1, make sure the picture you take is not at an angle at all or it will affect dimensions.

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Be sure to post a pic of the completed project!

Cal

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Its really not hard. Once you get the hang of it, youll be able to do something that simple in 15 mins.

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Alright makes sense. I've just never done anything like that before so I'll have to mess around with it

Best way to learn. :)

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your picture is not straight on, see the ruler hanging away from the bumper because it angles inward?

Your camera needs to be low and angled slightly upwards.

If you have photoshop you can "distort" the angle of your shot but the vinyl doesn't always come out exact.

 

Knifeless tape would work here too.

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Like frznfire said, try and get a better picture, You can probably get away if you just lower the camera a little. 

 

Then make a box in your program, and go in the manual size boxes(where you can automatically size it.) Make it 1 inch wide by 1/2 high. Then change the size of your picture until that box fits into a 1 inch segment on the ruler. Make sure your sizing your picture proportionally. So it enlarges or shrinks your picture in both directions at the same time. 

 

Then either get the correct font or manually trace the letters.

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I made a video of what I do in SignBlazer. Not a car but you will get the idea. I know the size of the paper is 11" wide and I want to scale it in my software to that.

 

http://screencast.com/t/9rDgt0Ug

 

Measure the picture

Divide the actual dimension by the measured dimension of the picture to get the scaling factor

Multiply the length of the picture by the scaling factor.

Change the size of the picture to that size

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Get a good, square-on, high resolution picture of the Lettering.

 

(Look that the inner-edge bevel, making sure it's relatively even, left and right, top and bottom.)

 

Now measure on the car the exact width and exact height. Note where you are taking these measurments from.

(ie. outer radius of the "G" and "O"... Top and bottom edge of "T".)

 

Bring the image into your vector program (I like Inkscape for this) and Draw around the letters and fill with color.

You may have to use the Trace feature but the Pen tool is the much preferred option.

 

using the ruler/ guides/ size boxes, make the letters the exact size you measured on the car.

Height & width from those same points you noted earlier..

 

Save as a vector.

 

It may take minor tweaking... depending upon any distortion in the picture and high enough resolution for accurate detail.

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For something like this you might be better off just painting or using that plasti dip stuff. Or just get the vinyl letters close and then manually trim on the car. Bit riskier but if you have a steady hand that's about the only way to get the size perfect.

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I have a GTO as well.....his best bet is to just paint the letters. Your going to spend way to much time trying to get it right size and font and then its a PITA to install in the recess.

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Reminds me of doing Mustang rear bumpers. I ended up making a pattern with cardstock and scanning it in then doing a ton of node editing and test fitting. 

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